Corporate Social Responsibility in the Post-Financial Crisis Era

As the continued viability of companies increasingly depends on the public’s confidence in their commitment to social justice, sustainable design and environmental responsibility, companies must be prepared to reconsider what and how they communicate, to whom and for what purpose. Corporate communication programs therefore have a responsibility, not only to our graduates and their future employers, but to those whose lives will be affected by their values and decisions.

This chapter will consider the implications, opportunities and challenges of embedding the principles and practices of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the design and delivery of advertising, marketing communications and public relations programs within the context of the administrative, economic and conceptual constraints resulting from the 2008 financial recession.

The financial crisis as well as various company scandals during recent years not only led to a loss in credibility of politics and firms but also raised questions concerning the reliance on the economic system. Consumers search for alternatives and expect companies to engage in social activities to regain credibility. In time of uncertainty, some also point to religion as a way to break out of the fast-moving nature and to find solidarity. In this chapter, both aspects are taken into account. The expectations of more- and less-religious consumers toward firms’ engagement in social activities are analyzed in relation to economic achievements. With a survey questionnaire, participants in Germany are asked to evaluate the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic obligations of a firm. The findings shed light on the ambiguous relation between religiousness and corporate social responsibility orientation (CSRO): While some former studies in the USA und Malaysia revealed a coherence between religiousness and CSRO, the results do not show significant differences between highly religious and low religious Germans. Moreover, a new perspective is added by analyzing the influence of affiliation on CSRO. Here, no differences between affiliated and unaffiliated respondents are found.

Theories that relate to digital technology and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been dominated by online CSR communication and disclosure practices. Almost entirely absent in such CSR research is a consideration of new areas of responsibility that are emerging from digital technologies and related online communication platforms. We argue that responsibility in the use of digital technologies requires more than just legal compliance. We therefore ask what it means to be a responsible corporation in the digital economy. We then establish an extended agenda for responsibility in the digital economy by identifying potential areas of irresponsibility and highlighting new responsibilities related to, for example, use of consumer data, service continuation, control of digital goods, and the use of artificial intelligence. In doing so, we address a need to theorize responsibilities derived from the use of technologies that have been previously silent in CSR literature or only tangentially discussed within the domain of CSR communication, even as they are a focus in other fields (especially legal compliance, or organizational performance).

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) looks at the different dimensions of the relationship between the business and the society. Most of the current theories and points of view are, in our view, part of a paradigm of economic thinking established by the Chicago School of Economics represented by Milton Friedman who, since 1970, decreed that the only aim of business is to make profit (Friedman, M. ([1970]2007). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. In W. Zimmerli, K. Richter, & M. Holzinger (Eds.), Corporate ethics and corporate governance (pp. 173–179). Berlin: Springer). New social movements, amplified by the financial crisis from 2007, like Occupy from the USA, Indignados from Spain or Uniti Salvam! from Romania shape a new paradigm to define CSR, inspired by the social and political texts of Noam Chomsky (Chomsky, N. (2010). Hopes and prospects. London: Penguin Books; Chomsky, N. (2011). Occupy the future. Retrieved April 23, 2016, from https://chomsky.info/20111101/; Chomsky, N. (2012). Noi cream viitorul. Ocupatii, interventii, imperialism, rezistenta. Bucharest: Corint). As part of this new Chomsky paradigm, the responsibility of the business must be oriented toward the whole society. In our view, this is a new paradigm, not a new theory, because the premises on which it is built are contradictory and mutually exclusive to the premises of the old Friedman paradigm. The question of the authors is if, after the financial crisis and in the context of the social movements which are becoming political movements too, we will see a paradigmatic conviction or conversion.

This chapter introduces an ontological design of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework. Enterprise ontology contributes to CSR conceptualisation enabling institutional collaborations and arbitrage. In a post-financial crisis era where corporate budgets are limited, there is an increasing interest from organisational stakeholders to focus on the practical aspect of managerial applications of CSR. The specific objectives of this chapter are firstly, to design a framework entailing long-term critical success factors (CSFs) necessary for a sustainable CSR design, secondly, to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) necessary for the implementation of a CSR strategy and finally, to realise internal and external socio-economic and political forces of the indicated stakeholders that shape the CSR policies and collaborations.

This study examines the presence of a code of business ethics across Korean workplaces. It uses neo-institutional theory and economic perspective to explain the presence of such a code. Based on data pertaining to 468 Korean workplaces, it uses a logistic regression model to identify the predictors of the presence of a code of business ethics. The findings suggest that Korean workplaces have a code of business ethics to respond to institutional pressures and to improve their market competiveness. The findings suggest, too, that even after the financial crisis of 1997, Korea still remains in the tradition of a strong state, a predicament which yields a difference between Korea and Western countries in terms of institutional arrangements among business and society.

Responding to public and political criticism of ethical decision making in the financial sector, the Banker’s Oath was introduced in Holland in 2012. Originally, the oath was only applicable to senior management, but soon the oath was made legally required for all employees of banks in the Netherlands. This chapter discusses the process of introduction of the oath, its reception by the banking sector, its initial moral and legal consequences and possible future impact on corporate versus individual moral agency. As an instrument of virtue ethics, the oath may strengthen corporate governance structures by making employees individually responsible for the ethical impact of decisions made in a corporate context. This makes the Banker’s Oath a very interesting new element of corporate social responsibility.

Nowadays, in a constantly changing global environment, people become receivers of numerous unexpected crises such as product tampering, natural disasters and terrorism attacks, which may trigger a series of negative consequences. Indisputably, the recent global financial crisis designated the critical use of foreplanning within the framework of crisis management. The severity of crises demands the interaction between private, public and cross-sector organizations. Consequently, the interactive partnership between the private, the public and the cross-sector is essential for dealing effectively with crises, overcoming their effects and returning to a normal operational activity. The present is an attempt to illustrate a hybrid model of integration of the private and public sector, under crisis, focusing in maintaining operational sustainability, returning to normality, enhancing corporate social responsibility (CSR) and providing greater social value.

This chapter looks at corporate social responsibility (CSR) from a different perspective than the one usually applied. It investigates the need to extend the concept of social responsibility to the public sector, in general, and public administration in particular. Business, as undertaken in the private sector overall, both for- and non-profit, does not operate in a vacuum but within an institutional environment, the creation of which is a primary responsibility of the public sector. Particularly since the recent economic crisis, it has been demonstrated how important the public administration is, not only for private business but also for every citizen and the economy as a whole.

The 2008 global financial crisis triggered negative economic, social, and, potentially, environmental impacts; cut available resources; and increased the need for widespread positive corporate social responsibility (CSR) action and communication. Companies should thus profit from the wide coverage and relative low cost of social media communication. In this chapter, we explore current CSR communication trends through an analysis of CSR digital communication patterns from the 50 largest Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) operating in Mexico. Although the use of digital, yet conventional, proprietary CSR communication channels—from corporate websites to annual reports—has become standard practice, we find that a significantly low percentage of companies exploit social media. We explore and discuss the potential reasons for such a failure and draw theoretical as well as practical implications.

This chapter looks at the manner in which global pharmaceutical companies contribute to a better society. To answer this, the authors constructed a framework that allows the responsible practices deployed by the global pharmaceutical companies to be identified along the value chain. This framework offers a heuristic reasoning to facilitate the understanding of the cooperative strategies used by firms and describes the social obligations which companies think they must assume toward society. It is applied through an exploratory study filled with qualitative data obtained through corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports from 2013 of global pharmaceutical companies. At the end, the chapter offers examples from these companies to describe their CSR projects and derives an overall picture of pharmaceutical companies’ contribution toward society in the post-financial crisis.

The controversial practice of ‘fracking’ as practised in the USA has offered the promise of energy independence, a climate-friendlier ‘bridge’ to renewable energy than coal, and a much needed economic boost. At the same time, fracking is linked with widespread water and air pollution, increased incidence of earthquakes, split communities and drastically altered landscapes. How has the proposed introduction of fracking in the UK fared in light of these concerns? What role has science played in the battle for public opinion fought by the shale industry and its opponents? This chapter examines efforts by the shale industry to ‘win hearts and minds’, including the use of intensive public relations as well as academic funding and lobbying activities, and assesses their impact on media coverage of the controversy.

The relationships between non-profit and for-profit entities in the post financial crisis period are complex due to the risks and benefits associated. In their struggle for achieving sustainability, the non-profits involve themselves in such agreements with an incomplete understanding of the implied consequences and potential costs.

This chapter deals with analyzing the manner in which corporate organizations interact with non-profit organizations in terms of the fundraising activity during the forthcoming timeframe to the financial crisis. The study was conducted among the representatives of for-profit organizations.