A Multicultural Analysis of CSR Message Effects on the Communication Behavior of Publics

• In Event: CSR: Interventions in Research and Practice (High-Density)

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility activities increasingly mirror the core activities of classic advocacy-driven non-profit organizations, yet little is known about public perceptions that result when corporations advocate for social issues in the same way non-profits do. This experimental study seeks to determine if there are differences in the effects of issue advocacy messaging across corporate and non-profit entities and whether culture impacts these effects. In addition, this study examines whether there is a difference in public perceptions when the issue is perceived as related vs. unrelated to the organization’s core mission, and it considers the extent of disclosure about corporate activism activities on the communication behavior of publics. This extended abstract summarizes the rationale for this research in progress, and presents the findings of a pilot study of the experimental design, which was modified before being administered to a consumer sample of U.S. and Swiss citizens (N=1,600).

Authors

• Kelly Page Werder, U of South Florida

• Diana Ingenhoff, University of Fribourg

• Philipp Bachmann