Corporate social responsibility communication : dimensions and perspectives

Abstract

The purposes of this thesis are to understand the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for businesses and health care organizations and to investigate the use of traditional and interactive technologies for CSR communication strategies. There is a scarcity of literature in the field of CSR communication, particularly in the health care sector. There is also a lack of research investigating the use of interactive technology for CSR communication in both the business and health care contexts. In order to deal with this deficiency, a hybrid research strategy combining both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies was developed and employed in the making of this thesis. This thesis is structured as a paper-based model, in which the methodologies and findings of four papers are discussed. The papers follow the chronological order of the writing process of this thesis. First, an in-depth literature review on CSR communication was conducted in order to understand the importance of CSR communication for businesses and health care organizations and the different tools used for CSR communication. Second, a qualitative research based on a combined netnography and in-depth case-study methodology was carried out in order to investigate the role of interactive technologies for CSR communication in the business context. Third, the focus of the study turned to the health care sector. Two quantitative survey-based studies were conducted in the health context in order to understand the importance of CSR for health care organizations, investigate traditional and interactive technologies used for health care CSR communication, and provide practical examples. The findings of the research are that the importance of communicating CSR for businesses and health care organizations is based on the multitude of benefits they can gain from it. These benefits include: bettering corporate reputation, creating value, maintaining stakeholder relations, disseminating information faster and easier, reducing risks of negative impacts, rendering organizations more attractive and appealing to different stakeholder categories, and maintaining high morale. Moreover, this thesis investigated the use of both traditional and interactive technologies for CSR communication. Results showed that in the business context traditional technologies (such as reports, brochures, flyers, bill posting, advertising, and events)continue to be the predominant choices made by businesses for the communication of CSR practices. On the other hand, tools of interactive technologies (such as corporate websites, social media, mobile applications, blogs, and videos) are used to integrate and support traditional technologies for businesses’ CSR communication. In the health care context, results showed that CSR is perceived to be of medium-to-high importance and that health care organizations need to be more aware of the importance of communicating their CSR activities to their stakeholders through the use of interactive technologies. Health care organizations use traditional and interactive technologies for CSR communication in the same proportion. Moreover, the use of interactive technologies in health care is increasing year by year and these tools have additional features and advantages over traditional technologies. Practical examples of the application of interactive technologies for health care CSR communication include the use of mobile apps for helping patients affected by chronic disease (such as obesity or diabetes) in monitoring their health conditions, and health care organizations in better managing their patients. This study has relevance for both research and management. The theoretical debate and empirical research on CSR communication is, as yet, scant. This thesis attempts to contribute to the scientific debate on CSR communication in both the business and health care contexts and attempts to bridge the existing gaps in literature by offering some theoretical and practical insights in this field. From a managerial perspective, business-oriented companies and health care organizations are aware of the impact of their activities on the society and the environment in which they operate. They are brought to communicate more about their CSR activities in order to facilitate dialogue and better meet the expectations of their stakeholders.