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Corporate social responsibility and CSR fit as predictors of corporate reputation: a global perspective

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PublicRelationsReview42(2016)79–81

ContentslistsavailableatScienceDirect

Public

Relations

Review

Corporate

social

responsibility

and

CSR

fit

as

predictors

of

corporate

reputation:

A

global

perspective

Emel

Ozdora

Aksak

a,∗

,

Mary

Ann

Ferguson

b

,

Sirin

Atakan

Duman

c

aBilkentUniversity,CommunicationandDesignDepartment,Ankara,Turkey

bUniversityofFlorida,CollegeofJournalismandCommunication,DepartmentofPublicRelations,UnitedStates

cTurgutOzalUniversity,DepartmentofBusinessAdministration,Turkey

a

r

t

i

c

l

e

i

n

f

o

Articlehistory:

Received16January2015

Receivedinrevisedform18October2015

Accepted7November2015

Availableonline10December2015

Keywords:

Corporatesocialresponsibility

Reputation

Publicrelations

Institutionaltheory

Legitimacy

a

b

s

t

r

a

c

t

Thispaperreviewstheliteratureforarticlesthatincludeboththetermscorporatesocial responsibilityandreputationinthetitleand/orabstract.Theresultsoftheconceptual anal-ysisrevealthatmoststudiesonCSRandreputationfocusonpracticalimplicationswithout contributingtothetheoreticalframework.Theauthorsproposeapplyinginstitutional the-orytoenhancetheunderstandingoftherelationshipbetweenCSRandreputationandto fosterpublicrelationstheorydevelopment.

©2015ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved.

1. Introduction

Thisstudyaimstounderstandwhichtheoreticalapproacheshavebeenusedtounderstandtherelationshipbetween corporatesocialresponsibility(CSR)andreputation.Corporatesocialresponsibilityisachallengetodefinebecauseitentails manydifferentapproachesandbecauseitchangesaccordingtothecontext,era,andculture.Overall,CSRimpliesthat companieshaveamoralobligationtothesocietyinwhichtheyoperatetobehaveethically,beyondthelimitsoflegal requirementsandbeyondtheirobligationstotraditionalstakeholders,suchasemployees,consumers,vendors,andthe localcommunity(Snider,Hill&Martin,2003,p.175).Consumersconsidercompanies’CSReffortswhenmakingpurchasing decisionsorreputationattributions.Thus,forcompanies,CSRhasbecomeanimportantpublicrelationsstrategytodefine whotheyareandtoattractconsumers.Forconsumers,CSRhasbecomeatooltodeterminereputablecompaniesandthen todeveloprelationshipswiththem.CompaniesthatareabletousethereputationadvantageofagoodCSRstrategymay increasetheirsalesandprofitabilitybyincreasingtheirconsumerbasethroughstrongrelationshipswhichismajorpurpose ofpublicrelations.Reputationhasbeendefinedasstakeholderperceptionabouttheorganization.Fombrun,Gardberg, andBarnett(2000)refertoreputationas“acognitiverepresentationofacompany’sactionsandresultsthatcrystallizes thecompany’sabilitytodelivervaluedoutcomestoitsstakeholders”(p.87).Reputationaffectsallstakeholdersinthatit determineshowanorganizationisperceivedandplaysaroleindeterminingthecompany’ssuccessorfailure.Thispaper reviewstheliteratureforarticlesthatincludeboththetermscorporatesocialresponsibilityandreputationinthetitleand/or

∗ Correspondingauthor.

E-mailaddresses:emel.ozdora@bilkent.edu.tr(E.OzdoraAksak),mafergosun@jou.ufl.edu(M.A.Ferguson),sirinatakan@yahoo.com(S.AtakanDuman).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.11.004

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80 E.OzdoraAksaketal./PublicRelationsReview42(2016)79–81

abstract,withnodateexclusions,andanalyzes33articlesindetail.Byanalyzingtheliterature,thepaperidentifiesareasfor futureresearchinCSRandcontributestotheorydevelopment.

2. Methodology

TheauthorsconductedaconceptualanalysistounderstandhowtheliteratureexplainstherelationshipbetweenCSRand organizationalreputation.UsingInfoTracOneFile,EbscoHost,WilsonWeb,ISIWebofKnowledge,andExpandedAcademic ASAP,theyidentifiedarticlesthatincludeboththekeytermscorporatesocialresponsibilityandreputationintheirtitles orabstracts.Atotalof33studies(fourtheory-basedand29application-based)betweentheyears2000and2013were identified.In-depthreadingsofthesearticlesrevealedthetheoriesusedtounderstandtherelationshipbetweenCSRand reputation.TheauthorsalsoidentifiedtheorganizationaloutputsandimpactofCSR.Theaimsofthecurrentstudyareto developatheoreticalframeworkfortherelationshipbetweenCSRandreputationforpublicrelations,identifyareasfor futureresearch,andforwardtheorydevelopment.

3. Resultsoftheconceptualanalysis

Theauthorsdeterminedthatfourtheoriesareusedinthereviewedliteraturetoexplaintherelationshipbetween reputa-tionandCSR:stakeholder,attribution,value,andpostcolonial.Accordingtostakeholdertheory,consumersmakepurchasing decisionsbasednotonlyoneconomicreasons,butalsoonsocialreasons,suchashowacompany’sCSReffortsinfluence consumersasmembersofacommunity.Indeed,manycompaniesengageinCSReffortsaspartoftheirpublicrelations strat-egybecausethereispressurefromvariousstakeholderstobesociallyresponsible;consumersarenotjustpricesensitive, theyalsohavesocialandenvironmentalconcernsthatinfluencetheirpurchasingdecisions.Anothertheoryusedtodiscuss reputationandCSRisattributiontheory,fromsocialpsychology.Attributionsresultfromacognitiveprocessthatcauses peopletoassignanunderlyingcauseorexplanationtoobservedevents.Attributiontheoryexplainswhyaconsumermight beskepticalaboutthebehaviorofacorporationthoughttobeusingCSRactivitiesforfinancialgain,whileotherstakeholders wouldseethoseactivitiesasbeinginthecompany’sandstakeholders’bestinterests.

ValuetheoryisalsousedintheliteraturetounderstandCSR.Accordingtothevalue-theoreticalapproach,CSRactivities arefoundedonacompany’scorevalues,anditisthusimportanttodeterminethevalueprioritiesbehindacompany’s actions.Finally,postcolonialtheoryisusedtocritiquetheneocolonialaspectsandpowerdynamicsofpublicrelations, morespecifically,thefield’sappropriationoftermssuchascorporatesocialresponsibilityandsustainabledevelopment. Accordingly,apostcolonialapproachtopublicrelationsmayhelpexposeattemptstocommunicatecorporategoalsthat paralleladominantandWesternmodelofeconomicgrowthanddevelopment.

Theauthorsalsopresentanoverviewoftheresearch-basedscholarshipthatexplorestherelationshipofreputation toCSR.1 Theapplication-basedstudiesmainlyfocusoncharitabledonations,stakeholderperceptions,CSRbenefits,CSR

regulation,human-rights-relatedissuesandCSR,CSRduringcrises,CSRassocialinsurance,acriticalapproachtoCSR,CSR reputationandculture,anddiffusionofCSRpracticesaroundtheglobe.

TheresearchreviewedhereinarguesforastronglinkbetweenCSRandcorporatereputationfromtheperspectiveof publicrelations,somuchsothatCSRisoftendefinedasonecomponentofcorporatereputation.PerceivedCSRmotives arearguedtobeimportantregardingreputation,butthereisinconsistencyregardingtheprocess.Someresearchsuggests thatifCSRisnotstrategicitleadstoshareholderdistrustandapoorreputation.Otherscholarssuggestthatmotiveisa filterthroughwhichstakeholdersviewCSR;inthislight,CSRactivitiesthoughttobenefitthecompanyareviewedwith skepticism,whichresultsinapoorreputation.CompaniesthatengageinCSRactivitiesaspartoftheirpublicrelationsstrategy areperceivedtobenotonlyprofit-motivatedbutalsosociallymotivated,todevelopastrongerreputation(i.e.,increased sales),todevelopbetterrelationshipswithstakeholders,andtoachievelong-termprofitability.Whenorganizationshave apositivereputation,high-fitCSRactivitieswhicharecloselyrelatedtoacompany’smainbusinessactivities,suchasan automobilemanufacturingcompanyinitiatingaCSRactivitywhereitsupportstrafficsafety,mayleadtolessskepticism. However,whenorganizationsalreadyhaveanegativereputationamongstakeholders,high-fitactivitiesmayleadtomore stakeholderskepticism,whichmayleadtoevenamorenegativecorporatereputation.

TheresultoftheconceptualanalysisrevealsthatmoststudiesonCSRandreputationfocusonpracticalimplications. Thisresultwasexpectedasthesestudyareasoftentaketheirrootsfrompracticeitself.Duetothenatureofthestudyarea, application-basedstudies,whichtrytounderstandtheimmediateimpactofCSR,aremorecommon.Outof29suchstudies, 10focusonmeasuringstakeholderperceptionswhilefivefocusonthebenefitsofCSR.Thisemphasisrevealsthatthefield concentratesonCSRreturnsthroughapplication-basedstudiesratherthanongaininganin-depthunderstandingofthe phenomenonutilizingatheoreticalperspective.Application-basedstudiescontributetotheliteratureandprovideguidance forprofessionalpracticebuttheydonotfostertheorydevelopment.

1 Therewasnosinglejournalthatincludesamajorityofthesestudies;thearticlesarefoundinvariousadvertising,business,andpublicrelationsjournals.

ArticlesaremainlyfromJournalofCorporateCitizenship,CorporateReputationReview,JournalofAdvertising,PublicRelationsReview,JournalofBusinessEthics,

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E.OzdoraAksaketal./PublicRelationsReview42(2016)79–81 81

4. Discussionandconclusions

Theauthors’analysisofexistingresearchonCSRandCSRfitrevealsthatthenumberofstudiesprovidingtheoretical explanationsfortherelationshipbetweenCSRandorganizationalreputationisfairlylimited.Theory-buildingiscriticalfor thedevelopmentofanacademicfield,however,thustheauthorsproposethatstudiesprovidingatheoreticalbackground forreputationandCSRstudieswillenhancetheunderstandingoftheconstructandincreasethevalueofCSRpractices, especiallyfortheacademicandpracticalpublicrelationsfields.

Theauthorsspecificallyproposethatinstitutionaltheorybeusedtoprovideadeeperunderstandingoftherelationship betweenCSRandreputationandtheoverarchingvalueofCSRactivitiesfororganizations.Accordingtoinstitutionaltheory, organizationsneedtoconformtosocialandculturalexpectationsimposedbytheinstitutionalenvironmenttoincrease theprobabilityofsurvivalandsuccess(Zucker,1977).WhentheCSRoutputsnotedintheliteratureareconsidered,some haveeconomicconcerns,suchasacompetitiveadvantageandincreasingstockvalue,whileothershavenon-economic concerns,suchascorporatevisibility,trustandbuildingstrongrelationships.Outputsthathaveadirecteffectoninternal stakeholders,suchascommitment,motivation,andimprovedrecruitment,arealsoobserved.Institutionaltheoryholdsthat alloftheseorganizationaloutputs/impactsareusedasameansofachievingorganizationallegitimacy.Companiesmust ensurelegitimacytoincreasetheirchancesforsurvival(Meyer&Rowan,1977).Asthisreviewsuggests,CSRisoneofthe keypublicrelationstoolsusedtocommunicateindustrynormsandvalues,andthusgainlegitimacy.

WiththeexplosionofCSRinitiativesaroundtheglobeandarelatedpushfromstakeholdersforcompaniestobesocially responsible,furtherresearchisneededtounderstandhowtodevelopeffectiveCSRandpublicrelationsstrategiesthat moreaccuratelypredictimpactoncorporatereputationindifferentcultures.Thus,itistheroleofpublicrelations schol-arshiptodeveloptheorythathelpspublicrelationspractitionersunderstandhowCSRaffectsreputationunderdifferent circumstances;whatkindofCSRfitisrequired,andhowtheviewoffitdiffersindifferentcontextstogainlegitimacy.

References

Fombrun,C.J.,Gardberg,N.A.,&Barnett,M.L.(2000).Opportunityplatformsandsafetynets:corporatecitizenshipandoccupationalrisk.Businessand

SocietyReview,105(1),85–106.

Meyer,J.,&Rowan,B.(1977).Institutionalizedorganizations:formalstructureasmythandceremony.AmericanJournalofSociology,83,340–363.

Snider,J.,Hill,R.P.,&Martin,D.(2003).Corporatesocialresponsibilityinthe21stcentury:aviewfromtheworld’smostsuccessfulfirms.Journalof

BusinessEthics,48,175–187.

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