A Comparative Analysis of Business News Coverage of Corporate Social Responsibility in the United States and the United Kingdom From 2005 to 2014

• In Event: Exploring the Power of Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a significant issue for companies’ public relations initiatives worldwide. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of business news coverage of CSR within a comparative international context by investigating how business news articles cover CSR in the US and the UK. Drawing on the implicit and explicit CSR framework of Matten and Moon (2008) found in business literature, content analysis shows that the business news coverage of CSR in the US, defined as an explicit CSR country, and in the UK, defined as an implicit CSR country, differs in terms of news framing (thematic versus episodic), motive attributions of CSR as a concept, motive attributions of referenced companies, the general tone toward CSR as a concept, and the general tone toward referenced companies. Based on the results of this study, this paper also discusses further theoretical as well as practical implications.

Authors

• Tae Ho Lee, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Daniel Riffe, U of North Carolina - Chapel Hill