Managing Corporate Social Responsibility

W. TIMOTHY COOMBS is a Professor in the Nicholson School of Communication at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He is author of the award-winning Ongoing Crisis Communication (1999), Today’s Public Relations (with Robert Heath, 2006), and Code Red in the Boardroom: Crisis Management as Organizational DNA (2006). SHERRY J. HOLLADAY is a Professor in the Nicholson School of Communication at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Her work has been widely published in several journals. Together, W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay are authors of the award-winning books It’;s Not Just PR: Public Relations in Society (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007) and PR Strategy and Application: Managing Influence (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), and co-editors of The Handbook of Crisis Communication (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010).

• Acknowledgments xiii1 Conceptualizing Corporate Social Responsibility 1Box 1.1: The Sullivan Principles 2Corporate Social Responsibility: Seeking Parameters 5Defining CSR 6Box 1.2: Definition of CSR 8Benefits and Costs of CSR 9Two Sides of CSR Cost-Benefit Analysis 9CSR Costs for Corporations 10CSR Costs for Society 12CSR Benefits for Corporations 13CSR Benefits for Society 14Winning and Sustaining Support for CSR 14Other Conceptual Questions about CSR 16CSR: Modern or Historic? 16Box 1.3: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Standards 19Forms of CSR 20Where Is CSR’s Home? 22Should CSR Standards Be Localized or Globalized? 24Conclusion 272 Strategic CSR 29Characteristics of the Corporation 31Stakeholder Expectations and the Importance of Organizational Identification 32Reputational Benefits of CSR 35Perceived Motives for CSR Initiatives 38General Strategic Guidance: Approaching the CSR Process as Change Management 44Everyone Loves a Good Story 45The CSR Process Model: A Brief Preview 473 CSR Scanning and Monitoring 51Issues Management 53Scanning and CSR 54Prioritizing CSR Concerns 54Monitoring and CSR 57Scanning and Monitoring in Concert 58Stakeholder Engagement’s Role in Scanning and Monitoring 58Conclusion and Critical Questions 604 Formative Research 63Researching Stakeholder Expectations for CSR 67Box 4.1: MyStarbucksidea CSR Suggestions 68The Expectation Gap Approach 69Box 4.2: IKEA Child Labour Code of Conduct 71Origins of Expectation Gaps 73Box 4.3: Pinkwashing Detection 75Relevance of Operant Conditioning Theory to Stakeholder Challenges 77The Alignment Approach 80The Counterbalance: Corporate Concerns 85Conclusion and Critical Questions 855 Create the CSR Initiative 89Selecting the CSR Initiatives: Appreciating the Contestable Nature of CSR 90Differing CSR Expectations among Stakeholders 90Stakeholder Salience 91Box 5.1: Stakeholder Salience 92What Constitutes CSR? 92Stakeholder Participation in Decision Making 94Organizational Justice in the Engagement Process 96The “Right Amount” of CSR 98When Employees Challenge CSR: Considering Internal Stakeholders 99Preparing for Negative Stakeholder Reactions: Message Mapping 101Developing CSR Objectives 101Box 5.2: Message-Mapping Template 102Process versus Outcome Objectives 103Conclusion and Critical Questions 1056 Communicate the CSR Initiative 109CSR Promotional Communication Dilemma 110Box 6.1: Overview of Corporate-Activist Partnerships 116Communication Channels for CSR Messaging 116Overview of Communication Channels for CSR 117Box 6.2: Social Media Overview 118Employees as a Communication Channel 122External Stakeholders as a Communication Channel 123Strategic Application of Social Media to CSR Communication 124The Overall CSR Promotional Communication Strategy 128Annual Reports and CSR Communication 128Conclusion and Critical Questions 1337 Evaluation and Feedback 137Evaluation 138Assurance and CSR Evaluation 141Stakeholder Engagement in the Evaluation Process 142Box 7.1: Musgrave Group Assurance Statement 2006 143Box 7.2: Basic ROI Formula 145Considering Return on Investment 145Feedback 146Feedback from Stakeholders on the CSR Process 147The Communication Audit 148Conclusion and Critical Questions 1488 CSR Issues 153Overarching Concerns for CSR Initiatives 154Responsibility for CSR Initiatives 155Limitations from Industry, Culture, and Law 157Industry Standards 157The Culture and Socioeconomic Context 158Box 8.1: Culture and Activism 160The Legal Context 161Beyond Limitations 161Parting Thoughts 162References 165Index 177