Institutionalization of corporate social responsibility within corporate communications

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of the paper is to develop a new framework depicting the incorporation of concepts such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) within corporate communication as a process that called "institutionalization by translation". The paper aims to develop a micro-meso-macroperspective to analyze why and how organizations institutionalize CSR with which effects. Design/methodology/approach -The paper brings together institutional, sensemaking and communication theories. The paper builds on neo-institutionalism to frame the external conditions that foster or hinder the institutionalization of CSR on the macro-and meso-level. And the paper uses sensemaking and communication theories to describe this process on the meso-and micro-level. The paper illustrates the analysis by describing the CSR strategies of a large European energy company. Findings -CSR can be regarded as an empty concept that is based on moral communication and filled with different meanings. The analysis describes how CSR is internally translated (moralization and amoralization), which communication strategies are developed here (symbolic, dialogic, etc.) and that CSR communications are publicly negotiated. The analysis shows that the institutionalization of CSR bears not only opportunities, but also risks for corporations and can, therefore, be described as a "downward spirale of legitimacy and upward spiral of CSR institutionalization". Finally, alternative ways of coping with external demands are developed ("management by hypocrisis" and "defaulted communication"). Practical implications -The paper shows risk and explains more effective ways of building organizational legitimacy. Originality/value -The originality lays in the macro-meso-micro-perspective on the institutionalization of CSR. It allows the description of this process and its effects from the background of constraints and sensemaking and offers a new perspective on organizational legitimacy building.

The Promotion of Responsible Tourism Management Through Digital Media

“…CSR communication is produced, translated, and integrated according to specific reality constructions (Schultz & Wehmeier, 2010). Strategic manipulation and isomorphic adaptation strategies are often organised by the firm in one-way corporate communication events with selected stakeholders (Morsing & Schultz, 2006) as traditional media are based on a hierarchical one-to-many communication; with a clear distinction between producer and consumer of information.…”

“…Such interactive communications are referred to as "viral" because ideas and opinions spread like epidemic diseases through the network via word-of-mouth (Litvin et al, 2008;Lin & Huang, 2006). These channels are perceived as highly trustworthy sources (Hansen, Arvidsson, Nielsen, Colleoni & Etter, 2011;Schultz & Wehmeier, 2010).…”

Samsung and Volkswagen Crisis Communication in Facebook and Twitter - A Comparative Study

“…According to Meng (1992) a trigger event related to performance in public relations, for example caused by unethical action, can function as a catalyst to activate a crisis. CSR challenges are crises when expectations created are not delivered by an organization and can thus result in a reputational crisis (Friederike Schultz and Stefan Wehmeier, 2010;Timothy Coombs and Sherry Holladay, 2015). The concept of para-crisis, a crisis primarily existing in web discussions, illustrates new ways of crises to manifest themselves fast, making lack of responsibility in organizational behavior widely known among the public (Coombs and Holladay, 2012).…”

Communicative Dynamics and the Polyphony of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Network Society

“…Organizations are often confronted with alternative reality constructions about their operations, products, or services. Various audiences and protesters critically observe corporations' actions, evaluate to what extent they are aligned with societal or environmental norms and expectations, and put moral pressure on them, which in turn triggers the institutionalization of CSR (Schultz and Wehmeier 2010). In addition, companies' CSR initiatives and sustainability reports are discussed intensively and critically, and are frequently criticized for being selective (Hess 2008).…”

“…First, we build on a third view on CSR that has recently emerged, the communicative view ; see also Golob et al 2013;Schultz and Wehmeier 2010), which challenges instrumental and political-normative perspectives that propose CSR as instrument for producing consensus, control and consistency. We extend this view with a media theoretical perspective to get a better understanding of the characteristics, dynamics and implications of the interplay between new media and CSR.…”