The paradoxical effects of communicating CSR activities: Why CSR communication has both positive and negative effects on the perception of a company’s social responsibility

Supporting societal goals and sustainable developments can help a company to be seen as socially responsible. This corporate social responsibility (CSR) must be communicated effectively as too intensive communication could negatively affect the company’s perception. These negative effects may be caused by an imbalance between the amount of CSR communication and the actual extent of CSR activities. Two experiments show that increased CSR communication has a negative indirect effect on perceptions of a company’s social responsibility, mediated by persuasive intent and reactance. However, depending on the extent of a company’s actual CSR activities, there is also a countervailing direct effect: A high extent of CSR communication positively affects perceptions of a company’s social responsibility if the company engages in a great number of CSR activities. In contrast, if a company only engages in a few activities but communicates a lot about it, this positive effect may even become negative.     

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.     

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.     

Sea change: Santa Barbara and the eruption of corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs have proliferated among the world's largest corporations. While the lion's share of scholarly attention has been devoted to the competitive advantage of CSR as a branding strategy, very little notice has been taken of CSR's history, particularly the emergence of CSR programs during the politically turbulent l960s and l970s. The paucity of historical attention has led to several distortions, including the failure to recognize CSR's origins as a survivalist reaction to crisis, and the resulting overemphasis of CSR as an unambiguously ethical model of managerial proactive effectiveness. Based on an examination of newspaper records of a politically crystallizing oil spill in the waters off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, and an analysis of CSR's market penetration and rhetoric, this paper offers an alternative framework for reexamining corporate social responsibility.     

Convergence or divergence? A comparative analysis of CSR communication by leading firms in Asia,Europe, and North America

Through the lens of the communicative institutionalism and an extensive content analysis of corporate websites, this study compared corporate social responsibility (CSR) institutional messages by firms across three macro regions. The findings show that Asian firms do not present significant differences in how they expose their orientation to sustainability (i.e. “CSR identity” messages) than Western counterparts. However, Asian firms seem significantly less inclined to engage in CSR messages concerning “organization and management”, messages on “CSR interactivity” and those regarding “CSR as business case” compared with European firms. The difference between Asian and North American firms mostly concerns the former’s less salient use of “business case” messages for CSR. The comparative study sheds light on the pattern of CSR crossvergence across the West and East, reflecting hybridized CSR expressions across forms of CSR institutional messages.     

Corporate social responsibility as a legitimate concern for Chinese enterprises: An analysis of media depictions

This study interprets rationales for greater corporate attention to societal needs, as outlined in the mediated public discourse in China. Findings suggest that (1) there are multiple lines of reasoning regarding the adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and (2) social involvement is advocated because CSR constitutes an ideal topic for the articulation of faith in what means success in business ventures. This study offers a culturally informed explication of the instrumental and ethical arguments for CSR.     

Corporate social responsibility communication of Chinese and global corporations in China

This paper explored how leading Chinese and global companies operating in China communicate their corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles and practices to the Chinese stakeholders through a content analysis of these companies’ corporate websites. It was found that companies usually take one of the following three major approaches in their CSR communication: CSR as ad hoc public philanthropy, CSR as strategic philanthropy, and CSR as ethical business practices. Furthermore, this paper examined the effects of country of origin and industry on companies’ CSR communication and found that whether companies are targeting at businesses or consumers has a bigger impact on their CSR communication than whether they are Chinese or global. Finally, despite a tendency towards convergence, Chinese and global companies still present their CSR principles and practices differently because of their different relations with major Chinese and global stakeholders.     

Stakeholder influence,government power,and new opportunities for Chinese Internet companies: A multilevel network analysis of cross-sector networks

In recent decades, Chinese Internet companies have experienced exponential growth. As the Internet industry increasingly commends tremendous financial resources, they also face growing stakeholder expectations for corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions. One way through which Chinese Internet companies conduct CSR is by building cross-sectoral collaborations with nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and governmental agencies. Aiming to understand Internet companies’ strategic relationship building on CSR issues, the researchers drew from stakeholder influence theory and research on a network approach to stakeholder influence, and applied multilevel network analysis to model three networks related to Chinese Internet companies’ CSR collaborations. Specifically, we found that power and urgency are significant predictors of the structure of Internet companies’ cross-sector CSR alliance network. Organizations affiliated or endorsed by the central Chinese government are the most desirable CSR stakeholders. Additionally, the study also revealed that for Internet companies, devoting their attention to Internet-related social issues could increase their desirability as strategic stakeholders from other sectors and among Internet companies.     

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.     

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.     

Corporate social responsibility and the oil industry: Theory and perspective fuel a longitudinal view

To gain an in-depth theoretically-grounded understanding of managing corporate social responsibility (CSR), the current study offers four key propositions for CSR theory development: (1) Living corporate social responsibility from the inside out, (2) Earning trust of the public and the media, (3) Giving back as a community citizen, and (4) Accepting that we’re all in this together, but still unique. Also offered are five best practices for public relations in the oil industry. All emerged during in-depth interviews with three senior public relations managers of a leading independent US oil company; executives who have navigated CSR decision making and practices through nearly five decades (1966-2010) at different points in time. In the wake of two massive 2010 oil spill crises in North American waters that garnered extensive media attention, findings are particularly relevant for advancing CSR theory and for providing complex insider perspectives less traveled in the public relations literature.     

Corporation as climate ambassador: Transcending business sector boundaries in a Swedish CSR campaign

At a time when corporations are addressing increasingly complex, global corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues, this study examines and evaluates the strategies used in Vattenfall's challenging and innovative CSR campaign which aimed at establishing the energy company as a credible climate ambassador. Based on an analysis of the campaign outcomes in terms of the distinct interests and competencies of business, government and civil sector actors, I suggest that the company's credibility was weakened by its portrayal of Vattenfall as being more intent on organizing a public, collective action to fight climate change than on securing company-related business interests. Two ways to ensure greater credibility in similar cases are proposed: communicating explicitly about company motives for conducting CSR campaigns, and carrying out CSR campaigns in collaboration with non-profit organizations.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Corporate social responsibility engagement and communication by Chinese companies

Premised upon the centrality of relationship management in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and public relations functions, and the growing momentum toward CSR in China, this study reports survey results of corporate communication/public relations executives in Chinese companies on aspects of CSR accountability and transparency. Responses to four key topical areas – drivers for CSR engagement, areas of practice, importance of CSR communication, and preferred channels for communication – suggest a strong concern for corporate image and culture in pursuing CSR, an overwhelming emphasis on disaster relief despite the recognition of a much broader array of societal priorities, and the Chinese companies’ current reliance on in-house and Internet media for CSR communication.     

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.     

Uncovering CSR meaning networks: A cross-national comparison of Turkey and Slovenia

This study addressed an important question about the meaning of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and how it is measured. Based on a comparison of the meaning networks of CSR in two countries with fundamentally different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, we argue that there is a need for an institutional perspective when studying CSR associations and expectations in a particular society. Thus empirical study involved the use of three methods the word-association technique, social network analysis, and blockmodeling using Pajek software; to provide deep insight into the structure of CSR associations. The findings suggest that the two societies have diverse collective cognitive structures regarding CSR. In Turkey, the philanthropic understanding of CSR is highly dominant, while the Slovenian social meaning of CSR is multidimensional. The findings point to the social construction of the concept of CSR with implications both for academic research and practice.     

Welfare and capital-theoretic foundations of corporate social responsibility and corporate sustainability

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate sustainability (CS) are variously defined in the literature. Providing formal definitions for the two concepts, we show in this article that CS and CSR are distinct but interrelated concepts that can be usefully formalized with capital-theoretic and welfare economic approaches. CSR can particularly constitute a strategy to cope with externalities and serve as insurance against reputational risks that harm profit prospects and corporate value. Moreover, we present a formal approach for integrating the societal perspective of sustainable development with the corporate perspective of CSR and CS. This approach is complementary to a company's internal CSR and CS evaluation.