Strategic CSR Communication

Increasingly critical and sophisticated stakeholders request companies to engage in CSR activities and to communicate about such efforts. Driven by such an energetic demand, CSR communication seems like a straightforward task: inform stakeholders better about corporate CSR activities. Yet, strategic CSR commmunication is anything but a straightforward endevour. Communicating an organisation as a socially responsible entity implies not only "better information" but also that organisational members develop a sensitivity towards the changing expectations among a variety of stakeholders who voice their concerns with different intensity and on different topics . This book raises the key issues, the challenges and the complexity that face managers as they engage themselves and their organisations in a stakeholder dialogue about on communicating their CSR efforts.

"Over 30 years ago, Milton Friedman wrote in the New York Times that the social responsibility of a business was to increase its profits. Any diversion of company resources to social programmes, charity and other non-profit generating activities he argued was a tax on consumers and investors. His position, based upon sound free market ideology, has come under increasing attack since time of writing and can no longer provide the business leader with an erudite means of avoiding the issue. In the last decade or so, the global village has become a reality through globalization, consolidation and convergence and the boundaries between the corporation and its multiple stakeholders have become very blurred. The need for 360º stakeholder communications has never been more important or more pressing for business leaders to tackle.

This issue is addressed head on through this collection of readings which spells out why CSR is now high on the corporate agenda, how such programmes can be communicated effectively, even to the most ardent of anti-capitalists, and what the benefits and barriers of an integrated approach to CSR communications might be. The timing of this book is perfect. It draws together much of the stakeholder theory developed in the last 30 years as well as exploring many contemporary issues, such as the ethics of stealth marketing.

The book will certainly engage debate both in the boardroom and the classroom on the principles and practices of strategic CSR communication: A must read for all managers and students with an interest in CSR".

Simon Knox, Professor of Brand Marketing, Cranfield School of Management, UK


"Strategic CSR communication is of increasing importance for management, and this book excellently illustrates and challenges the complexity of the field. I find it particularly stimulating to read the experiences and discussions on how do we communicate to increasingly more sophisticated and critical stakeholders about our business processes and contributions to society? Do stakeholders want to hear our message? And if not, what do we do then? This book is not the usual "how to do communication" book. Although it delivers some suggestions to communicate CSR, it brings about even more questions for reflections. This is the kind of book that I need as a manager to trigger new ideas, thoughts and even touch upon taboos in present and future CSR communication challenges".

Ricky Raaholt, Brand Planner, VELUX and MBA student at CBS Executive Master of Corporate Communication