Analysis of Private Socially Responsible Investment: The Impact of Personal Concern with Corporate Social Responsibility

Are many years that academics and professionals dealing with the so-called socially responsible investment (SRI). Yet, still it persists today the need of a better knowledge of personal reasons underlying the investment decision. This is evidenced by inconclusive and contradictory findings of decades of empirical research. So, this paper aims at contributing to fill this gap, by deepening whether the level of personal concerns with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the personal preferences towards the screening criteria adopted by socially responsible funds (SRFs) affect the decision to choose a socially responsible investment. In order to connect the investment choice with the personal concerns for CSR, this study refers to an experimental survey that proposes different investment scenarios and several five point Likert statements referred to corporate social responsibility. Findings confirm that the traditional risk/return trade-off is not sufficient to explain the decision to invest socially responsibly, going beyond a purely financial return. In fact, the level of personal concerns with CSR and the preference for investment screens related to the safeguard of natural environment and human rights incentive individuals to invest in SRFs.