Some 60 per cent of Irish adults think businesses do not pay enough attention to their social responsibilities, according to research presented at the IMI management conference. This is higher than the European average of 58 per cent, according to Business in the Community Ireland, which carried out the study.

Irish consumers are also ahead of the average in taking a company's social responsibility into account when buying a product or service. Seven in 10 said it was something they would take into account, but only 29 per cent said it was very important. The European average is 27 per cent.

In making a judgment about a company, the most important factor for consumers is product quality followed by customer service and openness and honesty, the research found.

In addition, half of Irish adults claim they would pay more for products that are environmentally and socially responsible. But only 14 per cent said they definitely would, while 39 per cent said they probably would.

According to the study, the best way for companies to communicate their activities in this area is to place the information directly on products, but 34 per cent of respondents thought that companies should be obliged to issue reports on their activities.

The sorts of areas consumers would most like to see companies act responsibly in were the health and safety of their workers, the provision of long-term jobs and not discriminating.

Less emphasis was put on issues such as ensuring that a company's operations and its suppliers respected human rights and that its activities did not harm the environment.