CSR - it‘s not a public issue!Ass.-Prof. Dr. Franzisca Weder

www.franzisca-weder.com

Franzisca.Weder@uni-klu.ac.at

You hear a comment by Franzisca Weder

CSR is a vehicle to transport a certain image

CSR is creation of value

CSR is creation of value

… even for other business like Marketing- & PR-Consultants

For an example see clip A

CSR is foam – something which

can damp the „real business“

CSR is foam – something which

can damp the „real business“

NIKE – where the bad guys...

... became the good guys!?:

„What we've learned, after nearly a decade, is that monitoring alone hasn't solved the problems. And

many of the problems are recurring in the industry.”

CSR is the connection between the company and the individuals within the company

For an example see clip D

CSR matters on an individual (micro) level

CSR matters on an individual (micro) level

„More than half of the Austrian Managers are in ethical conflicts in their everyday business“

(Results of a longitudinal survey [1990, 1995, 2007, 2009]: „Manager Responsibility in Austria“, Franzisca.Weder@uni-klu.ac.at)

CSR matters on an organizational (meso) level

CSR matters on an organizational (meso) level

„CSR as an umbrella term for the debate“ for the appreciation to and realization of responsibility of business

(Scherer/Palazzo 2007, Matten/Moon 2008).

CSR is not a public (macro) issue ...

Appreciation of relevance (public attention)

Critical Issue

Interactive Issue

Functional Issue

attention level of the media

CSR-Organizations in Austria (pop.: 8 Mio)

NeSoVe = Network of social respnsibilityMaecenas AustriaInitiative Austria -> respACT (biggest organization, organizes:TRIGOS (award for best CSR-practice in different categories) Media Content Analysis of 26 german speaking

newspapers, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, n = 2979

„Tipping point“ of news reporting about CSR 2002 – debate about manager salaries, bonusesIn fact only 30 % of the 2979 articles are about responsibility in an economic contextIf the article is somehow about CSR its mostly on a theoretical level, examples of business practice are missingCSR is used as a „buzz word“ in different contextes – especially to frame individual acting in an economic context

CSR is an interactive issue

Appreciation of relevance (public attention)

Critical Issue

Interactive Issue

Functional Issue

Issue CSR

... but it should be!

CSR is not a public (macro) issue ...

Issue management

CSR - it‘s not a public issue - yet!Ass.-Prof. Dr. Franzisca Weder

www.franzisca-weder.com

Franzisca.Weder@uni-klu.ac.at

Executive summary:In recent years the first research projects were organized about the construction of the issue CSR in the media (see Lee/Kim 2010, Tengblad/Ohlsson 2009, Wang/Anderson 2008, Buhr/Grafström 2007, Capriotti/Moreno 2007, Golob/Bartlett 2007, Morsing/Langer 2007). The results show that CSR is becoming a new “buzz word” in news reporting, different events are connected to the fact that business have a kind of corporate responsibility. But an examination of a “CSR-Public Issue Life Cycle” (i.e. Downs 1972, Buchholz et al. 1985) is still missing. A current longitudinal content analysis of 26 newspapers and magazines in german speaking countries and the TIME Magazine (1999-2008) shows that there is no “issue cycle” of CSR – but CSR in fact is used as a “buzz word” used in different public discourses to frame first of all individual acting; CSR most notably is used in the debate about manager salaries and bonuses, about individual irresponsibilities and ethics.