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Purpose – From the decision-maker's viewpoint, the success of a social responsibility program rests heavily on a corporation's ability to create links in the public consciousness between the CSR activities of an organization and its performance to different stakeholders. However, thinking broadly about CSR outcomes often results in a list that is much too long to be of any practical use. The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical study to provide understanding as to why business organizations are increasingly engaging in corporate social responsibility issues. Design/methodology/approach – The paper investigates whether CSR initiatives have any impact on six organizational outcomes through an empirical investigation of 100 large firms in the Spanish MERCO (Monitor Español de Reputación Corporativa) using repeated ANOVA measures. Findings – The results indicate that the benefits of CSR issues fall within five major categories; namely: quality of products and services, global business, innovativeness, corporate culture, and ethical obligations. However, it is surprising to find that CSR had no significant effect on financial soundness. Research limitations/implications – The use of admiration can enable stakeholders to develop consensus and creative processes relating to the design of new requirements where CSR activities are incorporated into business activities. Practical implications – The implication for management practice is that CSR activities represent a long-term programme to change, and a proactive way to improve admiration. Originality/value – The paper shows that social responsibility is not always detrimental to company goals and performance [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]