CSR communication:quo vadis?

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to introduce the special issue on CSR communication attached to the First International CSR Communication Conference held in Amsterdam in October 2011. The aim of the introduction is also to review CSR communication papers published in scholarly journals in order to make a summary of the state of CSR communication knowledge.Design/methodology/approachThe existing literature on CSR communication was approached via systematic review. with a combination of conventional and summative qualitative content analysis. The final dataset contained 90 papers from two main business and management databases, i.e. EBSCOhost and ProQuest.FindingsPapers were coded into three main categories. The results show that the majority of the papers are concerned with disclosure themes. Considerably less salient are papers that fall under process‐oriented themes and the outcomes/consequences of CSR communications. The most important outlets for CSR communication‐related topics are Journal of Business Ethics and Corporate Communications: An International Journal.Originality/valueThis paper represents the first attempt to perform a systematic and comprehensive overview of CSR communication papers in scholarly journals. Its value is in making this rather vast and heterogeneous literature more visible and accessible to all CSR communication scholars.

The Promotion of Responsible Tourism Management Through Digital Media

“…The value of their communications lies in their ability to open up lines of dialogue through stories and ideas that reflect their stakeholders' interests (Fieseler & Fleck, 2013;Moreno & Capriotti, 2009;Whelan et al, 2013;Schultz et al, 2013). For these reasons, companies cannot afford to overstate or misrepresent their CSR communications that could ultimately foster positive behaviours or compel remedial action (Etter, 2013;Golob, Podnar, Elving, Ellerup Nielsen, & Thomsen, 2013;Nielsen & Thomsen, 2009;Dawkins, 2005;Lewis, 2003;Manheim & Pratt, 1986). …”

Researching Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: Themes, Opportunities and Challenges

“…To elaborate on the latter theme, the notion of paradigm in CSR communication relates to core assumptions regarding the role of language in each of the five literature streams. We draw upon a distinction established within the field of communication theory (Craig, ), but popularized within the CSR communication literature (e.g., Golob et al, ; Schoeneborn and Trittin, ; Schultz et al, ), that of a functionalist/constitutive binary. Craig (, p. 125) argues that the constitutive model is largely defined ‘by contrast with its dialectical opposite, a transmission, or informational, model of communication that… continues to dominate lay and much academic thought’.…”

“…Looking towards the ontological and epistemological grounding of conceptualizations of CSR communication, contributions cross the divide of functionalist and constitutive approaches, with a more minor role played by normative approaches. A number of CSR communication scholars (e.g., Golob et al, ; May, ; Morsing and Schultz, ; Schoeneborn and Trittin, ; Schultz, et al, ) have elaborated on this paradigmatic divide, but it is evident that the CSR communication literature is often aligned with the central theoretical paradigm in a given core discipline (e.g., with functionalism in marketing), but also sometimes part of a shift towards a new way of thinking or even at the centre of a paradigmatic battle within the discipline.…”

“…Constitutive views are also being cultivated in marketing and consumer research to offer greater insight into the roles consumers play in ‘co‐constructing’ brand meaning and experience around CSR, particularly in service contexts (Vargo, ). And while constitutive approaches have been relatively rare in the corporate communications literature to date (Golob et al, ), conceptual work is making important in‐roads (e.g., Schoeneborn and Trittin, ).…”

Analysis of communication executives and managers in Spain: Socio-demographic, organizational and attitudinal characteristics from a gender perspective

“…This is in spite of the fact that, professional practice aside, organizational public relations and communication have given rise to their own field of investigation (Botan and Taylor 2004: 645) dealt with in numerous systematic reviews of the discipline in general (Castillo and Xifra 2006;Kim et al 2014;Krohling 2011;Míguez-González et al 2014;Morton and Lin 1995;Pasadeos et al 2010;Pasadeos et al 1999;Pasadeos and Renfro 1992), and of specific practices such as crisis communication (García and Smolak-Lozano 2013;Kim et al 2009), corporate social responsibility (Golob et al 2013), relationships between the organization and its audience (Ki and Shin 2006), theories (Sallot et al 2003) and online public relations (Ye and ki 2012).…”