IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v178y2022i2d10.1007_s10551-021-04812-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility: External Stakeholder Involvement, Productivity and Firm Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Jing Yang

    (Emmanuel College)

  • Kelly Basile

    (Emmanuel College)

Abstract

Assessing the impact of CSR initiatives can be a complex task for marketers given the variety of methods of communicating about CSR as well as the broad range of stakeholders that CSR initiatives might interest. Social media helps increase the visibility and credibility of CSR communication and provides new ways of reaching and involving stakeholders in CSR initiatives. Using data collected and coded from Facebook pages of the Top 100 Global Brands, the authors introduce a new measure of effectiveness for CSR communication; CSR communication productivity (CCP). The findings indicate that CCP has a positive impact on firm performance (Tobin’s Q). The authors also investigate the impact of External Stakeholder Involvement in CSR initiatives. The results suggest that when external stakeholders are involved in an organization’s CSR initiatives, both CCP and firm performance (Tobin’s Q) improve. In addition, third-party evaluations of CSR performance positively moderate the impact of External Stakeholder Involvement on CCP. These findings offer contributions to CSR communication and social media marketing theories. They also have implications for marketing managers regarding how to measure and benchmark CCP, and how to maximize returns by involving external stakeholders in CSR efforts.

Suggested Citation

  • Jing Yang & Kelly Basile, 2022. "Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility: External Stakeholder Involvement, Productivity and Firm Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(2), pages 501-517, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:178:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-021-04812-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-021-04812-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-021-04812-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-021-04812-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Béatrice Parguel & Florence Benoît-Moreau & Fabrice Larceneux, 2011. "How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter "Greenwashing": A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication," Post-Print halshs-00561187, HAL.
    2. Torres, Anna & Bijmolt, Tammo H.A. & Tribó, Josep A. & Verhoef, Peter, 2012. "Generating global brand equity through corporate social responsibility to key stakeholders," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 13-24.
    3. Béatrice Parguel & Florence Benoît-Moreau & Fabrice Larceneux, 2011. "How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter ‘Greenwashing’: A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 15-28, August.
    4. Matthew Lee & Jillian Kohler, 2010. "Benchmarking and Transparency: Incentives for the Pharmaceutical Industry’s Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(4), pages 641-658, September.
    5. Luo, Xueming & Donthu, Naveen, 2005. "Assessing advertising media spending inefficiencies in generating sales," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 28-36, January.
    6. Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2013. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm Value: The Role of Customer Awareness," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(5), pages 1045-1061, May.
    7. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt & Jeffrey A. Martin, 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: what are they?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1105-1121, October.
    8. Wang, David Han-Min & Chen, Pei-Hua & Yu, Tiffany Hui-Kuang & Hsiao, Chih-Yi, 2015. "The effects of corporate social responsibility on brand equity and firm performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 2232-2236.
    9. Mangold, W. Glynn & Faulds, David J., 2009. "Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 357-365, July.
    10. Ali, Agha Iqbal & Lerme, Catherine S. & Seiford, Lawrence M., 1995. "Components of efficiency evaluation in data envelopment analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 462-473, February.
    11. Andrew Crane & Sarah Glozer, 2016. "Researching Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: Themes, Opportunities and Challenges," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(7), pages 1223-1252, November.
    12. Wang, Zhan & Kim, Hyun Gon, 2017. "Can Social Media Marketing Improve Customer Relationship Capabilities and Firm Performance? Dynamic Capability Perspective," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 15-26.
    13. Alexander Dahlsrud, 2008. "How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    14. Laura Schons & Maria Steinmeier, 2016. "Walk the Talk? How Symbolic and Substantive CSR Actions Affect Firm Performance Depending on Stakeholder Proximity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(6), pages 358-372, November.
    15. Stephen J. Brammer & Stephen Pavelin, 2006. "Corporate Reputation and Social Performance: The Importance of Fit," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 435-455, May.
    16. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4687 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Singfat Chu & Hean Keh, 2006. "Brand value creation: Analysis of the Interbrand-Business Week brand value rankings," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 323-331, December.
    18. Mette Morsing, 2006. "Strategic CSR Communication: Telling Others How Good You Are," Springer Books, in: Jan Jonker & Marco Witte (ed.), Management Models for Corporate Social Responsibility, chapter 29, pages 238-246, Springer.
    19. Steven Scalet & Thomas Kelly, 2010. "CSR Rating Agencies: What is Their Global Impact?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(1), pages 69-88, June.
    20. Timothy J. Coelli & D.S. Prasada Rao & Christopher J. O’Donnell & George E. Battese, 2005. "An Introduction to Efficiency and Productivity Analysis," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-0-387-25895-9, June.
    21. Chi-Shiun Lai & Chih-Jen Chiu & Chin-Fang Yang & Da-Chang Pai, 2010. "The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Performance: The Mediating Effect of Industrial Brand Equity and Corporate Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(3), pages 457-469, September.
    22. Lee, Eun Mi & Park, Seong-Yeon & Lee, Hyun Jung, 2013. "Employee perception of CSR activities: Its antecedents and consequences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1716-1724.
    23. Goodstein, Jerry D. & Wicks, Andrew C., 2007. "Corporate and Stakeholder Responsibility: Making Business Ethics A Two-Way Conversation," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(3), pages 375-398, July.
    24. Pushpika Vishwanathan & Hans (J.) van Oosterhout & Pursey P. M. A. R. Heugens & Patricio Duran & Marc van Essen, 2020. "Strategic CSR: A Concept Building Meta‐Analysis," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(2), pages 314-350, March.
    25. David Eberle & Guido Berens & Ting Li, 2013. "The Impact of Interactive Corporate Social Responsibility Communication on Corporate Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(4), pages 731-746, December.
    26. Amy J. Hillman & Gerald D. Keim, 2001. "Shareholder value, stakeholder management, and social issues: what's the bottom line?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 125-139, February.
    27. Stewart R. Miller & Lorraine Eden & Dan Li, 2020. "CSR Reputation and Firm Performance: A Dynamic Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 619-636, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiyan Bai & Chan Lyu, 2023. "Environmental Information Disclosure and Corporate Green Innovation: The Moderating Effect of Formal and Informal Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, April.
    2. Xiaoyang Xu & Muhammad Imran & Muhammad Ayaz & Sonia Lohana, 2022. "The Mediating Role of Green Technology Innovation with Corporate Social Responsibility, Firm Financial, and Environmental Performance: The Case of Chinese Manufacturing Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Liu, Kai & Wang, Jiang & Liu, Liqun & Huang, Yingjun, 2023. "Mixed-ownership reform of SOEs and ESG performance: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1618-1641.
    4. Samreen Hamid & Asif Saeed & Umar Farooq & Faisal Alnori, 2022. "A Bibliometric Retrospection of CSR from the Lens of Finance and Economics: Towards Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-25, December.
    5. Divinus Oppong-Tawiah & Jane Webster, 2023. "Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-26, April.
    6. Jiaxu Huang & Haiqing Hu & Yong Wang, 2022. "Fuzzy Front-End Vertical External Involvement, Corporate Social Responsibility and Firms’ New Product Development Performance in the VUCA Age: From an Organizational Learning Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-21, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hsu, Bo-Xiang & Chen, Yi-Min & Chen, Li-An (Leann), 2022. "Corporate social responsibility and value added in the supply chain: Model and mechanism," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    2. Kim, Yeonshin & Hur, Won-Moo & Lee, Luri, 2023. "Understanding customer participation in CSR activities: The impact of perceptions of CSR, affective commitment, brand equity, and corporate reputation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    3. Mahabubur Rahman & M. Ángeles Rodríguez-Serrano & Mary Lambkin, 2019. "Brand equity and firm performance: the complementary role of corporate social responsibility," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(6), pages 691-704, November.
    4. John Cantrell & Elias Kyriazis & Gary Noble, 2015. "Developing CSR Giving as a Dynamic Capability for Salient Stakeholder Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 403-421, August.
    5. Tolossa Fufa Gulema & Yadessa Tadesse Roba, 2021. "Internal and external determinants of corporate social responsibility practices in multinational enterprise subsidiaries in developing countries: evidence from Ethiopia," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Mochales, Gerardo & Blanch, Javier, 2022. "Unlocking the potential of CSR: An explanatory model to determine the strategic character of CSR activities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 310-323.
    7. Swaen, Valérie & Demoulin, Nathalie & Pauwels-Delassus, Véronique, 2021. "Impact of customers’ perceptions regarding corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility in the grocery retailing industry: The role of corporate reputation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 709-721.
    8. Francisco Javier Forcadell & Elisa Aracil, 2017. "European Banks' Reputation for Corporate Social Responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(1), pages 1-14, January.
    9. Leon Zolotoy & Don O’Sullivan & Jill Klein, 2019. "Character Cues and Contracting Costs: The Relationship Between Philanthropy and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 497-515, January.
    10. Zia ur Rehman & Asad Khan & Asim Rahman, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility's influence on firm risk and firm performance: the mediating role of firm reputation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2991-3005, November.
    11. Woon Leong Lin & Chin Lee & Siong Hook Law, 2021. "Asymmetric effects of corporate sustainability strategy on value creation among global automotive firms: A dynamic panel quantile regression approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 931-954, February.
    12. Yoori Yang & Cynthia Stohl, 2020. "The (in)congruence of measures of corporate social responsibility performance and stakeholder measures of corporate social responsibility reputation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 969-981, March.
    13. Joanna Sawicka & Elżbieta Marcinkowska, 2022. "The Effect of CSR Environmental Initiatives on Purchase Decisions—A Cross-Regional Study in Poland and Ukraine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, February.
    14. Gonzalo Maldonado-Guzmán & Sandra Yesenia Pinzón-Castro & Cid Leana Morales, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Reputation in Mexican Small Business," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 7(5), pages 1-3.
    15. Anastasia Axjonow & Jürgen Ernstberger & Christiane Pott, 2018. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure on Corporate Reputation: A Non-professional Stakeholder Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 429-450, August.
    16. Al-Shaer, Habiba & Uyar, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Do shareholders punish or reward excessive CSR engagement? Moderating effect of cash flow and firm growth," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    17. Saeidi, Sayedeh Parastoo & Sofian, Saudah & Saeidi, Parvaneh & Saeidi, Sayyedeh Parisa & Saaeidi, Seyyed Alireza, 2015. "How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 341-350.
    18. Yura Kim & Taeyeon Kim & Hye-Jeong Nam, 2021. "Marketing Investments and Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-12, April.
    19. Deepa Sharma & Suman Chakraborty & Ashwath Ananda Rao & Lumen Shawn Lobo, 2023. "The Relationship of Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Performance: A Bibliometric Overview," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, March.
    20. Venugopal Ramachandran, 2011. "Strategic corporate social responsibility: a ‘dynamic capabilities’ perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(5), pages 285-293, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:178:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-021-04812-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.