ContentslistsavailableatScienceDirect
Public
Relations
Review
Full
length
article
Framing
CSR
fit:
How
corporate
social
responsibility
activities
are
covered
by
news
media
Katharina
Lunenberg,
Jordy
F.
Gosselt
∗,
Menno
D.T.
De
Jong
UniversityofTwente,DepartmentofCommunicationStudies,TheNetherlands
a
r
t
i
c
l
e
i
n
f
o
Articlehistory:
Received18August2015
Receivedinrevisedform
23November2015
Accepted23November2015
Availableonline26October2016
Keywords:
Corporatesocialresponsibility
CSRfit
Mediacoverage
Framing Tone
a
b
s
t
r
a
c
t
Thisresearchprovidesabasisforunderstandinghowthecontentsofmediacoverageabout CSRactivitiesrelatestothefitbetweentheseCSRactivitiesandtheorganizations’core activities.Intwosteps,513newsarticlesaboutorganizations’CSRactivitieswere ana-lyzed.First,anexpertreviewdeterminedthefitbetweentheCSRinitiativespresentedin thenewsarticlesandthecorebusinessoftheorganizationspursuingtheseinitiatives. Sec-ond,aquantitativecontentanalysismeasuredtoneandframingofthenewsarticles.The resultsrevealthatwhileCSRfitdoesnotinfluencetone,itdoespartlyimpacttheframing ofthemediacoverage,asCSRfitleadstoapositiveframingoforganizationsandtheirCSR activities.However,viceversa,CSRmisfitdoesnotnecessarilyleadtoanegative represen-tationoforganizationsandtheirCSRinthemediacoverage.Inordertomaximallybenefit fromtheirCSRactivitiesandachieveoptimalmediacoverage,organizationsareadvisedto notonlyengageinCSR,butseektoimplementinitiativesthatarewellintegratedintotheir corebusiness.
©2016ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved.
1. Introduction
Intoday’ssocietyandbusinessworld,corporatesocialresponsibility(CSR)isahighlyrelevanttopic.Bycommunicating theirCSRactivitiestothepublic,manycompaniestrytoimprovetheirreputation,consumerloyalty,andconsumertrust (Stanaland,Lwin,&Murphy,2011)orattracthighpotentialemployees(Berger,Cunningham,&Drumwright,2007).Whilethe literatureoffersnumerousdefinitions,AguinisandGlavas(2012)specifyCSRas“context-specificorganizationalactionsand policiesthattakeintoaccountstakeholders’expectationsandthetriplebottomlineofeconomic,socialandenvironmental performance”(Aguinis&Glavas,2012,p.933).CSRactivitiescanbedistinguishedfromotherorganizationalactivitiesby twocharacteristics:theybenefitsocietyorgeneralinterest,andtheyarenotobligatedbylaw(DeJong&VanderMeer,in press).
IntheliteratureontheeffectsofCSRonstakeholdersmuchattentionisgiventotheconceptofCSRfit.CSRfitinvolvesthe similaritybetweencharacteristicsofanorganizationandcharacteristicsofitsCSRactivities(Becker-Olsen,Cudmore,&Hill, 2006;Du,Bhattacharya,&Sen,2010).Althoughtherearesomestudiessuggestingtheopposite,itisgenerallyassumedthat CSRfitpositivelyinfluencestheeffectsofCSRactivitiesonexternalstakeholders,mostlyconsumers(DeJong&VanderMeer, inpress).AnimportantaspectthathassofarbeenunderexposedintheliteratureaboutCSRfitistheroleofnewsmedia.Much
∗ Correspondingauthorat:UniversityofTwente,FacultyofBehavioralSciences,DepartmentofCommunicationStudies,P.O.Box217,7500AEEnschede,
TheNetherlands.
E-mailaddress:j.f.gosselt@utwente.nl(J.F.Gosselt).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.11.016
oftheinformationstakeholdersreceiveaboutCSRactivitiesoforganizationswillbemediatedbynewsmedia,whichmay amplify,interpret,andmodifytheCSRinformationprovidedbyorganizations.Asindependentmonitorsoforganizations’ activities(Zhang&Swanson,2006),newsmediacanbeexpectedtotakeacriticalperspectiveonorganizations’CSRactivities. Theresearchreportedinthisarticlefillsthisgapintheliterature.WeanalyzedtherelationshipbetweenCSRfitandmedia coverageintwosteps:anexpertreviewdeterminingthefitbetweenorganizationsandtheirCSRactivities,andacontent analysisofthemediacoverageofthoseactivities.Ourresearchquestionwas:WhatistheimpactofCSRfitonthemedia coverageaboutCSRactivities?
2. Theoreticalframework
2.1. ConceptualizingCSRfit
Yuan,Bao,andVerbeke(2011)distinguishthreetypesofCSRfit:externalconsistency(thefitwithstakeholderdemands), coherence(thefitwithotherCSRactivities),andinternalconsistency(thefitwiththeorganization’scoreactivities).Inthis study,wefocusontheinternalconsistency.Basedonexistingliterature,Yuanetal.(2011)developedaconceptualframework withsevenpatternsofCSRinitiativeadoption.Thepurposeofthisframeworkistoidentifythefitbetweenanorganization’s corebusinessandCSRpractices.Whilethefirstfourpatterns(bornCSR,patching,thickening,andpositioning)represent degreesofinternalconsistencyandcanbeperceivedasanordinalscale,thelastthreepatterns(relabeling,trimming,and cooperating)focusmoreonspecificwaystointegrateCSRinitiatives.Thesethreepatternsareredundantinthecontextof thisresearch,astheycanbeassignedtoanyofthefirstfourpatterns:TherecognitionoforganizationalactivitiesasCSR (relabeling),theeliminationofexistingCSRinitiatives(trimming),andinter-organizationalCSRalliances(cooperating)can allbepursuedinsuchwaysthattheybelongtobornCSR,patching,thickening,orpositioning.
LookinginmoredetailatthefirstfourpatternsitcanbestatedthatbornCSRdescribesthestrongestdegreeofinternal consistency.Organizationsapplyingthis patternhaveincorporatedCSRasa crucialpartof theiroperationsshowinga highcommitmentintermsofresourcestowardsCSR,sothattheir“corebusinessandCSRroutinesareindistinguishable fromeachother”(Yuanetal.,2011;p.80).Patchingcanbeseenasamediumdegreeofinternalconsistency,withCSR co-determiningorganizationaloperationsandstronglyinteractingwithcurrentorganizationalroutines,therebyinfluencing futureorganizationalpractices.SuchintegrationofCSRoftenreflectsintheinstitutionalizationofcorevaluesdrivingCSR andtheimplementationofCSRvaluesattheoperationallevel.WhenCSRinitiativesarebuiltuponcorebusinessroutinesand benefitfromtheirstrengths,thisisreferredtoasthickening.Inthesecases,changesinthecorebusinessroutinesdoinfluence theorganization’sCSR;however,conversely,changesintheorganization’sCSRdonotinfluencethebusiness’core.Finally, positioninginvolvesthecreationofnewCSRroutinesasindependentperipheralpracticesnotinfluencingorbeinginfluenced bythecorebusinessactivities.Tosummarize,bornCSR,patching,andthickeningalldescribeacertaindegreeoffitbetween CSRinitiativesandanorganization’scorebusiness,whilepositioningdefinesaCSRinitiativeasaperipheralindependent practice.Basedupontheseconceptualizations,allCSRinitiativescategorizedasbornCSR,patching,orthickeningaredefined ashavingaCSRfit,whileallCSRinitiativescategorizedaspositioningaredefinedashavingaCSRmisfit.Inthispaper,CSRfit isthusdefinedasanydegreeofconsistencybetweenanorganization’sCSRactivitiesanditscorebusiness,whileCSRmisfit isdefinedastheabsenceofconsistencybetweenanorganization’sCSRactivitiesanditscorebusiness.
2.2. Mediacoverage:toneandframing
Asindependentmonitorsoforganizations’activities,representingthepublic’sinterest,newsmediacodeterminethe publicdiscourseonCSR(Wang,2007;Zhang&Swanson,2006).Twobasicconceptscentraltothepresentationoftopicsand issuesinthemediaaretoneandframing.
Whiletraditionalagendasettinghypothesizesthattheemphasisplacedoncertainaspectsinmediacoverageinfluences publicperception,second-levelorattributeagendasettinginadditionfocusesonthetoneofnewscoverage(Hester&Gibson, 2003).Mostcommonly,adistinctionismadebetweenapositive,neutral,andnegativetone(Deephouse,2000;McCombs& Ghanem,2001).Ingeneral,pastresearchindicatesthattoneinmediacoverageimpactsthepublicperceptionofthetopicof interest(DeVreese&Boomgaarden,2006;Kim,Caravllo,&Cooksey,2007).Sincemediacodeterminethepublicdiscourse onCSR,itisrelevanttoexplorehowjournalistsevaluateorganizationsandtheirCSRactivities.Usingapositive,neutral, ornegativetonewithintheircoverage,journalistsmayinfluencethewaythepublicperceivesorganizationsandtheirCSR activities.Forexample,intheirinvestigationofthecoverageofCSRintheFinancialTimesbetween1988and2003,Buhr andGrafström(2007)foundthattheoveralltoneofmediacoverageonCSRwaspositive,withtheintentiontoconvince organizationstoparticipatemoreinCSRactivities.
Besidestone,framingisacentralmediamechanisminformingthepublicperceptionofissues(Miller&Riechert,2001;
Price,Tewksbury,&Powers,1997).Framinginvolvesgeneratingasocialconstructionofphenomenaby“select[ing]some aspectsofaperceivedrealityand[making]themmoresalientinacommunicatingtext,insuchawayastopromotea particularproblemdefinition,causalinterpretation,moralevaluation,and/ortreatmentrecommendation”(Entman,1993; p.52).Byselectingandhighlightingcertainaspectsofinformation,framesmakeapieceofinformationmorenoticeable,
meaningful,ormemorabletoaudiences(Entman,1993;p.53).Consequently,framesdefineproblems,diagnosecauses, makemoraljudgments,andsuggestremedies.
2.3. CSRfitandmediacoverage
CSRfitcanbeexpectedtoinfluencemediacoveragefortworeasons:theimpactofCSRfitonpublicperception,and theprevalenceoftheconceptofCSRfitinjournalists’perceptions.First,itisreasonabletoapplyobservationsaboutthe relationshipbetweenCSRfitandpublicperceptiontothisspecificcontext,becausethe“publicopinionispartoftheprocess bywhichjournalists[...]developandcrystallizemeaning”(Gamson&Modigliani,1989).EarlierresearchindicatesthatCSR fitimpactspeople’sperceptionsoforganizationsandtheirCSRactivities(Becker-Olsenetal.,2006;Bloom,Hoeffler,Keller,& Meza,2006;Drumwright,1996;Ellen,Mohr,&Webb,2000;Elving,2013).Asmediaprofessionalsareindividualsbelonging tothepublic,theycanbeexpectedtobeinfluencedbythesameprocessesthatarerelevanttothepublicperceptionofCSR fit.
Second,intheirresearch,Tench,Bowd,andJones(2007)interviewed63mediaprofessionalstoinvestigatewhatCSR meanstothem.ThemediaprofessionalsappearedtoseeCSRfit asa keycomponentofCSR.Specifically,theyfocused stronglyonthewayorganizationsruntheirbusiness.AhighCSRfitmeansthatCSRactivitiesaredeeplyintegratedinto theorganizations’core,andthereforealsodeterminehowtheorganizationoperates(Yuanetal.,2011).Inaddition,Tench etal.(2007)foundawillingnessofjournaliststocoverthosepointsjournalistsseeasthekeyattributesofCSR–CSRfitbeing oneofthem.Furthermore,basedonquestionnairesandface-to-faceinterviews,Tenchetal.(2007)identifiedfivedistinct framesofhoworganizationsareperceivedbyjournalistsconcerningtheirCSRactivities,rangingfromastronglynegative perception(conformist)toastronglypositiveperception(strategicidealist).Organizationscategorizedasconformistsare describedtopursueCSRinordertofollowothers.TheyonlyseeCSRactivitiesasacost,notcomprehendingthetruebenefits ofsuchactivities.CynicsareperceivedtoadoptCSRduetoeconomicself-interest.TheyalsoonlyseeCSRascost,reveallow engagementinCSR,andtheorganizationalchangepracticedinthiscontextisratherperceptualthansubstantial.Realists areseenasorganizationsactivelyengaginginCSRtherebyacceptingthattheseactivitieshavelimitationsandinvolve self-interest.TheyseethecostsofCSRasnecessaryforimprovingthemselvesandtriggeringtransformationforthebetter. OptimistsstronglyfocusonthebenefitsofCSRanddeemphasizepotentialnegativeconsequences.TheirCSRactivitiesmaybe drivenbyavarietyofintentionssuchastheircommunity,environmentalaspects,andeconomicself-interest.Theyactively engageinCSR,embracechange,andperceiveCSRasinvestmentratherthanascost.Strategicidealistsareorganizationstrying tomaximizethebenefitsandminimizethenegativeconsequencesofCSR.TheyalsoactivelyengageinCSRandperceiveit asinvestment,butmostimportantly,theypursueCSRforitsownsake–asaforceforgood.Thesefiveorientationshighlight differentaspectsofhowanorganizationisperceivedtopursueCSRandthereforecoincidewiththeconceptofframing. Sincejournalistshaveaneedtopreservetheirexistingknowledgeandattitudes(Donsbach,2004),onecanexpectthatthey willincorporatesuchorientationsintomediacoverage.
PastresearchintotheeffectsofCSRfitonpublicperceptioniscontradictory,withmoststudiespledgingfortheadvantages ofahighfit(e.g.,Becker-Olsenetal.,2006;Elving,2013)andsomestudiespledgingfortheadvantagesofalowfit(Bloom etal.,2006;Drumwright,1996;Ellenetal.,2000)(cf.DeJong&VanderMeer,inpressforanoverview).Explanationsfor theadvantagesofahighfitinvolvethatsuchactivitiesrequirelesscognitiveelaboration,andthereforeraisefewercritical questions(Becker-Olsenetal.,2006;Duetal.,2010;Elving,2013),andmaybeperceivedtobemorestructurallyembedded withintheorganization(DeJong&VanderMeer,inpress).AnexplanationfortheadvantageofalowfitisthattheCSR activitiesmaybeperceivedtoreflectamoredeliberateandlargereffort(Drumwright,1996;Ellenetal.,2000).
Insum,aspastresearchindicatesthatCSRfitisanimportantfactorinstakeholders’perceptionsofCSRactivities,onecan assumethatthiswillalsobethecaseforjournalists.Inthisstudy,wethereforeproposethatthedegreeofCSRfitaffectsthe selectionofattributesassignedtotheorganizationanditsCSR(framing),leadingtoapositive,neutral,ornegativetonein themediacoverage(Deephouse,2000;McCombs&Ghanem,2001).Consequently,weaimtoanswerthefollowingspecific subquestions:
Subquestion1:WhatistheimpactofCSRfitonholisticCSRframes? Subquestion2:WhatistheimpactofCSRfitonspecificCSRframeelements? Subquestion3:WhatistheimpactofCSRfitonthetoneofmediacoverage?
3. Method
ToinvestigatetheeffectsofCSRfitonmediacoverage,thestudywasconductedintwosteps.First,wereviewedtheCSR initiativespresentedin513newsarticlesinordertoassessthedegreeofCSRfit.Second,aquantitativecontentanalysisof thesenewsarticlesmeasuredtheframingandtoneofthemediacoverage.Then,thedatafrombothstepswerecompared todeterminetherelationshipbetweenCSRfitandmediacoverage.
3.1. Corpusofnewsarticles
ViatheLexisNexisdatabase,allEnglishwrittennewsarticlespublishedbetweenFebruary22ndandMay23rd,2013 wereselectedthatmetthefollowinginclusioncriteria:(1)thesearchterm‘corporatesocialresponsibility’or‘CSR’;(2)
twoadditionalindexterms(‘companyactivities’and‘management’);and(3)thesourceofthematerial(newspapersand magazines).Regardingthelatter,thesetwosourceswereselectedbecausetheyareexpectedtoreflectthepublicdiscourse onCSRattwolevels–peopleactivelyinterestedintopicssuchasCSR(magazines),andsocietyatlarge(newspapers).Further, theindexterms‘companyactivities’and‘management’wereaddedtoincreasethelikelihoodofinclusionofnewsarticles thatdescribespecificorganizations’CSRactivities.Theseinclusioncriteriaresultedin2455newsarticles.
Todrawasuitablesampleofthistotal,itwasdecidedtoonlyincludethenewsarticlesthatdescribedasinglecompany pursuingoneormoreCSRinitiatives,whilenewsarticlesreportingaboutCSRingeneral,reportingaboutseveralcompanies, ornotdescribingspecificCSRinitiativeswereexcludedfromthesample.Furthermore,allnewsarticlesthatconcernedpress releases(e.g.,writteninfirstpersonperspective)andrepetitionsofthesamenewsarticlewereexcludedfromthesample. Thisresultedinafinalsampleof513newsarticles,rangingfromshortdescriptionstoextensivereportsonanorganization’s CSRinitiatives.Onaverage,thenewsarticlescontainedapproximately378words(M=378.42,SD=192.12),andcamefrom 39differentcountrieswithIndia(24.8%),Nigeria(9.6%),Pakistan(9.2%),andSriLanka(5.7%)constitutingthebiggestportion ofthesample.
3.2. ReviewofCSRfit
TodeterminethedegreeofCSRfitregardingtheCSRactivitiesdescribedinthe513newsarticles,allofthesedescribed CSRactivitieswerereviewedbyoneoftheauthorsaswellasanexternalresearcherexperiencedinthefieldofCSRresearch. First,allCSRinitiativespresentedwerelistedinatableandgroupedaccordingtotheorganizationsbehindthem.Second, eachcompany’swebsitewasanalyzedtoretrieveadescriptionoftheorganizations’corebusiness(es)andthesedescriptions wereinsertedinthetable,nexttotheCSRinitiatives.Then,basedonthedefinitionofthedifferentdegreesofCSRfit(born CSR,patching,thickening,andpositioning),theauthoraswellastheexternalresearcherjudgedthefitbetweentheCSR initiativeandtheorganizations’coreactivities.First,bothreviewersevaluated20initiativestogether,inordertoreach agreementontheircategorization.Next,thereviewersindependentlyevaluatedthefitbetweentheCSRinitiativesandthe coreactivitiesoftheorganization.InthosecaseswherenoagreementintheevaluationofCSRfitcouldbeachieved,athird externalresearcher,alsoexperiencedinthefieldofCSRresearch,wasconsulted.Basedonhisevaluationsoneofthefour categorieswasassignedtothediscrepantcases.Afterdiscussionofdiscrepanciesandtheadaptionoftheevaluations,a Cohen’skappaof0.92wasachieved.
3.3. Contentanalysismediacoverage
Allnewsarticleswerecodedonthebasisofacodemanualconsistingofthreecategories:(1)backgroundinformation oftheorganizationandthenewsarticle;(2)toneandholisticframeuse;and(3)specificelementsoftheCSRframes.See
Table1forthecodemanual.
Thefirstpartofthecodemanualincludeddescriptiveinformationofthematerial,regardingtheorganizationdescribed (includingcountryoforiginandindustryoforganization)andthenewsarticle(nameofnewspaper/magazine,countryof newspaper/magazine,numberofwords,andnumberofCSRinitiativesdescribed).
Thesecondpartofthecodemanualconcernedthemedia’sdescriptionoftheCSRinitiativesandtheorganization.Here, itwasassessedwhethertheoveralltoneofthenewsarticleswaspositive,neutral,ornegative.Furthermore,theCSRframes asdefinedbyTenchetal.(2007)–conformist,cynic,realist,optimist,andstrategicidealist–wereusedascodes.
Third,theseCSRframesweresplitintospecificelementsthatwerecodedseparately.Theseelementswerecodedbased onthedefinitionsofthefiveCSRframesbyTenchetal.(2007).First,foreachframe,aspecificintention(usingCSRforitsown sake,stakeholderpressure,self-interest,followingotherstonotbeleftbehind)withwhichanorganizationisperceived topursueitsCSRactivitiescouldbeidentified.Organizations‘usingCSRforitsownsake’weredescribed,forexample, toimplementa“welcomeinitiative[that]hasthepotentialtochangeforthebetterthelotofmanypoorbutmeritorious students”,making“ahumanitariangesture”or“startingasociallyresponsiblebusiness[...]tohelpfillthegapinthemedical system”.Furthermore,someorganizationsweredepictedtopursueCSRdueto‘stakeholderpressure’suchasasupermarket chain“givingbacktoitsstakeholdersinabigway”bydistributingprofitstoemployeesandshareholdersoranelectricity supplierdeveloping“a[...]valuecreationmodelthatplacesgreaterfocusonbuildingstrongtieswithallitskeystakeholder groups”.Organizational‘self-interest’inCSRwasdeemedtobeusedasframeelementinthearticleswhenanybenefitfor theorganizationitselfwashighlighted,forexample,aretrofithelpingacompanyto“balanceitscommitmentsto cost-effectiveserviceandenvironmentalresponsibilityatacostthat’s30percentlessthanotheralternatives”.Moreover,some organizationsweredescribedtopursueCSR‘followingotherorganizationsinordertonotbeleftbehind’suchasacatering companywhich“arrangedtohaveallitsmeatproductstestedtoshowthattherearenotracesofhorsemeat[...]following othercompany’shavingtheirproductstested”.Allthesefourintentionswereaddedtothecodemanualasseparatecodes. Second,ineachofthefiveCSRframes,someformoforganizationalchangecausedbytheimplementationoftheCSRinitiatives wasdescribed.Thisorganizationalchangecanbeidentifiedtotakethreedifferentforms.First,‘perceptualchange’–howthe organizationisperceivedtochange(ratherthanchangingitscoreoperations)–wasidentifiedwhenthearticlesdescribed anorganizationtopursueitsCSRinitiativesinsuchawaythattheperceptionoftheseactivitieswascentral.Examplesfor thisframeelementincludeanairlinegivingawheelchairtoadisabledgirlduring“aneventorganizedbytheAssociationof PeoplewithDisability”orawaterandenergysupplierreceiving“alargenumberofvisitorsincludingdelegationsofstudents
Table1
CodeManual.
Category Sub-category Definition Codes Kappa
(1)DescriptiveInformation Organization Descriptiveinformationaboutthe
organizationpresentedinthearticle
– Countryoforganization
– Industryoforganization
0.756
Article Descriptiveinformationaboutthe
newspaper/magazineandthearticle
– Nameof newspaper/magazine – Countryof newspaper/magazine – Numberofwords – NumberofCSR initiatives 1.000
(2)Presentation Tone Overalltoneofthearticle
– Positive – Neutral – Negative 0.733 HolisticCSR Frames
HolisticCSRframesasdefinedbyTench
etal.(2007) – Conformist – Cynic – Realist – Optimist – Strategicidealist 0.711
(3)CSRFrameElements Intention Thereasonwhyanorganization
participatesinCSR
– Followingother
organizations
– Self-interest
– Stakeholderpressure
– UsingCSRforitsown
sake
– Notspecified
0.852
Change Organizationalchangewithregardtothe
implementationoftheCSRinitiatives
– Perceptualchange – Incrementalchange – Substantialchange – Notspecified 0.715 Costvs. investment
WhethertheorganizationperceivesCSR
initiativesascostorinvestment
– Cost – Costnecessaryto achieveimprovement – Investment – Notspecified 0.758
Engagement Degreeoforganizationalengagementin
theCSRinitiatives
– Lowengagement
– Activeengagement
– Notspecified
0.736
Judgment OveralljudgmentoftheCSRinitiatives – Positive
– Neutral
– Negative
0.735
fromvariousschoolsandcollegesacrossQatarattheQPEnvironmentFair2013”inordertodiscussCSRtopicswiththem. Second,‘incrementalchange’–theorganizationchangesstepbystep–wasdeemedtobeappliedforexampleinanarticle statingthat“thescopeofCSRactivitiesissteadilygettingwider,rangingfromprobonowork[...]tocharityactivities.”Third, ‘substantialchange’–theorganizationchangesdeeplyasitscoreisinvolved–wasreflectedinnewsarticlesdescribingCSR tochangetheorganizationitselfinaprofoundway,forexampledepicting“CSRinitiatives[as]awayforcompaniesto improveanddevelop[...]theorganization”and“recognizingeveryemployeeasapowerfulagentofpositivechange”.If noformofthesechangeswasprevalent,itwascodedas‘notspecified.’Third,eachCSRframeasdescribedbyTenchetal. (2007)indicateswhethertheorganizationperceivesCSRascostorinvestment.Theorganizationswerecodedtoperceive CSRsimplyas‘cost’,as‘costnecessarytoachieveimprovement,’oras‘investment’.InthosearticleswhereCSRwasmainly describedas‘cost’itwasverymuchfocusedontheamountorpercentageofmoneypaidsuchasanorganizationlaunching“a five-year,$3millionprogramtosupportalumniactivitiesandprovidesmallgrants”.Whennexttothecostsalsothegained improvementswherehighlighted,thecode‘costnecessaryforimprovement’wasapplied.Examplesareafinancialgroup giving“adonation,whichwillbespenttoimprovetheheatingsystemsof[a]facility[fordisabledpeople]”or“money[...] spenttoimprovetheeducationalenvironmentforchildrenofpoorfamilies”.Moreover,organizationswerealsoframedto perceiveCSRas‘investment’suchasapharmaceuticalcompany“buildinghealthiercommunitiesthroughsocialinvestments
andcommunityengagementinitiatives”oraminingcorporationwhichnoticedthe“needtoinvestsignificantlyinsport andmanyothersocialengagements”.Fourth,thefiveCSRframesindicatewhethertheorganizationsareperceivedtoshow loworactiveengagementintheirCSR.While‘lowengagement’wasreflectedinthearticlesbyorganizationsthatpursueCSR rathersuperficiallysuchas“arailwaygiant[which]certainlyhasroomtogivemore”,‘activeengagement’wasstressedby phrasessuchas“continuouslyengageinvalue-addingpartnerships”or“themostsignificantandenduringchangeoccurs whenteammembersareactivelyengaged”.Finally,allfiveCSRframesdeliverajudgmentontheorganizationanditsCSR. Whilethestrategicidealistandoptimistframedelivera‘positive’judgmentontheorganizationanditsCSR,therealistframe deliversa‘neutral’andthecynicandconformistframedelivera‘negative’judgment.
Inordertovalidatetheinstrument,twocodersindependentlycoded10%ofthesample.Afterthreeroundsofcodingand severalminoradaptions,thefinalversionofthecodemanualwasvalidatedwitheachcategoricalcodereachingaCohen’s kappaofatleast0.70(seeTable1).
4. Results
4.1. Descriptivestatistics
DescriptivestatisticsrevealthatmostCSRinitiativespresentedinthe513newsarticlesarecategorizedasfit(58.7%) ratherthanmisfit(41.3%).Furthermore,themajorityofthearticles(73.7%)haveapositivetone,20.5%ofthenewsarticles haveaneutraltone,and5.8%haveanegativetone.LookingattherelativecompositionofthedifferentCSRframes,itbecomes clearthatthetwomostnegativeframes–conformistandcynic(1.0%and3.1%respectively)–areleastpresentwithinthe newsarticles,whilethesecondmostpositiveframe–optimist(38.4%)–ismostfrequentlyused,followedbyrealist(18.5%) andstrategicidealist(14.6%).Inaddition,onealsohastoconsiderthatinnearlyonequarterofthecases(24.4%),itwasnot possibletoassignaspecificCSRframetoanewsarticle.
InthefollowingsectionstheimpactofCSRfitontone,holisticCSRframes,andCSRframeelementswillbediscussed. Allsignificantcorrelationshavebeencontrolledforunderlyingfactorssuchasindustry,typeofCSRinitiativeorcountryof origininordertoensurethatnoneofthemwouldimpedetherelationshipsbetweenCSRfitandthedependentvariables. 4.2. ImpactofCSRfitontone
BeforeconductingabinarylogisticregressionanalysisonthepredictiveeffectsofCSRfitonthethreecategoriesoftone (positive,neutral,andnegative),Pearson’schi-squaretestwasusedtodeterminethecorrelationsbetweenthesecategorical variables.SinceasignificantcorrelationcouldonlybeidentifiedforCSRfitandneutraltone(2=6.655,p<0.05),abinary
logisticregressionwasperformedtoascertaintheeffectsofCSRfitonthelikelihoodthatanewsarticlehasaneutraltone. Thelogisticregressionmodelisstatisticallysignificant(2(1)=6.572,p<0.05;NagelkerkeR2=2%,79.5%ofcasesclassified)
showingthatCSRfitsignificantlypredictsneutraltone(seeTable2). 4.3. ImpactofCSRfitonholisticCSRframes
Pearson’schi-squaretestsorFisher’sexacttestswereconductedtoidentifythecorrelationsbetweenCSRfitandsix differentCSRframes(conformist,cynic,realist,optimist,strategicidealist,andnone). Significantcorrelations couldbe identifiedbetweenCSRfitandthreeCSRframes(realist:2=4.568,p<0.05;strategicidealist:2=12.613,p<0.001;none:
2=21.777,p<0.001).ForeachofthesecorrelatedCSRframes,abinarylogisticregressionwasconducted,whichrevealed
thatCSRfitsignificantlypredictsallthreeCSRframes:realist(2(1)=4.68,p<0.05;NagelkerkeR2=1.5%,81.5%ofcases
correctlyclassified);strategicidealist(2(1)=13.441,p<0.001;NagelkerkeR2=4.6%,85.4%ofcasescorrectlyclassified);
andnone(2(1)=21.532,p<0.001;NagelkerkeR2=6.1%,75.6%ofcasescorrectlyclassified).
TheseresultsshowthatCSRfitincreasesthelikelihoodthatarealistorstrategicidealistframeisappliedinthenews article.NewsarticlesdescribingthesetypesoforganizationsdeliveraneutraljudgmentontheCSRinitiatives,suchasinthe caseofarealistframeinanarticleonalogisticcompanywhichstartswithadescriptionofthecompany’spresidentpoint ofview:
“MoreandmorecompaniesarerealizingthatthecreationofmodernCSRprogramscanimproveemployeemorale andcorporateculture,aswellasretainandattractskilledstaff.Thisisaccordingto[companypresident’sname]of [companyname],whosaidthatmodernCSRprogramshavemovedbeyondsimplyaligningacompany’sbusiness strategyandengagementwithkeystakeholdergroups.”
Anexampleofastrategicrealistframewouldbeafoodretailer
“thatwiththesupportof[its]customershasreducedthenumberofplasticshoppingbagsfromitsstoresnationally bymorethanfivebillionsince2007.Thisreductionisapartofoneof[companyname]’sfiveprinciplesofcorporate socialresponsibility,andemphasizesitscommitmenttowastediversion.In2007,[companyname]becameoneof thefirstretailerstointroducebaglessstores.[...]Todate,[companyname]hassevenstoresacrossCanadawhere plasticshoppingbagsarenotavailable.”
Table2
ThePredictiveEffectsofInternalCSRFit.
DependentVariableB(SE)WaldOddsRatio B(SE) Wald OddsRatio
Tone Neutral* 0.311 1.836 1.365 CSRFrames NoFrame*** 0.683 9.221 1.979 Realist* −0.384 2.405 0.681 StrategicIdealist*** −0.582 5.682 0.559 Intention Self-Interest*** −0.943 9.449 0.389 StakeholderPressure*** −2.699 6.843 0.067 Change NotSpecified*** −2.781 7.221 0.062 SubstantialChange*** −1.354 16.471 0.258 CostvsInvestment NotSpecified*** 1.579 23.444 0.206 CSRasCost** 1.052 4.230 2.864 CSRasInvestment*** −0.434 3.999 0.648 Engagement NotSpecified*** −0.533 5.864 0.587 ActiveEngagement*** −0.551 6.974 0.576 Judgment NotSpecified*** 0.661 6.820 1.936 Positive*** −0.314 2.597 0.731 Negative** −1.815 2.899 0.163
Predictorstatisticallysignificantat*p<0.05,**p<0.01,***p<0.001.
Inthecourseofthenewsarticle,thefoodretailerisclearlydepictedinapositivewayasitisdescribedto demon-strate“greatleadershipinhelpingCanadiansmakemoreeco-friendlychoicesintheirshoppingbags,homeenergyuseand education”.Finally,CSRfitdecreasesthelikelihoodthatnoframeisappliedinthenewsarticles.
4.4. ImpactofCSRfitonCSRframeelements
SincetheCSRframesweremeasuredintwodifferentways(asoverallcoherentconceptsandassingleCSRframeelements whichwerecodedseparately),theseparateelementsoftheCSRframeswerealsoconsideredintheanalysis(forexamples ofthecodedCSRframeelementsseeparagraph2.3).First,Pearson’schi-squaretestsorFisher’sexacttestswereconducted toidentifythecorrelationsbetweenCSRfitandtheCSRframeelements(intention,costvs.investment,engagement,and judgment).Forthosecombinationswithasignificantrelationship,abinarylogisticregressionwasconducted.
Aftercontrollingforunderlyinginfluences,twelvesignificantpredictiveeffectsofCSRfitontheCSRframeelements remain(seeTable2).First,CSRfitincreasesthelikelihoodthat‘self-interest’(2(5)=39.935,p<0.001;NagelkerkeR2=12.8%,
84.4%ofcasescorrectlyclassified)and‘stakeholderpressure’(2(8)=55.645,p<0.001;NagelkerkeR2=27.1%,94.5%ofcases
correctlyclassified)aredescribedasanorganization’sintentiontopursueitsCSRinitiatives.Second,lookingattheCSRframe element‘change,’itbecomesclearthatCSRfitincreasesthelikelihoodthatorganizationalchangeisnotspecifiedwithina newsarticle(2(11)=51.617,p<0.001;NagelkerkeR2=25.2%,94.7%ofcasescorrectlyclassified)ordescribedassubstantial
change(2(9)=109.486,p<0.001;NagelkerkeR2=30.4%,80.5%ofcasescorrectlyclassified).Third,lookingattheCSRframe
element‘costvs.investment,’threepredictiveeffectsofCSRfitcanbeobserved.Ontheonehand,CSRfitincreasesthe likeli-hoodthatanorganizationisdescribedasperceivingitsCSRinitiativesasaninvestment(2(5)=47.006,p<0.001;Nagelkerke
R2=12.3%,70.2%ofcasescorrectlyclassified)andthattheorganization’sperceptionisnotspecified(x2(4)=97.512,p<0.001;
NagelkerkeR2=27.3%,80.9%ofcasescorrectlyclassified).Ontheotherhand,CSRfitdecreasesthelikelihoodthatan
orga-nizationisdescribedasperceivingitsCSRinitiativesasacost(2(2)=9.324,p<0.01;NagelkerkeR2=6.6%,96.3%ofcases
correctlyclassified).Fourth,CSRfitincreasesthelikelihoodthatanorganizationisdescribedas‘activelyengaging’initsCSR initiatives(2(7)=92.285,p<0.001;NagelkerkeR2=22.3%,67.6%ofcasescorrectlyclassified)andthatanorganization’s
engagementisnotspecified(2(6)=44.934,p<0.001;NagelkerkeR2=11.8%,70.4%ofcasescorrectlyclassified).Finally,
CSRfitdecreasesthelikelihoodthatthereisnospecific‘judgment’abouttheorganizationanditsCSRinitiativesdelivered withinthenewsarticles(2(2)=19.926,p<0.001;NagelkerkeR2=6.6%,84.8%ofcasescorrectlyclassified).Thismeansthat
incaseofafitofaCSRinitiative,itismorelikelythatanewsarticledeliversajudgmentregardingtheorganizationand itsactivities.However,whetherthisjudgmentispositive(2(3)=25.958,p<0.001;NagelkerkeR2=6.8%,65.9%ofcases
correctlyclassified)ornegative(2(3)=13.757,p<0.01;NagelkerkeR2=12.6%,97.5%ofcasescorrectlyclassified)doesnot
5. Discussion
5.1. Mainfindingsandconclusions
Thisresearchprovidesabasisforunderstandinghowthefitbetweenorganizations’CSRactivitiesandtheircoreactivities relatestothecontentsofmediacoverage.InlinewithearlierresearchintotheeffectsofCSRfitonstakeholders(e.g., Becker-Olsenetal.,2006;Bloometal.,2006;Drumwright,1996;Ellenetal.,2000;Elving,2013),itwasexpectedthatCSRfitwould influencethewaymediadescribeorganizationsandtheirCSRactivities.
Theresultsofthisstudypartlyconfirmthisexpectation.First,andinlinewithBuhrandGrafström’s(2007)findings,most newsarticlesaboutorganizationsandtheirCSRactivitieshadapositivetone.CSRfitisfoundtobepredictiveofaneutral tone,andwhenCSRinitiativesfitorganizations’corebusiness,thelikelihoodincreasesthatthemostpositiveframepossible (strategicidealist)isusedinnewsarticles.Basedontheseobservations,onecanconcludethatCSRfitpositivelyimpacts mediacoveragewithregardtoframing.CSRmisfit,however,doesnotnecessarilyleadtoanegativeframingoforganizations andtheiractivities.
LookingattheCSRframeelements,theeffectsofCSRfitcanbefurtherexplored.Whenorganizations’CSRinitiativesfit theircorebusiness,itismorelikelythattheorganizationsaredescribedassubstantiallychangingwithregardtoitsCSR,as perceivingCSRasaninvestment,andasactivelyengaginginCSR.AlltheseelementsarepartofpositiveCSRframes(strategic idealistandoptimist)andthereforeindicateapositiverepresentationoforganizationsandtheiractivities.However,CSR fitincreasesthelikelihoodthatorganizationsaredescribedaspursuingtheirCSRinitiativesbecauseofself-interestand stakeholderpressure,andCSRfitdecreasesthelikelihoodthatanorganizationisdescribedasperceivingitsCSRasacost.
TheseobservationsarelargelyinlinewithpastresearchthatindicatesapositiveimpactofhighCSRfit,aswellaswith earlierfindingsinfavorofalowCSRfit.Itthussupportssomeoftheargumentsgiventoexplainsucheffects.Specifically,the positiveeffectsofCSRfitonframeelementscorrespondwithassumptionsthatCSRactivitieswithhighfitmaybeperceived tobemorestructurallyembeddedwithinorganization(DeJong&VanderMeer,inpress),whilethenegativeeffectsconfirm thepotentialcounter-argumentsindicatingthatCSRactivitieswithlowfitmaybeperceivedtobeamoredeliberateand largereffort(Drumwright,1996;Ellenetal.,2000).
Inall,onecansaythattheseareimportantnewinsights,becausetodate,littleresearchhasbeenconductedonthe relationshipbetweenCSRfitandmediacoverage.Intheirroleasanindependentmonitoroforganizations’activities(Zhang &Swanson,2006)andasachannelthroughwhichthepublicperceivesmanysocietalissues(Andsager&Smiley,1998),the mediawereexpectedtoreflecttheorganizationalbehaviorsofCSRintegrationintheircoverage.Theoutcomesofthisstudy indicatethatthemediareflectorganizations’CSRintegrationnotviathetonebutviatheframing–theaspectsincludedin thenewsarticles–ofthemediacoverage.
5.2. Practicalimplications
Adoptingtheinsightsderivedfromthisresearchtothepractice,criticalimplicationsforbothorganizationsandnews mediacanbeformulated.SincetheperceptionofCSRinthemediaseemstobemainlypositive,simplypursuingCSRcanbe expectedtoincreasethelikelihoodofpositivemediacoverage.AnevenstrongerpositiveeffectofCSRcanbeachievedwhen anorganizationpursuesCSRinitiativesfittingitscorebusiness,sinceCSRfitgenerallyleadstoapositivemediaframingof anorganizationanditsCSRinitiatives.However,alackofCSRfit,willnotnecessarilyresultinanegativerepresentation oftheorganization.InordertomaximallybenefitfromCSRandachieveoptimalmediacoverage,organizationsshouldnot onlyengageinCSRbutseektoimplementinitiativeswellintegratedintotheircorebusiness.
5.3. Limitations
Theculturalbackgroundofthenewspapersandmagazinesincludedinthisstudywasverydiverse.Whilethenewsarticles camefrom39differentcountrieswithIndiarepresentingaremarkablepartofthesample(24.8%),theconceptualization ofCSRframes (Tench etal.,2007)wasdevelopedbasedontheperceptionofBritishjournalists.Since theAnglosaxon culturessignificantlydifferfrom,forinstance,SouthernAsianorArabcultures(House,Hanges,Javidan,Dorfman,&Gupta, 2004),thediscrepanciesbetweenthenational-culturalcontextinwhichthemeasuredconceptsareconceptualizedandthe national-culturalcontextsinwhichtheresearchwasconductedmayhaveaffectedtheresults.
5.4. Suggestionsforfutureresearch
TheeffectsofCSRfitontheframingofmediacoverageofferinterestinglinksforfutureresearch.AsCSRfitonlypartly predictedthepresentationinthemediacoverage,itmaybeassumedthatotherprocessesmaybeprevalentwhenitcomes tomediacoverage.InordertoexplorewhichroleCSRfitactuallyplaysforjournalists,futureresearchshouldfocusonmedia professionals.IdentifyingthemechanismsandfactorsthatplayacrucialroleinthecreationofmediacoverageonCSRmay deliverinterestingnewinsightsonhowjournalistsworkanddealwiththediscourseonCSR.Here,BurkeandLogsdon(1996)
describesomestrategydimensionsofCSRthatmightberelevantforfurtherexploration.Nexttocentrality,whichmeans “theclosenessoffittothefirm’smissionandobjectives”(Burke&Logsdon,1996,p.407)andisquitesimilartoCSRfit,they
furthermentionvoluntarism(“thescopefordiscretionarydecision-makingandthelackofexternallyimposedcompliance requirements”(Burke&Logsdon,1996,p.407)andvisibility(“observable,recognizablecreditbyinternaland/orexternal stakeholdersforthefirm”(Burke&Logsdon,1996,p.407)asCSRstrategydimensions.Theseconceptsrepresentdifferent strategicaspectswhenitcomestoCSR.Byexploringwhetherandhowtheseimpactthemediacoverageofanorganization anditsCSR,itcouldberevealedwhichstrategicaspectsareespeciallyimportantandhowanorganizationshoulddesignits CSRstrategyinordertoachieveapositiverepresentationinthemedia.Here,itwouldalsobeinterestingtoscrutinizehow mediaprofessionalsperceivetheirroleandresponsibilitiestowardsthepublicwhenitcomestoreportingaboutCSR.
Acknowledgement
Theauthorsdeclarenoconflictofinterest.
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