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CSR communication and internal stakeholders: The overlooked market

Author

Listed:
  • Martha Theron

    (University of South Africa)

  • Michael Cant

    (University of South Africa)

  • Johannes Wiid

    (University of South Africa)

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the adoption of responsible business practices concerning economic, environmental and social principles, is a tool to develop market value for various stakeholder groups. CSR can create several competitive advantages and should not be seen as a cost, but as a strategic initiative to aid organisations in competing in the market. Effective internal CSR communication to employees enhances an organisation’s corporate identity (CI) – ultimately affecting employees’ attitudes and behaviour. This paper aims to explore South African retail employees’ perceptions of internal CSR communication methods used by their organisations. A dataset of 229 employees participated by completing a computer-aided self-administered survey, which was distributed via LinkedIn. The main findings of the study indicate that employees perceived their organisations to make use of e-mail communication, internal newsletters, web and social media platforms to communicate with them regarding CSR, indicating that other internal communication platforms such as intranet or internal meetings can be utilised more to communicate with employees. Key Words:Corporate social responsibility, employees, internal stakeholders, corporate identity, internal communication

Suggested Citation

  • Martha Theron & Michael Cant & Johannes Wiid, 2024. "CSR communication and internal stakeholders: The overlooked market," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 13(4), pages 292-301, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:rbs:ijbrss:v:13:y:2024:i:4:p:292-301
    DOI: 10.20525/ijrbs.v13i4.3160
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    References listed on IDEAS

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