News about corporate social responsibility (CSR): the interplay of intermedia agenda setting influences between corporate news releases and press coverage

Abstract

Due to the lack of a standard definition for the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), various discourse communities have assigned different meanings to it. Based on the intermedia agenda setting theory, this study examines the extent to which CSR-related news releases published by the two electricity providers in Hong Kong have influenced press coverage over a 6-year period between 2006 and 2011. A total of 202 news releases and 1,045 news articles were content-analyzed based on the following mutually exclusive categories of CSR-related news events: operations, education, community, products and services, recognition, environment, and donations and sponsorships. This study found that operations-related and products and servicesrelated news releases were more likely to be reported in the press. Recognition-related news releases were the least likely to be reported. Based on the findings, this study posits that two criteria would determine whether a CSR-related news release is likely to be covered in the press: the extent to which the news events are relevant to the core operations of the corporations and the extent to which the news events make an impact on society.

Los fashion films como contenido particular del marketing de moda: un análisis de su naturaleza en el contexto de los mensajes híbridos

“…Diversos autores coinciden en que el content marketing tiene como principal fin el educar al consumidor, para lo cual se centra en generar contenido de carácter informativo y educativo (De Aguilera et al, 2016; Content Marketing Institute, s. f.; Rancati y Gordini, 2014;Hallahan, 2014;Lieb, 2011;Patrutiu, 2015;Rahim y Clemens, 2012). De Aguilera et al (2016) nos ofrecen una definición completa de content marketing:…”

Implicit frames of CSR: The interplay between the news media, organizational PR, and the public

“…Although a universal all-embracing definition of CSR is lacking (Tam, 2015;Van Marrewijk, 2003), CSR can be defined by means of various responsibilities of organizations toward society. These responsibilities of organizations toward society can be distinguished into four dimensions: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic (Carroll, 1979;Lee & Carroll, 2011).…”

“…These perspectives have one particular aspect in common: the acknowledgment that organizations have responsibilities toward society that go beyond their own interests and legal requirements (Amaladoss & Manohar, 2013;Podnar, 2008). However, due to changing norms, values, and expectations in society over the years, there is an ongoing discussion about what CSR should entail and in which way it should be communicated (Tam, 2015). Organizational public relations (PR) is acknowledged to be an important domain with regard to the communication about CSR (Du, Bhattacharya, & Sen, 2010).…”

“…Organizational public relations (PR) is acknowledged to be an important domain with regard to the communication about CSR (Du, Bhattacharya, & Sen, 2010). However, CSR communication is not necessarily dominated by organizations (Burchell & Cook, 2006;Tam, 2015); news media are important in CSR communication as well (Du et al, 2010;Tam, 2015). Finally, the public realm is a domain with a significant role in the communication about CSR (Burchell & Cook, 2006).…”

Market Communication: Ethical and Praxeological Dimensions

“…Appealing to rational arguments is more effective in communicating CSR initiatives on the environment, while appealing to emotional arguments is more effective in communicating CSR initiatives related to employee issues; in both types of services (hedonic and utilitarian), there is a significant effect on consumers by assigning motives to engage the company in CSR; appealing to rational arguments of messages influences consumers' awareness of CSR issues and their emotional responses to utilitarian services (Andreu et al, 2015). Tam's (2015) research shows that CSR events and information are more likely to be of interest to the press or to the media if they are more closely linked to the core business of the company and the greater their impact on society.…”