scholarly journals Like It or Not: When Corporate Social Responsibility Does Not Attract Potential Applicants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Alexandra Jakob ◽  
Holger Steinmetz ◽  
Marius Claus Wehner ◽  
Christina Engelhardt ◽  
Rüdiger Kabst
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Signaling Theory ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Organizational Attractiveness ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Fortune 500 Companies ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Corporate Social

AbstractCompanies increasingly recognize the importance of communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR) including their engagement toward employees, the community, the environment and other stakeholder groups to attract applicants. The positive findings on the effect of CSR on applicants’ reactions are commonly based on the assumption that companies send a clear signal about their commitment to CSR. However, communication is always contextualized and has become more ambiguous through the increased availability of information online. External stakeholders including actual and potential applicants are confronted with inconsistencies between the way companies communicate CSR activities and their overall CSR performance. Drawing on signaling theory, this article raises the question of how the interaction between strong CSR communication and low CSR performance influences organizational attractiveness. We propose that low CSR performance dampens the effect of CSR communication on organizational attractiveness. Hence, the inconsistency between CSR communication and CSR performance decreases organizational attractiveness. To test our hypotheses, we scraped 67,189 posts published on corporate Facebook career pages by 58 Fortune 500 companies from the time they began their respective career page until June 2018. Surprisingly, our results show that a low CSR performance strengthens the effect of CSR communication on organizational attractiveness. Thus, inconsistencies between CSR communication and CSR performance seem to lead to positive evaluations among applicants.

Longitudinal Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility on Company Websites

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Taken Smith
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Dominant Focus ◽  
Fortune 500 Companies ◽  
Business Practitioners ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Website Content

As social issues increase, so does the scope of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Companies are expanding their CSR activities and making the terminology used to describe them more specific. This study compares website content of Fortune 500 companies in 2015 with content collected in 2011. Traditionally, two CSR issues have been the dominant focus on company websites: community and environment. Findings reveal that these terms have decreased in usage and new terms have emerged, such as supply chain and volunteer involvement. A shift has occurred that business practitioners will find helpful in communicating CSR initiatives.

Communicating bad news in corporate social responsibility reporting: A genre-based analysis of Chinese companies

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-43
Author(s):  
Yuting Lin
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Bad News ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
Fortune 500 Companies ◽  
Chinese Companies ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting ◽  
Corporate Social

In corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, companies are expected to fully disclose the negative social and environmental impacts of their activities. This study investigates how Chinese companies respond to this challenge by analyzing the representations of occupational fatalities and injuries in 92 CSR reports from 37 Chinese Fortune 500 companies. A move-step analysis was performed on one part of the CSR report, which is the section providing information on occupational incidents. It was found that the negative information was typically disclosed via four rhetorical moves, which are ‘preparing the reader’, ‘delivering the bad news’, ‘mitigating the bad news’ and ‘reassuring the reader’. Communicating bad news through the four moves helps manage the reader’s perception of the reporting company and its CSR performance. The study calls for greater attention to the impression-managing aspects of companies’ self-disclosure of organizational bad news.

scholarly journals Local Citizens Influence on the Company’s CSR Communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
Younes Zieita ◽  
Samiha Chenag
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Social Information ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Corporate Social

Abstract According to Stakeholders Theory, we believe that the companies’ will to communicate about their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actions, can be fed by their stakeholders’ influence. Hence, we aim through this study to know the extent to which the local citizens of Annaba, as external stakeholders, influence Fertial’s CSR communication. To fulfil this purpose, we have used an online survey in order to collect quantitative data from residents of Annaba. Results show that locals have high expectations regarding Fertial’s environmental and social information. Nevertheless, they do not have serious influence on Fertial’s CSR communication, because they do not exert impactful pressures to incite this company to communicate more about its CSR engagements.

scholarly journals Stakeholder Expectation of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices: A Case Study of PWiK Rybnik, Poland

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3337
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kuzior ◽  
Józef Ober ◽  
Janusz Karwot
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Corporate Social

Practices of corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially in organizations providing key services, related to the supply of fuel, water and energy, are extremely important from the point of view of identifying stakeholders with the functioning of enterprises in line with the principles of a closed loop economy. The article discusses the origins and evolution of the concept of corporate social responsibility, with particular emphasis on the water supply and sewage industry. The research problem was the perception and expectations of stakeholders toward prosocial activities of PWiK Rybnik (Sewage and Water Supply Ltd. Rybnik). The hypothesis assumed in the study was that the external stakeholders of PWIK Rybnik positively assess the company’s involvement in the tasks carried out as part of corporate social responsibility, they notice the involvement in educational activities and additional initiatives of PWIK that improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. For the purpose of this study, a quantitative method was used. For the purpose of the survey, the authors’ questionnaire “Survey of customers’ opinions on the activities undertaken by PWiK Rybnik” was created. The surveys conducted confirmed the hypothesis that the external stakeholders of PWIK Rybnik positively assess the company’s involvement in the tasks performed as part of corporate social responsibility; they notice the involvement in educational activities and additional initiatives of PWIK that improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. The results of the research made it possible to formulate guidelines for the operation of water supply and sewage companies in accordance with corporate social responsibility in the light of the opinions of their stakeholders.

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.

Corporate social responsibility and organizational attractiveness: implications for talent management

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana Story ◽  
Filipa Castanheira ◽  
Silvia Hartig
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Talent Management ◽  
Organizational Attractiveness ◽  
Firm Reputation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Job Advertisement ◽  
Organizational Reputation ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose Talent management is a twenty-first-century concern. Attracting talented individuals to organizations is an important source for firm competitive advantage. Building on signaling theory, this paper proposes that corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be an important tool for talent recruitment. Design/methodology/approach Across two studies, this paper found support for this hypothesized relationship. In Study 1, a job advertisement was manipulated to include information about CSR and tested it in two groups of 120 master’s degree students who would be in the job market within the year. It was found that CSR was an important factor that increased organizational attractiveness. In Study 2, with 532 external talented stakeholders of 16 organizations, our findings were replicated and advanced by testing whether perceptions of CSR practices (internal and external) influenced perceptions of organizational attractiveness and if this relationship was mediated by organizational reputation. Findings This study found that perceptions of internal CSR practices were directly related to both organizational attractiveness and firm reputation. However, perceptions of external CSR practices were related only to organizational attractiveness through organizational reputation. Research limitations/implications The article’s one of the main limitations has to do with generalizability of the results and the potential common method variance bias. Practical implications The findings demonstrate that CSR can play an effective role in attracting potential employees, through enhancement of organizational reputation and organizational attractiveness. If organizations are willing to implement practices that protect and develop their employees, along with practices that improve the quality of the natural environment and the well-being of the society, they can become an employer-of-choice. Originality/value This study expands on previous studies by including an experimental design, including two types of CSR practices and a mediating variable in this field study.

Conscience as control – managing employees through CSR

Organization ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Costas ◽  
Dan Kärreman
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Critical Engagement ◽  
Management Consultancy ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Corporate Social

Corporate social responsibility has become an important topic for both academics and practitioners. CSR typically stands for corporate responses to ethical, environmental and social issues. Whilst extant research has predominately focused on CSR in relation to external stakeholders and taking a macro-institutional and/or functionalist perspective, we provide a critical engagement with the interactions between CSR, employees and management control within organizations. Qualitative data gathered at two management consultancy firms demonstrate how CSR discourses and practices serve to construct an idealized image of a socially, ecologically and ethically responsible corporate self. In this way, CSR works as a form of aspirational control that ties employees’ aspirational identities and ethical conscience to the organization. The article discusses the implications of CSR concerning cynical distancing, ethical sealing and the space for politics and critique in corporations.

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.

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