CSR-Communication Between Voluntariness and Obligation: A Qualitative Analysis of the Energy Sector in Germany

• In Event: Organizational Communication Research Escalator - Extended Session

Abstract

The core meaning of CSR is shaped by different interpretations and perceptions which leads to several evolving ideals and explanations of what corporate responsibility is or should and could be. Highlighting the voluntariness of corporate engagement, CSR can be misunderstood as a priority to ethical and philanthropic issues. Focussing on ethical and philantropic responsibility as the essence of CSR, the question arises, how the self-perception of CSR is communicated by corporations. The current research focusses on the websites of the five biggest companies of the energy sector in Germany to identify the main motives for CSR-acitivities between the poles of self-perceived voluntariness and the fundamental obligation of corporations to engage in society.

Author

• Valentin Belentschikow, Technische Universtitaet Chemnitz