Beginning this January, MBA student-consultants in groups of five will spend 150+ hours per group researching and developing recommendations for a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative that would be most suitable for your organization's objectives, based on consumer behavior.

MBA students will be guided by an instructor with experience translating consumer insights into program improvements as a fellow on the White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team and United States Office of Evaluation Sciences.

Based on the information you provide, market research, and their instructor's guidance, student-consultants will develop a CSR initiative that will position your organization in a positive light with your target consumers and influence their thoughts, attitudes, and choices in favor of your organization's objectives.

Example CSR Initiative Development:

If McDonald's wanted to develop a CSR initiative to encourage healthier eating, students might develop a CSR initiative with the following elements:

• Study Consumers: Target heavy users.

• Shape Thoughts: Post calorie counts in novel places (e.g., on receipts) to get consumers to pay attention to nutritional information.

• Influence Attitudes: Invoke descriptive norms in ads to suggest that people can and do eat well at McDonald’s (e.g., depict people choosing healthy sides).

• Impact Choices: Set healthy food items as the default in kids and value meal.