People and Profits?: The Search for a Link Between a Company's Social and Financial Performance » (New Edition)

What is the relationship between the social performance of companies and their financial performance? More colloquially, can a firm effectively attend to both people and profits as it conducts its business? This question has been investigated in no fewer than 95 empirical studies published since 1972. The authors have assembled a compendium of this research to give researchers and practitioners alike a broad overview of these 95 studies and a systematic database detailing the content of each one.

This book provides a comprehensive portrait of this research literature. It begins with a broad orientation to the literature, exploring why the link between social and financial performance has been subject to continual inquiry and often heated debate. The authors then present an integrated overview of the 95 studies. Through the charts and tables, the authors illuminate the nature of the studies conducted; the data samples selected for investigation; the ways in which financial and social performance have been measured; and the overall tally of results.

Booknews

Margolis and Walsh (both teach business administration) seek to answer the question "can a firm effectively attend to both people and profits?" by assembling a survey of 95 empirical studies on the topic published since 1972 and compiling their findings into comprehensive tables. The authors provide an overview of the field and the 95 studies in initial chapters, and a bibliography and appendix of abbreviations at the end of the book. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)