Extending the Field

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to present empirical research the author conducted in the fields of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication and cultural dimensions. The chapter evaluates how Hofstede's cultural dimensions in CSR content varies between companies in the Asian context and other organisations in the world. The research considers three out of Hofstede's five cultural dimensions: individualism vs. collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance. The first part of the empirical research analyses these cultural dimensions and introduces the research questions. Answering these questions allows the author to compare the CSR communication of countries with an Asian background with the CSR communications of other countries. Moreover, the chapter illustrates the pros and cons of applying a content analysis (i.e., the select method) to achieve an in-depth understanding of the cultural influence on CSR contents embedded in corporate websites. Finally, the chapter recommends areas for further discussion and research of the relation between culture and CSR.