Exploring CSR communication: Linking institutional pressures, legitimacy, and rhetoric

By presenting an overview of institutional theory, specifically the concepts of organizational fields, institutional pressures, and legitimacy, in addition to classical rhetoric, we have sought to highlight that there are links within the literature between the concepts of institutional theory and legitimacy, and also legitimacy and classical rhetoric. To date however, the three concepts – institutional pressures, legitimacy, and rhetoric – have not been explicitly linked. Through building on the current literature, and using the notion of legitimacy as the axis to connect institutional pressures with rhetoric, we argue that certain rhetorical devices may in fact be used to build and construct legitimacy in relation to the different institutional pressures an organization may face within a field. We believe that this preliminary framework may be useful to the field of CSR communication, whereby it may assist in constructing legitimate CSR communication in response to the various pressures an organization may face in relation to CSR.

Responses, relationships and responsibility : examining influences on organisational assets during crisis

This thesis explains how an organisation's relationships with its key stakeholders influence the public's view of its responsibility for a crisis event and how this subsequently influences the protective and reparative powers of its crisis response on its reputation and legitimacy. From the results, a continuum of the influencing effect of relationship history was developed which demonstrates the positive and negative frames through which stakeholders view an organisation in crisis and its response. Organisational age and the evaluative character of its relationships with key stakeholders were considered in the experimental design as descriptors of an organisation's relationship history. The findings provide guidance to crisis managers on effective crisis response selection.

Learner-focused evaluation cycles : facilitating learning using feedforward, concurrent and feedback evaluation

There is a growing trend to offer students learning opportunities that are flexible, innovative and engaging. As educators embrace student-centred agile teaching and learning methodologies, which require continuous reflection and adaptation, the need to evaluate students’ learning in a timely manner has become more pressing. Conventional evaluation surveys currently dominate the evaluation landscape internationally, despite recognition that they are insufficient to effectively evaluate curriculum and teaching quality. Surveys often: (1) fail to address the issues for which educators need feedback, (2) constrain student voice, (3) have low response rates and (4) occur too late to benefit current students. Consequently, this paper explores principles of effective feedback to propose a framework for learner-focused evaluation. We apply a three-stage control model, involving feedforward, concurrent and feedback evaluation, to investigate the intersection of assessment and evaluation in agile learning environments. We conclude that learner-focused evaluation cycles can be used to guide action so that evaluation is not undertaken simply for the benefit of future offerings, but rather to benefit current students by allowing ‘real-time’ learning activities to be adapted in the moment. As a result, students become co-producers of learning and evaluation becomes a meaningful, responsive dialogue between students and their instructors.

Internet-enabled tourism entrepreneurs. International entrepreneurial values elicited through repertory test and laddering analysis

Although the tourism industry has been dramatically altered due to the Internet, there has been limited research published about international entrepreneurial values and Internet use in tourism firms. The findings of this study point to a relationship between the values of Internet-enabled international entrepreneurs in small-sized to medium-sized enterprises and the inclination of the firm to develop and initiate international activity. The findings of this study suggest that Internet-enabled tourism entrepreneurs share similar construct values. Two effective but underutilized qualitative methods were used in this study. The first method, repertory test, is an efficient technique for exploring constructs in decision making; the second method, laddering analysis, facilitates understanding of the perceived consequences and personal values guiding behaviour.

Concealed texting while driving : what are young people’s beliefs about this risky behaviour?

Making a conscious effort to hide the fact that one is texting while driving (i.e., concealed texting) is a deliberate and risky behaviour involving attention diverted from the road. As the most frequent users of text messaging services and mobile phones while driving, young people appear at heightened crash risk from engaging in this behaviour. First, several small focus group discussions (N = 12) were carried out to elicit the underlying salient beliefs regarding this behaviour, in accordance with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Findings from these discussions, in conjunction with available prior evidence regarding general mobile phone use while driving, then informed questionnaire items that assessed young peoples’ beliefs regarding this behaviour, as well as intention to engage in this behaviour in the next week. In the questionnaire phase of the study, participants (N = 171) were aged 17–25 years, owned a mobile phone, and held a current driver’s licence. Results showed that there were significant differences between low and high intenders (to engage in concealed texting while driving) on the behavioural, normative, and control beliefs investigated. Specifically, high intenders were more likely to believe that concealed texting while driving would result in sharing information with others, using time effectively, and were less likely to think that free-flowing traffic would prevent their engagement in this behaviour. By targeting these beliefs, these findings may potentially inform the development of advertising and other public intervention strategies, aimed at ensuring young drivers reconsider their engagement in this risky behaviour.

On Chinese Modal Particle A (啊) : A Pragmatic and Semantic Study

Chinese modal particles feature prominently in Chinese people’s daily use of the language, but their pragmatic and semantic functions are elusive as commonly recognised by Chinese linguists and teachers of Chinese as a foreign language. This book originates from an extensive and intensive empirical study of the Chinese modal particle a (啊), one of the most frequently used modal particles in Mandarin Chinese. In order to capture all the uses and the underlying meanings of the particle, the author transcribed the first 20 episodes, about 20 hours in length, of the popular Chinese TV drama series Kewang ‘Expectations’, which yielded a corpus data of more than 142’000 Chinese characters with a total of 1829 instances of the particle all used in meaningful communicative situations. Within its context of use, every single occurrence of the particle was analysed in terms of its pragmatic and semantic contributions to the hosting utterance. Upon this basis the core meanings were identified which were seen as constituting the modal nature of the particle.

Affective events theory as a framework for understanding third-party consumer complaints

Poor complaint management may result in organizations losing customers and revenue. Consumers exhibit negative emotional responses when dissatisfied and this may lead to a complaint to a third-party organization. Since little information is available on the role of emotion in the consumer complaint process or how to manage complaints effectively, we offer an emotions perspective by applying Affective Events Theory (AET) to complaint behavior. This study presents the first application of AET in a consumption context and advances a theoretical framework supported by qualitative research for emotional responses to complaints. In contrast to commonly held views on gender and emotion, men as well as women use emotion-focused coping to complain.

Examining fan attitudes toward sponsor brands using social identity frameworks

The majority of academic research has attempted to explain the effectiveness of sponsorship activities by focusing on individual outcomes (Cornwell, Weeks, & Roy, 2005). The current research builds upon the limited empirical studies that examine sponsorship outcomes using group behaviour theories (Cornwell & Coote, 2005; Gwinner & Swanson, 2003; Madrigal, 2000, 2001). Specifically, this study closely examines tenets of social identity theory (Brewer, 1991; Tajfel & Turner, 1979) within the context of sports sponsorship to test effects of team identification on attitudes toward associated sponsor brands. 1,840 unique surveys were collected from fans of the Queensland Maroons and New South Wales Blues rugby clubs over four timepoints during the 2012 State of Origin series. The results suggest that social identity effects were present regarding ingroup bias toward sponsor brands. Local sponsors were rated higher than non-local sponsors, suggesting that local brands may benefit more from sponsorship.

Four Aces : Bringing Communication Perspectives to Corporate Social Responsibility

The purpose of this chapter is to address the question of how communication studies can prove its value in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR). As many disciplines seek to understand CSR, the role of communication has been relatively underexplored despite its prevalence in demonstrating and shaping social responsibility positions and practice. Literature review. The literature review points to what we consider as four aces. Communication studies alert us to (1) how meaning is constructed through communication, something that has implications for the management of organizations as publics hold different views of CSR and expect different things from them; (2) how a dialogue between an organization and its publics should unfold; (3) how practices of transparency can assist organizations to come across as trustworthy actors; and, importantly, (4) how a complexity view is fruitful to grasp the CSR communication process. These four key themes could be instructive for practitioners who want to argue for and demonstrate the usefulness of strategic communication for the management of CSR and bridge meso and macro levels of analysis.

Export readiness index : construction and analysis

The internationalisation process of firms has attracted much research interest since the 1970s. It is noted, however, that a significant research gap exists in studies with a primary focus on the pre-internationalisation behaviour of firms. This paper proposes the incorporation of a pre-internationalisation phase into the traditional Uppsala model of firm internationalisation to address the issue of export readiness. Through extensive literature review, the concepts fundamental to the ability of an Uppsala type firm to begin internationalisation through an export entry mode are identified: exposure to stimuli factors, attitudinal commitment of decision makers towards exporting, the firm’s resource capabilities, as well as the moderating effect of lateral rigidity. The concept of export readiness is operationalised in this study through the construction of an export readiness index (ERI) using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The index is then applied to some representative cases and tested using logistic regression to establish its validity as a diagnostic tool. The proposed ERI presents not only a more practical approach towards analysing firms’ export readiness but has also major public policy implications as a possible tool for government export promotion agencies.

CSR communication and legitimacy : an institutional and rhetorical perspective

This study drew on the notions of institutional theory, legitimacy, and rhetoric, and explored propositions drawn from these concepts to consider the why and how of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. In doing so, this thesis found that there was often a disconnect between why the organisations were communicating about CSR activities in their reports and how the organisations were communicating about these activities.

The Media and Communications in Australia, [4th Edition]

The most widely used introduction to the Australian media, fully updated to reflect the increasing prominence of the internet in the communication and entertainment industries. Description Traditional media are being reshaped by digital technologies. The funding model for quality journalism has been undermined by the drift of advertising online, demarcations between different forms of media are rapidly fading, and audiences have fragmented. We can catch up with our favourite TV show on a tablet, social media can be more important than mainstream radio in a crisis, and organisations large and small have become publishers in their own right on apps. Nevertheless mainstream media remain powerful. The Media and Communications in Australia offers a systematic introduction to this dynamic field. Fully updated and revised to take account of recent developments, this fourth edition outlines the key media industries and explains how communications technologies are impacting on them. It provides a thorough overview of the main approaches taken in studying the media, and includes an expanded 'issues' section with new chapters on social media, gaming, apps, the environment, media regulation, ethics and privacy. With contributions from some of Australia's best researchers and teachers in the field, The Media and Communications in Australia remains the most comprehensive and reliable introduction to media and communications available. It is an ideal student text, and a reference for teachers of media and anyone interested in this influential industry.

Enhancing learning in large undergraduate classes using custom made audio-visual cases

This is an exploratory study into the effective use of embedding custom made audiovisual case studies (AVCS) in enhancing the student’s learning experience. This paper describes a project that used AVCS for a large divergent cohort of undergraduate students, enrolled in an International Business course. The study makes a number of key contributions to advancing learning and teaching within the discipline. AVCS provide first hand reporting of the case material, where the students have the ability to improve their understanding from both verbal and nonverbal cues. The paper demonstrates how AVCS can be embedded in a student-centred teaching approach to capture the students’ interest and to enhance a deep approach to learning by providing real-world authentic experience.

Global business today, 3rd Asia Pacific Edition

The third edition of Global Business Today continues to effectively combine a world-wide orientation with an emphasis on the strategic issues that impact global business in our region. The authors provide background on the political, economic, social or cultural aspects of countries grappling with an international business issue, raising students' awareness of how national and geographic differences affect the conduct of international business. Chapter 7, for example, contains a new Country Focus box titled, "India's stuttering economic transformation". Developing economies are covered in the new Emerging Markets feature emphasizing the global coverage of the text and the increasing complexities and opportunities in international business. Chapter 13 contains Another Perspective box titled, "The China-plus-one Strategy."