“Corporate Digital Responsibility”: New corporate responsibilities in the digital age

Digitalization is leading to profound changes in our private and work lives. New technologies are pervasive and create opportunities for new business models and lifestyles. Recently, the term “Corporate Digital Responsibility” has been coined to summarize the emerging responsibilities of corporations relating to their digitalization-related impacts, risks, challenges, and opportunities. The paper at hand reviews the topic of CDR using a multi-step approach. First, results from an opinion poll of 509 US-based respondents are reported which illustrate the perceived opportunities and threats associated with the topic of digitalization, underlining the need for a strategic approach to CDR implementation. Second, existing uses and definitions of the CDR terminology are summarized and a definition of CDR is derived. Third, twenty important topics related to CDR are identified, summarized and categorized into three categories using the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) framework. Finally, results are discussed with regards to their theoretical and managerial contributions and a hands-on guide which companies can use to implement a suitable CDR strategy is presented.