Which of the three action-oriented corporate social responsibility (CSR) types is the most effective in improving the public attitude toward tobacco companies?

Dissertação apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Comunicação, ramo de Marketing e Publicidade

The corporate social responsibility movement and law's empire: Is there a conflict?

At the heart of corporate governance and social responsibility discourse is recognition of the fact that the modern corporation is primarily governed by the profit maximisation imperative coupled with moral and ethical concerns that such a limited imperative drives the actions of large and wealthy corporations which have the ability to act in influential and significant ways, shaping how our social world is experienced. The actions of the corporation and its management will have a wide sphere of impact over all of its stakeholders whether these are employees, shareholders, consumers or the community in which the corporation is located. As globalisation has become central to the way we think it is also clear that ‘community’ has an ever expanding meaning which may include workers and communities living very far away from Corporate HQ. In recent years academic commentators have become increasingly concerned about the emphasis on what can be called short-term profit maximisation and the perception that this extremist interpretation of the profit imperative results in morally and ethically unacceptable outcomes.1 Hence demands for more corporate social responsibility. Following Cadbury’s2 classification of corporate social responsibility into three distinct areas, this paper will argue that once the legally regulated tier is left aside corporate responsibility can become so nebulous as to be relatively meaningless. The argument is not that corporations should not be required to act in socially responsible ways but that unless supported by regulation, which either demands high standards, or at the very least incentivises the attainment of such standards such initiatives are doomed to failure. The paper will illustrate by reference to various chosen cases that law’s discourse has already signposted ways to consider and resolve corporate governance problems in the broader social responsibility context.3 It will also illustrate how corporate responsibility can and must be supported by legal measures. Secondly, this paper will consider the potential conflict between an emphasis on corporate social responsibility and the regulatory approach.4 Finally, this paper will place the current interest in corporate social responsibility within the broader debate on the relationship between law and non-legally enforceable norms and will present some reflections on the norm debate arising from this consideration of the CSR movement.

Dependency: An inhibitor to the Irish Case for Corporate Social Responsibility

This paper addresses the potential resurgence of post imperial “dependency theory” of the 1960s and 1970s. Suggesting that the initial premise of the theory was just – the article proposes the reworking of the theory in order to incorporate globalisation processes – namely the importance of global capital generated by Multi National Corporations. By considering that capital is now the “core” we have the idea of a much wider catchment of states “dependent” on global capital. Using Ireland as an example therefore, the article pursues the idea that a dependent state’s ability to implement CSR legislation is inhibited by the constraints of capital.

Corporate Social Responsibility within the Northern Ireland Construction Industry: A Regional Review

As the construction industry continues to struggle with a poor societal image, many organizations have adopted a positive corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards their surrounding environment, with the objective of improving their persona within social circles. The aim of this research is to identify and document the various approaches adopted by UK contractors in relation to their international counterparts to aid in the identification of possible future benefits which may be exploitable.
In order to acquire the relevant information, a number of qualitative methodologies are adopted including a review of the current literature on the topic along with a detailed semi-structured interview with a UK based industry professional that specializes in corporate social responsibility. Through assessing the findings using qualitative analysis software, it is possible to disseminate the information, resulting in the identification of key findings. This research concludes that a number of factors profoundly affect corporate social responsibility within the UK versus other regions. These factors are identified as the effect of the recession, implementation and reporting along with competitiveness within the sector.
The impaction for practice within the UK construction sector of this research is that it enables various industry leaders to actively consider the findings of the research while also vigorously encouraging the establishment and development of corporate social responsibility, not only within their respective organizations, but within the construction industry as a whole. This would not only result in a more environmentally sustainable industry, but would also raise the awareness of the sector locally, nationally and internationally, therefore improving the overall perception of the sector on a variety of levels. This will ultimately lead to a more sustainable, environmentally friendly and collective industry while also considering the needs of one of its most important external stakeholders – the local community.

Corporate social marketing: um estudo de caso no setor da energia elétrica

Grupos privados que comercializam eletricidade ao setor residencial estão, atualmente, a implementar programas que procuram alcançar Eficiência Energética (EE). Estes programas levam a um menor consumo do produto core destas empresas. A EE é um tema destacado na atualidade, nações de todo o mundo traçam planos para alcançá-la, indo ao encontro do estabelecido no Protocolo de Quioto. Em Portugal, o setor da energia elétrica encontra-se entre os que mais danos acarretam para o ambiente. O presente estudo quis conhecer a orientação destes grupos nestes programas. Ou seja, conhecer a sua motivação para os implementar, bem como conhecer a abordagem disciplinar utilizada para os “desenhar”, procurando saber até que ponto o Corporate Social Marketing (CSM) é aplicado. O CSM utiliza a tecnologia do Marketing mainstream para alcançar mudanças comportamentais desejadas. Visa o bem-estar social e/ou ambiental e mede os resultados que atinge. A sua aplicação em programas que visam a EE no consumo, tratando-a como um produto social, é o foco da presente pesquisa. Para o efeito delineou-se a pesquisa através da metodologia Estudo de Caso, com o objetivo de estudar a orientação do Grupo EDP nestes programas, através do programa A Tua Energia, sabendo que “os projetos de Eficiência Energética são sempre definidos e implementados pela EDP enquanto Grupo” (EDP, 2012). A metodologia de análise de dados utilizada é a Grounded Theory (GT) que procura ir ao encontro de uma teoria substantiva, emersa dos dados, que se enquadre ao contexto da pesquisa. O Estudo da orientação do Grupo EDP levou a pesquisa a conhecer a realidade do setor elétrico em relação a estes programas, não só em Portugal mas noutro mercado onde a empresa EDP atua, o Brasil. Os principais resultados alcançados quanto à motivação dos Grupos privados para implementar estes programas foram Ganhos Empresariais, nos quais se integram Imagem Positiva, Estratégia de Negócio e Relacionamento com Stakeholders. Os dados revelam que o programa A Tua Energia não é um programa de CSM pois ainda que foque a mudança comportamental não a alcança efetivamente. Já a EDP no Brasil implementa um programa de mudança comportamental assente na abordagem do CSM. Concluiu-se que a envolvente influencia a orientação da EDP nestes programas, ainda que estes sejam designados pela EDP enquanto Grupo.

Corporate social responsibility

There is general consensus nowadays that CSR is not just altruistic do-gooding but rather a way for both companies and society to prosper. Companies themselves increasingly recognize that their sustainability depends on their willingness to assume responsibility for social and environmental issues. Academic research has, in the past, tried to theorize exactly how CSR improves business, employee satisfaction and productivity. However, few studies have a) separated the different effects of internal CSR and external CSR and b) studied these effects in times of internal organizational distrust. Hence, this paper examines the relationship between each type of CSR with two outcome variables related to employee attitudes: affective organizational commitment (AOC) and turnover intentions (TI). Furthermore, it investigates whether organizational distrust works as a moderator in each of these relationships by testing the hypothesis using a sample of 212 employees from a company that is currently going through a moment of internal crisis. Findings suggest that although all variables are strongly correlated, distrust works as a moderator for external CSR but not for internal CSR. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings conclude the paper.

Corporate social responsability in advergames: Adjusting communication to the kids of today

Field lab: Consumer insights

Corporate Social Responsibility und Stakeholder

Shareholdern, Mitarbeitern und Konsumenten kommt im Rahmen der Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) eine zentrale Rolle zu. Nicht zuletzt aufgrund ihrer ökonomischen Bedeutung für Unternehmen und ihrer Einflussmöglichkeiten auf diese werden sie zu den mithin wichtigsten Stakeholdern gezählt. Innerhalb der unternehmensethischen Diskussion setzt sich dabei verstärkt die Sichtweise eines Business Case von CSR durch, demzufolge CSR generell und insbesondere bei diesen drei Stakeholdern an Bedeutung gewinnt und ein entsprechendes Engagement daher neben finanziellen auch zahlreiche immaterielle Vorteile bedingt. Betrachtet man die Studienlage allerdings genauer, bleibt zu fragen, inwieweit das gezeichnete positive Bild und die ihm zugrunde liegenden Annahmen tatsächlich zutreffend sind. Denn weder liegen ausreichend Studien vor, die sich mit den Prozessen auf der Mikro-Ebene befassen, noch spiegelt sich die postulierte und von Konsumenten in Befragungen geäußerte Kauf- und Zahlungsbereitschaft im Marktanteil ethischer Produkte und Dienstleistungen wider, was im Allgemeinen dann allerdings wiederum durch ein „attitude-behaviour-gap“ erklärt wird. Mit Blick auf ein Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) stellt sich die Sach- oder Marktlage zwar besser dar, doch wird gemeinhin stillschweigend und unhinterfragt davon ausgegangen, dass ein ethisches Investment per se ethisch sei. Die Arbeit setzt an diesen Punkten an und geht nach einer Klärung zentraler Begriffe der Frage nach der Relevanz und Wahrnehmung von CSR bei den drei Stakeholdern anhand eigener qualitativer Fallstudien empirisch nach; d. h. konkret, mittels einer Einzelfallstudie unter der Mitarbeiterschaft eines mittelständischen Unternehmens, einer Konsumentenbefragung zum Kleidungskauf und einer Einzelfallstudie zur Überprüfung der Praxis ethischen Investments anhand des als besonders „ethisch“ ausgewiesenen Ethik-Fonds von Schellhammer & Schattera. Im Endergebnis zeigt sich, dass berechtigte Zweifel an den vielfach postulierten positiven Entwicklungen und Effekten und damit auch der Sichtweise eines Business Case von CSR angebracht sind. Denn selbst der gewählte ethische Fonds kann nicht alle an ein derartiges Investment zu stellenden Kriterien zweifelsfrei erfüllen. In eine ähnlich kritische Richtung weisen auch die Befunde der Konsumentenstudie. Durch die Verwendung eines anderen Untersuchungsansatzes zeigt sich, dass für den Großteil der befragten Konsumenten ethische Aspekte in Wirklichkeit keine oder wenn, eine allenfalls sehr untergeordnete Rolle spielen. Entsprechend handelt es sich möglicherweise beim „attitude-behaviour-gap“ vielfach nur um eine Pseudo-Inkonsistenz, die, wie aufgezeigt wird, theoretisch und methodisch bedingt ist. Im Vergleich dazu fallen die Befunde der Mitarbeiterstudie zwar sehr positiv aus, verweisen jedoch auch auf einen allgemein vernachlässigten zentralen Aspekt des CSR-Engagements. So können die empirisch belegten positiven Effekte zwar bestätigt werden, doch zeigt sich, dass diese wesentlich an die Bedingung der Authentizität von CSR geknüpft zu sein scheinen. Die sich hieraus wie aus den anderen Studien ergebenden Konsequenzen und Fragen werden im Rahmen einer Zusammenfassung abschließend diskutiert.

Championing the rhetoric: corporate social responsibility in the Ghanaian mining sector

This paper contributes to a growing body of literature that critically examines how mining companies are embracing community development challenges in developing countries, drawing on experiences from Ghana. Despite receiving considerable praise from the donor and industry communities, the actions being taken by Ghana's major mining companies to foster community development are facilitating few improvements in the rural regions where activities take place. Companies are generally implementing community development programmes that are incapable of alleviating rural hardship and are coordinating destructive displacement exercises. The analysis serves as a stark reminder that mining companies are not charities and engage with African countries strictly for commercial purposes.

Untangling rhetoric and reality in the CSR debate – the role of corporate social responsibility in effective business strategy

While there is a strong moral case for corporate social responsibility (CSR), the business case for CSR is certainly not irrefutable. A better understanding of how to integrate CSR into business strategy is needed but with ever increasing momentum towards sustainability as a business driver, it is often difficult to untangle the rhetoric from reality in the CSR debate. Through an analysis of eight case studies of leading firms from throughout the construction supply chain who claim to engage in CSR, we explore how consulting and contracting firms in the construction and engineering industries integrate CSR into their business strategy. Findings point to an inherent caution of moving beyond compliance and to a risk-averse culture which adopts very narrow definitions of success. We conclude that until this culture changes or the industry is forced by clients or regulation to change, the idea of CSR will continue to mean achieving economic measures of success, with ecological goals a second regulated priority and social goals a distant third.