scholarly journals Effects of the Type of CSR Discourse for Utilitarian and Hedonic Services

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 4821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pérez ◽  
María del Mar García de los Salmones ◽  
Elisa Baraibar-Diez
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Interaction Effect ◽  
Consumer Perceptions ◽  
Corporate Communication ◽  
Narrative Discourse ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Better Than

In a context of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication, we explore whether the use of expositive versus narrative discourses interacts with the type of service commercialized by the company (utilitarian vs. hedonic) to determine consumer perceptions and responses to corporate communication. Our main proposal is that, as representative examples of utilitarian services, banking companies would benefit significantly from communicating their CSR efforts with expositive discourses, whereas narrative discourses would be more adequate for hedonic services (e.g., catering). To test the research hypotheses, we use a 2 (expositive/narrative discourse) x 2 (utilitarian/hedonic service) between-subjects experimental design where we expose 302 consumers to different combinations of CSR messages and we evaluate changes in their message attributions and internal and external responses to them. The findings show that the interaction effect is significant and it works in the expected direction for issue importance, CSR fit, and CSR attributions. However, for CSR impact, attitude, trust, purchase, and advocacy intentions, the findings suggest that narrative discourses work better than expositive discourses both for utilitarian and hedonic services. No significant differences between types of discourses are observed for CSR motives, CSR commitment, and C-C identification and the interaction effect is also not significant for these variables.

Stories or Expositive Messages? Comparing Their Effectiveness in Corporate Social Responsibility Communication

2020 ◽  
pp. 232948842093925
Author(s):  
Andrea Pérez ◽  
Elisa Baraibar-Diez ◽  
María del Mar García de los Salmones
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Consumer Perceptions ◽  
Message Content ◽  
Consumer Responses ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Restaurant Chain ◽  
Issue Importance

In the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication, we explore whether consumer perceptions and responses differ when the message content is based on storytelling or exposition. The conceptual model that we propose in the article includes five attributes of CSR message content (i.e., issue importance, CSR impact, CSR motives, CSR fit, and CSR commitment) and their relationships to two types of consumer responses (i.e., purchase and advocacy). We collected data from 444 participants who evaluated the website of a fictitious restaurant chain that included information about its CSR activities using (a) storytelling or (b) expositive CSR messages. The findings suggest that the use of storytelling notably improves perceptions of issue importance, CSR impact, CSR fit, and CSR commitment. On the contrary, the type of CSR message does not differentiate consumer perceptions of corporate CSR motives. The use of storytelling or an expositive CSR message also has a significant impact on the conceptual model, with consumers responding more or less intensively to each attribute of the CSR message content depending on the type of message they are exposed to.

Sociology of tribalism for inclusive corporate social responsibility communication in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatai Olawale Ismail ◽  
Joseph Adepoju Tejumaiye
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Communication System ◽  
Corporate Communication ◽  
Primitive Form ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Corporate Social

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to deconstruct the term “tribalism” for its application to foster context and industry-based corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication system in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThis research used both the qualitative and quantitative research methods of data collection; it is an in-depth survey with multiple data collection settings.Findings(1) There is a pattern of CSR communication across the three industries sampled. (2) CSR across three industrial sectors is much about “donation” and “gift”. (3) CSR functions are now in a stand-alone corporate communication department. (4) CSR communication lacks the participatory mechanism to really involve the host communities' concerns. (5) Across the four organizations, CSR communication is often as financial or annual reports. (6) There is a general feeling and understanding that CSR and corporate communication in corporate organizations in n Nigeria require a more participatory mechanism. (7) CSR policy in Nigeria is till much of legal enforcement and efforts to have a national CSR commission has gone beyond legislation process.Research limitations/implicationsThis research was only able to collect data from four selected organizations representing just three industrial sectors (freight-forward, banking/finance and insurance) in Nigeria. There was no external funding to capture more organizations.Practical implicationsThe first implication of the findings of this study is that, for the practice of CSR and communication by corporate organizations in Nigeria, the system is much a top-down and non-participatory. This means host communities and other stakeholders do not have considerable participation in the organization's CSR and communication process. The companies in this study select or budget for CSR interventions they consider valuable to communities in most cases. This pattern of CSR operation cuts across the four selected organizations in this study. Thus, it could be argued that this pattern is an industrial/national phenomenon because all the respondents indicated that their organizations operate CSR based on what other related companies do in Nigeria. Second, the fact that CSR and communication by corporate organizations in Nigeria are regulatory influenced means many organizations may try to evade CSR activities by not budgeting for it.Social implicationsMeanwhile, in this study, deconstructing the evolutionary perspective which sees tribe as a primitive form of organization and relation characterized by the absence of a centralized collaborative system, it is argued that tribalism can catalyze systemic participation and oneness. In line with this perspective, tribal corporate organizations in Nigeria would model an alliance for CSR and communication system on proximity of operational context, that is, Nigeria. Being part of a tribe, corporate organizations as against the public ones will represent an identity reference for social corporate communication in Nigeria.Originality/valueDespite the theoretical problematic issues raised by the notion of tribe, it is deconstructed in this study to define modes of social organization, and it reflects native perceptions of a changing collective identity. Thus, it is also argued in this study, that there will be an increase in works on tribalism in organization communication and CSR in Nigeria as emerging business and global market will continue to shape the operation environment.

scholarly journals Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Management and Marketing Communication: Research Streams and Themes

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (49) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Ellerup Nielsen ◽  
Christa Thomsen
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Corporate Communication ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Marketing Communication ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
Corporate Social

This article maps the rapidly growing body of research in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) management and marketing communication, the focus being on research streams and themes. It evaluates this research from a corporate communication perspective. First, the article examines the concept of CSR communication. A typology of a number of possible domains for CSR communication research is developed, based on the way the different studies conceptualize CSR. Second, the article reviews the concepts of strategic and operative CSR communication which have been adopted widely within the CSR communication literature, relating these to research streams within management and marketing/public relations. Being framed within a corporate communication perspective, the review answers the call for CSR communication research to develop and substantiate outcomes that may better explain or inform CSR communication strategies and practices. A number of categories of outcomes are found within existing empirical studies, and an agenda for building upon this evidence is advanced to allow greater consistency and mutual understanding among CSR communication researchers.

scholarly journals Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: Responding to Investors’ Criticism on Social Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7396
Author(s):  
Yuming Zhang ◽  
Fan Yang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Media Criticism ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Csr Disclosure ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Companies use corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures to communicate their social and environmental policies, practices, and performance to stakeholders. Although the determinants and outcomes of CSR activities are well understood, we know little about how companies use CSR communication to manage a crisis. The few relevant CSR studies have focused on the pressure on corporations exerted by governments, customers, the media, or the public. Although investors have a significant influence on firm value, this stakeholder group has been neglected in research on CSR disclosure. Grounded in legitimacy theory and agency theory, this study uses a sample of Chinese public companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to investigate CSR disclosure in response to social media criticism posted by investors. The empirical findings show that investors’ social media criticism not only motivates companies to disclose their CSR activities but also increases the substantiveness of their CSR reports, demonstrating that companies’ CSR communication in response to a crisis is substantive rather than merely symbolic. We also find that the impact of social media criticism on CSR disclosure is heterogeneous. Non-state-owned enterprises, companies in regions with high levels of environmental regulations, and companies in regions with local government concern about social issues are most likely to disclose CSR information and report substantive CSR activities. We provide an in-depth analysis of corporate CSR strategies for crisis management and show that crises initiated by investors on social media provide opportunities for corporations to improve their CSR engagement.

The Serious and the Mundane: Reflections on Gamified CSR Communication

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Trittin ◽  
Christian Fieseler ◽  
Kateryna Maltseva
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Game Elements

We debate the strategic application of game elements to corporate messaging regarding societal and ecological concerns. We propose that gamified corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication is potentially well suited to create attention and involvement for corporate CSR initiatives. However, we argue that many gamification applications undermine their purpose and increase stakeholder suspicions about CSR. By debating the potential benefits and risks of gamified CSR communication, we aim to open the scholarly debate on the appropriateness of gamification in CSR.

The Independency of Corporate Social Responsibility Communication From Cultural Dimensions on Corporate Websites

2019 ◽  
pp. 126-152
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
Corporate Websites ◽  
Hofstede’S Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Different Levels

The chapter starts presenting the main elements of the coding scheme, previously introduced, that the author used to analyse the cultural impact on corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication on company websites. It presents the results of a quantitative content analysis of the websites of 352 organisations belonging to different geographical areas and included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSWI) and in the Hang Seng (Mainland and HK) Corporate Sustainability Index (HSMHUS). The findings show that Hofstede's cultural dimensions and online CSR communication belong to two different levels of analysis: one is innate, intuitive, and diffusive, while the other one is planned, intentional, and rational. Thus, the findings suggest that cultural dimensions are factors that need to be analysed as social aspects, while CSR communication on corporate websites has to be explored as a strategic feature. Finally, the chapter recommends areas for further discussion and research about the relation between traditional culture, culture of the Internet, and CSR, reflecting on the achieved results that largely differ from previous studies related to Hofstede's cultural dimensions and CSR communication.

Apparel firms’ corporate social responsibility communications

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongjoo Woo ◽  
Byoungho Jin
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose – Corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication is a strategy to address companies’ goodwill to the society. Based on the institutional theory suggesting the influence of environmental factors of companies’ country-of-origins on their marketing practices, the purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the CSR communication practices of apparel firms from different countries. Design/methodology/approach – As a case study approach, this study investigates six apparel firms’ CSR communication disclosures on the official websites using a content analysis method and the Global Reporting Initiative’s categorial CSR reporting guidelines. Findings – Findings revealed that the six firms’ CSR communication adoption levels and focusses varied; the USA firms largely focussed on labor issues, while the European firms focussed on environmental issues and the Asian firms centered on social issues. Research limitations/implications – Although this study has limitations that pertain to case studies in general, this study provides academic contributions to the literature and managerial implications about different CSR focusses and communication activities across countries. Originality/value – CSR is especially important for the apparel business that highly involves social issues such as labor-intensive production. However, limited research showed how apparel firms are actually communicating CSR. This study was one of the early attempts on this topic.

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