The effects of CSR communication in corporate crises: Examining the role of dispositional and situational CSR skepticism in context

Although consumer skepticism about corporate social responsibility (CSR) is on the rise, research is sparse on the psychological dynamics of this skepticism, particularly when CSR communication serves as a company’s crisis response strategy. Employing two between-subjects design experiments, this study aims to fill this gap by looking at the role consumer CSR skepticism plays in consumer reactions to CSR communications in different types of crises. The study 1 results show that dispositional CSR skepticism did not moderate the effect of crisis type on attitudes and intentions when CSR was used as a post-crisis response strategy. The study 2 findings, however, indicated that situational CSR skepticism significantly mediated the impact of crisis type and CSR motives on purchase intentions only when the crisis stemmed from some accidental rather than preventable circumstance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Attenuating public skepticism: Effects of pre-crisis corporate engagement and post-crisis CSR initiatives on corporate evaluations

This study examined the effects of stated motives in post-crisis corporate social responsibility (CSR) messages, CSR-crisis issue congruence, and pre-crisis corporate engagement on public skepticism toward CSR and subsequent corporate evaluations. We conducted a 3 (motive of post-crisis CSR initiative: no statement vs. firm-serving vs. public-serving) x 2 (issue congruence: CSR initiative incongruent vs. congruent with crisis) x 2 (pre-crisis corporate engagement: absence vs. presence) between-subjects online experiment via Qualtrics panel (N = 378). The findings showed that stating a public-serving motive or launching a CSR initiative incongruent with a crisis heightened some aspects of CSR skepticism. We further found that pre-crisis corporate engagement interacted with stated motive and issue congruence to influence corporate evaluations. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) skepticism and their impacts on public evaluations toward CSR

This study attempts to examine the dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) skepticism and to identify the strongest predictor by testing the relationships between the skepticism constructs and public responses. The study further examines the role of cynicism either as an antecedent, a moderator, or a component of CSR skepticism. Through a series of model tests, three factors of CSR skepticism were identified to better predict public responses to CSR: (a) skepticism toward a company’s altruism, (b) disbelief of CSR messages and CSR activities, and (c) skepticism toward CSR informativeness. Skepticism toward a company’s altruism was identified as the strongest predictor in determining negative public response to CSR, whereas cynicism did not have much predictive power to explain public response to CSR; as a result, it was excluded from the final dimensions of CSR skepticism.     

The interplay between post-crisis response strategy and pre-crisis corporate associations in the context of CSR crises

How should a company respond to a crisis that is related to its social responsibility by capitalizing on consumers’ existing corporate associations? To answer this question, the present study focuses on two primary types of corporate associations, corporate ability (CA) associations and corporate social responsibility (CSR) associations, and proposes two different types of response strategies that are association-based: CA strategy and CSR strategy. Drawing on the framework of CA-CSR, Expectancy Violation Theory, and information processing literature, this study examines whether and how these crisis response strategies interact with consumers’ pre-crisis associations and collectively influence consumer reactions in times of CSR crises. Results of two experiments render support for the predicted interaction effect. Furthermore, the results show that crisis response diagnosticity and novelty, as perceived by consumers with varied pre-crisis associations, serve as the underlying process explanations that drive the observed interaction effect. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of these results to crisis communication are also discussed.     

Hybrid happening: Organizational reputations in corporate crises

Public relations professionals strive to develop mutually beneficial relationships among key publics that will result in favorable organizational reputations, but crises typically threaten those reputations. Much of public relations crisis research focuses on how to respond after a crisis, but drawing on Expectation Violation Theory (EVT), this research focuses on the expectations of stakeholders before a crisis and how they process information during a crisis. Drawing from reputation management research in marketing, it conceptualizes corporate reputations as encompassing associations related to corporate ability (CA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Reputation management research generally has investigated reputations as strong on either CA or CSR, but this research examines the effects of a “hybrid” reputation, which is strong in terms of both CA and CSR associations. The results of an experiment reveal that stakeholders’ responses during a crisis vary based on their expectations, how they perceive a hybrid reputation, and the crisis type. The study has theoretical implications regarding stakeholders’ information processing during a crisis, and it provides public relations professionals insights regarding how to cultivate and protect an organizational reputation.     

Understanding Reputational Crisis: Definition,Properties, and Consequences

To better understand the nature of reputational crisis, this study examined two crisis events using the corporate ability (CA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) crisis categorization frameworks. This scenario-based experimental study validates the usefulness of the CA–CSR crisis categorization by demonstrating that not only do people actually discern differences between these two types of crises, but their awareness of a crisis type also influences their interpretation of the crisis, as well as their perceptions of and attitudes toward the target firm. In particular, this study shows that a CSR crisis, versus a CA crisis, is interpreted more seriously and, consequently, causes heavier damage to the evaluation of the firm. In addition, the halo effect of a favorable prior reputation was found in the CA crisis condition, but not in the CSR condition. Based on these findings, this study suggests that the recognition of CA and CSR crises provides a boundary condition, which determines divergent effects of crises on perceivers' evaluation of the target firm.     

Netizens’ evaluations of corporate social responsibility: Content analysis of CSR news stories and online readers’ comments

Analyzing stories about corporate social responsibility (CSR) published in two online Korean newspapers and reader's comments about them, this study investigated how the online readers interpreted the CSR activities, looking at the effect of CSR types, situations, and the degree of corporate fame. The study found that readers tend to be cynical toward CSR activities after a crisis and a monetary donation type of CSR. In addition, the more famous the company, the more likely there were cynical comments about its CSR activities.     

Effects of apologies and crisis responsibility on corporate and spokesperson reputation

This study is aimed at the effects of making apologies in a crisis situation and attributed crisis responsibility on corporate- and spokesperson reputation. In a 2 × 2 scenario experiment (spokesperson making apologies versus no apologies; and accidental versus preventable crisis), 84 respondents judged corporate and spokesperson reputation. We found that the crisis has more impact on corporate reputation than on the spokesperson's reputation. This indicates that the crisis is seen as a collective responsibility of the organization, rather than the personal responsibility of the spokesperson.     

Engaging through stories: Effects of narratives on individuals’ skepticism toward corporate social responsibility efforts

Skepticism is prevalent surrounding companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. Existing research suggests that narratives can reduce counterarguing and increase story-consistent beliefs and attitudes. However, research is still in its preliminary stage in understanding how narratives may help alleviate individuals’ skepticism toward companies’ CSR initiatives. Through an experiment with Amazon Mechanical Turk participants (n = 345), the current study tested the effect of narrative vs non-narrative videos on individual perception of CSR skepticism. YouTube videos depicting a real organization’s CSR initiatives on the issue of gender equality were selected as stimuli. Results of the study suggest that narrative significantly reduced almost all of the previously identified dimensions of CSR skepticism and significantly increased perceived intrinsic (altruistic) motives. Furthermore, engagement with the video message and perceived CSR motives were significant mediators. The study highlights engagement with messages as a key aspect of reducing CSR skepticism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

When crowdsourcing in CSR leads to dialogic communication: The effects of trust and distrust

In this study, we explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) crowdsourcing on dialogic communication considering trust/distrust as a moderator, as well as the role of dialogic communication in causing positive CSR and company evaluations. A 2 (crowdsourcing vs. non-crowdsourcing) × 2 (trust vs. distrust) between-subjects experiment was conducted using real company names. The results show that trust generated a higher perception of dialogic communication, CSR, and company evaluations than distrust. We also identify accessibility and grounding as the dialogic communication outcomes induced by crowdsourced CSR. A moderated mediation test shows that crowdsourced CSR leads to positive evaluations only when conducted by a trusted company through accessibility/grounding. As expected, distrust nullified such mediation effects.     

Consumers’ responses to CSR activities: The linkage between increased awareness and purchase intention

The body of research showing the positive effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumer behavior has been growing steadily. However, previous studies have not characterized corporate behaviors in terms of their perception by consumers as significant CSR and researchers have paid little attention to consumers’ understanding of this notion of CSR. The present study explores the relationship between consumer awareness of CSR activities and their purchase intentions. This study employs a questionnaire survey involving Korean consumers. For the analysis, measurement scales for CSR activities and consumers’ purchase intention scales are respectively developed. From the results it is found that there is a significant positive relationship between these two parameters. This study finds out as CSR activities corporate social contribution and local community contribution affect consumers’ purchase intention while corporate environmental protection and contribution have no effects on consumers’ purchase intention.     

Operationalizing genuineness in CSR communication for public engagement on social media

Public relations professionals from global corporations have increasingly communicated corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on social media to engage publics. Yet the link between CSR communication of global corporations, particularly with regard to the dimensions of genuineness exhibited in their communication and public engagement on social media is under-researched in China. This empirical study conceptualized and operationalized the dimensions of genuineness, which encompass providing information about different CSR themes, being responsive to publics, demonstrating empathy, and being consistent in what corporations say and do, and then investigated how global corporations engaged Chinese publics through genuine CSR communication on Sina Weibo. Enhanced public engagement outcomes of comments, likes, and shares were observed for the provision of information about the community involvement and development CSR theme alongside the use of empathy. This study informs public relations scholars and practitioners about the importance of providing information on the CSR theme of community involvement and demonstrating empathy to generate higher public engagement.     

Dimensions of disclosures: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting by media companies

In this study, we examined the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and disclosures of major media companies in the United States. We conducted content analysis to analyze five dimensions of CSR disclosure: environment, community relations, diversity, employee relations and human rights, as well as their media CSR activities. Our findings showed that nine of the ten companies have engaged in different types of CSR activities. These companies’ CSR initiatives differ by the types of the company, and the size of the company also has influence on the reporting of CSR initiatives.     

A two-path model of the impact of LGBTQ+ diversity CSR levels on public response

Since conflicting opinions and expectations of stakeholders about LGBTQ+ diversity coexist, companies contemplate how far to draw the line of CSR involvement in relation to LGBTQ+ diversity. This study examines how different levels of LGBTQ+ diversity CSR (i.e., proactive, passive, refusal) affect public responses. The proposed model investigates how public perceptions of corporate support for LGBTQ+ diversity (PCSL), influenced by CSR level, affects two dimensions of corporate associations differently (corporate ability and CSR association), and consequently CSR responses (supportive communication intent, purchase intent, and corporate evaluation in this study). The role of perceived value-driven motivation as a mediator was also examined. An online experiment was conducted with two Fortune 500 companies (Dell and Kellogg's). Overall, the results suggest that proactive CSR leads to higher PCS-L and better CSR outcomes among the general public than a passive or refusal approach. PCS-L, directly and indirectly, affects individuals’ CSR associations, which are mediated by value-driven motives. In turn, CSR associations positively influence publics’ supportive communication intent, purchase intent and corporate evaluations. As for CA associations, we found that they had a rather complicated relationship with PCS-L. Specifically, PCS-L had a direct negative effect on CA associations (Dell) or no effect (Kellogg), indicating possible backlash effects. However, higher PSC-L resulted in more favorable perceived motives of the CSR program, driven by the company's moral grounds and corporate values, consequently resulting in greater CA associations (positive indirect impact). Thus, perceived value-driven motives can offset potential backlash effects related to CA associations and corresponding CSR outcomes.     

The effects of consideration of future consequences and CSR fit in stigmatized industries: Perceived CSR motives as mediators

This study explored the effects of fit between corporations and their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in stigmatized industries. Specifically, it examined how these effects vary depending on stakeholders’ consideration of future consequences (CFC) in influencing individuals’ attitudes toward CSR and corporations and purchase intentions; further, it explored whether such interaction effects are mediated by three underlying perceived motives. The study involved a between-subjects experiment with 144 college students. The results showed that high-CFC individuals perceived corporations with strong fit to their CSR initiatives as more stakeholder- and self-serving. The interaction effect also was mediated by stakeholder-serving motives in influencing purchase intentions and by self-serving motives in influencing CSR and corporation-related attitudes.     

Making nice may not matter: The interplay of crisis type,response type and crisis issue on perceived organizational responsibility

Experimental findings suggest limited effects for corporate social responsibility (CSR) to inoculate a company prior to a crisis. CSR may be viewed as accommodative window dressing that diminishes resources to assure corporate competence. When an accident occurs, emphasis in crisis communication on corporate ability (CA) may be more effective than CSR, especially when corporate culpability is low.     

Framing the corporate responsibility-reputation linkage: The case of Tata Motors in India

This study, focusing on the emerging economy context of one of India's largest automotive companies, Tata Motors, analyzes the thematic framing of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate reputation. Five CSR frames are shown: institutionalization, community development, modernization, mainstreaming, and nation-building. Reputation is framed via: heritage, nationbuilding, technological advancement, global footprint, and responsibility. The findings suggest how firms may better align their CSR efforts with regular business, and their larger public relations campaigns with wider social perceptions of their responsibilities.     

Communicating corporate LGBTQ advocacy: A computational comparison of the global CSR discourse

Corporations are increasingly engaging with political and social issues through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, in new areas such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) advocacy. Informed by institutional theory and stakeholder theory, this article systematically, comparatively, and computationally examines the intersection of LGBTQ advocacy and CSR communication. In particular, it contributes to the literature by (1) examining the global LGBTQ CSR discourse constructed by Fortune Global 500 companies (136,820 words) with semantic network analysis and structural topic modeling; (2) surveying non-profit organizations’ guidelines and comparing corporate values with them; and (3) exploring how stakeholder expectations and institutional factors influence CSR communication. Results indicate 6 corporate topics and 9 non-profit topics, which were explicated by referencing organizations’ original writing. It is further shown that stakeholder expectations and institutional factors not only affect whether or not corporations report LGBTQ efforts, but also affect what topics they highlight in CSR reports. Corporations in democratic countries with substantial stakeholder expectations emphasize areas that need high investment and exceed legal obligations.     

The politics of Latino publics: Immigration reform,political participation and intention to vote

Latinos are the largest U.S. minority group and are poised to play an increasingly important role in U.S. society. Public relations practitioners who work in politics should be interested in what motivates young Latinos to participate in politics. This study reports the findings of a national nonprobability survey with young Latinos (N = 434). The analysis explores how demographic variables, acculturation, political ideology and media use predict perceptions of the importance of immigration reform, reported political participation, and vote likelihood in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Of the dependent variables, findings show that acculturation (β = ?0.13) only predicts perceptions of the importance of immigration reform, suggesting acculturation’s effects are issue specific. Interest in politics is the largest influential factor in predicting all of the dependent variables.     

Unpack the relational and behavioral outcomes of internal CSR: Highlighting dialogic communication and managerial facilitation

This study examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication and management contributes to internal public relationship building and employees’ megaphoning behaviors. Specifically, it investigates how organization-public dialogic communication (OPDC) about CSR and organizational leaders’ facilitation behaviors for employees’ CSR engagement influence employees’ perceptions of two distinct types of organization-public relationships: communal and exchange relationships. Structural equation modeling results of 660 online survey responses suggest that OPDC has a positive association with communal relationships and negative association with exchange relationships. Facilitation behavior positively contributes to exchange relationships. Both communal and exchange relationships are positively associated with employees’ positive megaphoning. Yet, negative megaphoning is negatively linked with communal relationships and positively linked with exchange relationships. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on internal CSR communication and management. More importantly, it uncovers the nuanced effects of CSR on employee-organization communal and exchange relationship building.