1.1 Introduction
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a politically, morally, economically and culturally loaded concept, not simply a niche area of contemporary business practice. This chapter will consider the implications of CSR for the design and delivery of advertising, marketing communications and public relations programs, including the opportunities and challenges for fostering ethical corporate behavior. We suggest that there are two main issues: How we can enhance our studentsâ knowledge and understanding of CSR and how we can engender their commitment to the application of its objectives, principles and practices.
As observed by the editors of this volume, consumers as well as the broader civic community increasingly demand that companies demonstrate a commitment to creating what Porter and Kramer (2011) term âshared valueâ. In addition to the impact of CSR on competitive advantage, customer loyalty, staff morale and the ability to attract and retain staff (Webb 2016), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports (Nieuwenkamp 2016) that even access to finance will increasingly depend on companiesâ demonstrable commitment to ethical policies and practices such as sustainable design, social justice, the ethical treatment of animals and environmental responsibility. As a consequence, CSR metrics have become a standard feature of corporate annual reports (Waller and Lanis 2009).
[A] cursory glance at the websites of large multinationals such as British Petroleum, Shell, British American Tobacco and BT [reveals that] many industries and sectors create much fanfare around their corporate responsibility initiatives. Indeed [âŠ] Corporate Social Responsibility is now a key marketing and branding reference point for most large and medium sized corporations. (Hanlon and Fleming 2009)
Despite the evidence that CSR is increasingly important in ensuring the goodwill of both consumers and communities, public confidence in the professed commitment of the corporate sector is regularly undermined by reports that, in the pursuit of maximized profits, many major corporations are prepared to ignore or actively flout popular notions of social justice and environmental responsibility with little or no regard for the consequences for their reputations.
A big part of the problem lies with companies themselves, which remain trapped in an outdated approach to value creation [âŠ] optimizing short-term financial performance in a bubble while missing the most important customer needs and ignoring the broader influences that determine their longer-term success [including] the well-being of their customers, the depletion of natural resources [and] the economic distress of the communities in which they produce and sell [âŠ]. (Porter and Kramer 2011)
In the wake of the economic recession of 2007â08 which led to government spending cuts and a reduction in public services, already rising levels of social inequality (OECD 2016) have been exacerbated by the spread of predatory employment practices such as the use of âzero-hourâ contracts (up 19 % during 2014âOffice for National Statistics). During the same period, the public has seen executive pay expand while the pay of workers stagnates, enormous bonuses paid to bankers widely blamed for both the financial crash of 2007â08 and the resulting austerity measures imposed by the same governments that countenance, or even tacitly support, âaggressiveâ corporate tax avoidance and the use of tax havens which reduce the revenues needed to fund healthcare, education, social programs and infrastructure. As acknowledged by the Chair of the OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct, however, âCorporate tax responsibility [âŠ] is most often not on the radar screen of a CSR managerâ (Nieuwenkamp 2016).
[A]ccording to a survey of the British public [âŠ] four out of five people agreed that tax avoidance by multinationals made them âfeel angryâ [and] that a third of Britons say that they are boycotting companies which do not pay their âfair shareâ of tax in the UK. In a 2012 IBE survey carried out by Ipsos MORI, âtax avoidanceâ was the second most important ethics issue that the British public think business needs to address. (Institute of Business Ethics 2013)
Media reports of large-scale protests, boycotts, petitions, social media campaigns and various forms of public âshamingâ attest to public anger in response to what are deemed unacceptable corporate behaviors. The increase in both the number and frequency of such actions indicates that the public is both more likely to be informed aboutâand less willing to tolerateâthe indifference of corporations to the consequences of their policies and practices on lives, communities, the natural environment and the climate. The claim that âWeâre all in this togetherâ has transmogrified from just another political platitude to become a rallying cry in the growing demand for meaningful change.
[T]he tide of public opinion is visibly turning. Even 10 years ago, news of a company minimising its corporation tax would have been more likely to be inside the business pages than on the front page. In September 2009, the Observer ran with the headline: âAvoiding tax robs our public services, declares ministerâ. (Barford and Holt 2013)
In light of growing public anger, cynicism and increasingly well-organized campaigns able to channel this into effective action, empty claims by companies of ethical practice behind which it is âbusiness as usualâ risk being promptly and publicly exposed with potentially devastating consequences for both reputations and share value. (It will be instructive to see how long it will take for Volkswagenâs reputation for environmental responsibility to recover from the discovery of having âcheatedâ in emissions testing.) The OECD has warned of the consequences should the public come to see CSR âprimarily as a PR tool [and] merely a greenwashing exerciseâ (Nieuwenkamp 2016), especially where such assurances are used as an argument against government regulation. The authors take the position that, to ensure public goodwill, CSR initiatives must reflect a demonstrable commitment to ethical policies and practices.
As a major influence over the attitudes and behaviors of graduates (Stes et al. 2010; Parsons et al. 2012), we argue that educators have a responsibility to foster studentsâ understanding ofâand commitment toâthe principles of CSR. Following a brief examination of the role of CSR in corporate communications, we consider how Higher Education (HE) communications programs might achieve this.
1.2 CSR in Corporate Communications
While the relevance of CSR to business and management is gaining acceptance, Kendrick et al. (2013) note that less attention has been paid to its application to, and its implications for, corporate communications. While CSR has an important role in guiding the management of companies (for example, in their procurement and HR policies), corporate communications has an equally important role in creating constructive relationships between customers and brands as a means to enhance social justice and environmental sustainability.
At the heart of corporate communications is the notion of compelling narratives: the âstoriesâ told about brands, products and services, as well as politicians, policies and the Right Priorities. Through the affective use of emotionally resonant words and images, corporate communications is able to present clientsâ products as the solution for the audienceâs desire for popularity, worthiness and success, thereby subtly influencing the way in which audiences define their desires and âmentally pictureâ their fulfillment. As a result, despite the contribution of advertising, marketing communications and public relations agencies to constructive social change through pro bono work on campaigns to reduce smoking, domestic violence and climate change, the corporate communications industry is often associated in the public consciousness with less positive influences.
[T]he social impact of advertising is often viewed as detrimental [with] criticism ranged from promoting commercialism, intrusion and irrationality, reinforcing sexual stereotypes, trivializing language, and provoking negative feelings. (Kendrick et al. 2013)
The persuasive influence of the presentation of information on our perceptions is well known.
The effect of making men think in accordance with dogmas, perhaps in the form of certain graphic propositions, will be very peculiar: I am not thinking of these dogmas as determining menâs opinions but rather as completely controlling the expression of all opinions. People will live under an absolute, palpable tyranny, though without being able to say they are not free. (Wittgenstein 1937)
However, as companies come to realize the extent to which their ability to differentiate their brands, and so protect their share value, depends on their public persona, communications agencies have begun to provide more substantial services than the design and production of materials that influence the perceptions and behaviors of consumers. As âthe first step towards developing a CSR mentality is to redefine the principles of the companyâ (Camilleri 2016), to assist ...