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Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility: Perspectives and Practice
Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility: Perspectives and Practice
Joy Chia
ABSTRACT
for organisations, for example, to engage with their communities and colla-
borate for mutual benefit. In this chapter a focus on regional communities
suggests that ‘real partnerships through shared community problem sol-
ving’, (Johnston, 2010, p. 218) or shared community planning and capacity
building are critical to the way organisations relate to their communities.
Managing day-to-day business, developing social capital and CSR initia-
tives are becoming increasingly important to organisations (Cornelissen,
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2006; Crane, Matten, & Spence, 2008; Fisher & Lovell, 2006; L’Etang,
2006). Caroll posits that ‘total corporate social responsibility of business
entails the simultaneous fulfilment of the firm’s economic, legal, ethical,
philanthropic responsibilities’ (Caroll, 2008, p. 95). This may be so but
organisations exist and function within communities and their social capi-
tal, or their relationships and networks will have an impact on the way
their businesses and their philanthropic responses are understood, accepted
and developed by their communities. The view of some scholars (Stark &
Kruckeberg, 2003) that the key stakeholder for all organisations is society
resonates with a social capital focus on community and organisations that
is central to this chapter.
Social capital is closely aligned with the concepts of CSR where organisa-
tions and society have the potential to prosper for the common good
(Falck & Heblich, 2007). However, due to the intangible nature of social
capital it can decline when its benefits are not recognised, or understood.
Social capital can be locked into micro-cells and become exclusive to certain
groups, or affiliations in organisations. An example of this occurred in the
corporate organisation Enron (Lyon, 2008) where conflict and ambiguity
made internal relationships strained, and relational exchanges were part of
internal, exclusive networks. From Putnam’s (1995) perspective, internal,
bonding capital had broken down and, instead, exclusivity stifled relational
development and kept many employees ‘in the dark’. The lack of communi-
cation with all parties, internal or external (Putnam refers to the latter
as bridging capital), resulted in a decline in social and economic capital,
with dire consequences for a collapsing Enron. There were many other
factors that led to Enron’s demise, but some scholars (Lattimore, Baskin,
Heiman, & Toth, 2012) posit that it was critical to make communication
Developing Social Capital for Socially Responsive Organisations 45
viable.
The notion of social capital as relational is contentious though complex
and multi-dimensional (Hazleton & Kennan, 2000) with researchers across
a wide field beginning to explore what it means (Batt, 2008). A focus on
social capital constantly reflects broader capital contexts, as Bourdieu
(cited in Edwards, 2008) puts forward in his explication of four types of
capital that contribute to organisational status: financial capital; social
capital; cultural capital that includes educational and cultural perspectives;
symbolic capital. Social capital has the potential for economic benefits
for organisations and it contributes to other forms of capital such as
intellectual capital (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). In this chapter the wider
brief that frames organisations’ capital development is acknowledged
as the close relationship of social capital and social responsiveness is
highlighted.
Coleman’s (1988) viewpoint that social capital encompasses the macro
and micro levels where benefits are sometimes for society as a whole
(macro), but they can also be for individuals (micro), depicts the context of
social capital and how it functions. I would argue that there is a constant
exchange between societal and individual social capital benefits and chal-
lenges, as networks and relationships will always have some individual
value even though they may, primarily, be social. However, scholars such
as Putnam (1993) argue that social capital is declining because of the focus
on individualism, rather than the community, so that the propensity for
civic engagement is no longer as apparent, as in previous decades. Twenty
five years of declining confidence related to the ‘erosion of social capital’
(Pharr, Putnam, & Dalton, 2000, p. 22), observed particularly in demo-
cratic societies, suggests to these scholars that trust in government has also
declined. Pharr, Putnam, Dalton posit that social capital decline is a symp-
tom of governments performing inadequately and, conversely, when social
capital grows good government is likely to be in place. These are important
considerations for the socially responsive organisations; if social capital is
declining organisations may find that programmes that respond to commu-
nity needs may not be understood or appreciated and if trust is not part of
46 JOY CHIA
The three regional communities central to the study reported here were
Roxby Downs, an isolated mining town with a population of 4,500,
purpose-built in 1987 1988 to service Olympic Dam, the world’s largest
uranium deposit, fourth largest copper deposit and fifth largest gold
Developing Social Capital for Socially Responsive Organisations 47
ways that social capital might grow or be hindered. Roxby Downs had a
newly formed community centre with a huge mining corporation directly
involved in supporting and sustaining the community; Mt Gambier had
many established organisations and community programmes, but the regio-
nal town was going through a time of significant change with many busi-
nesses closing and the community needing to think afresh about its future.
The Canadian community was thriving with a strong community engage-
ment model in place and with many community programmes established,
especially by the Credit Unions in that region. The precursor to this
research (Chia & Peters, 2008) pointed to the Canadian community engage-
ment models as benchmarks for the way community engagement is prac-
tised effectively and collaboratively. The research focus Building capacity
for community centred solutions; the role of public relations practitioners and
journalists in promoting regional sustainability and social capital was a
communication focus.
The research questions addressed:
• The role of public relations and media in social capital development and
how community messages are communicated and understood
• The way that communication through traditional and new media, such as
social media, was facilitating, or hampering social capital development
• The context of social capital and what it means to regional communities
and the organisations that support and engage with community members
and key stakeholders
In the Australian Canadian study the aim was to look beyond the
‘habitual frames’ (Schirato, Buettner, Jutel, & Stahl, 2010, p. 33) of social
capital with a view to emphasise the sense making and reflexivity that
Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) contend are important to understanding
what social capital is. A qualitative study was deemed the most appropriate
to gain perspective about the subjective components that make up social
capital relationships, the communication that is taking place to develop
these relationships, and the networks that might evolve from the relational
paradigm. As Flick (2006, p. 75) suggests, ‘subjects with their views on a
48 JOY CHIA
The manual coding was conducted by each member of the research team
(the team also included two journalists), compared and discussed, and
responses were clustered according to:
• Responses that supported and encouraged community and social capital
development;
• Responses that focused on the role of, and contribution to, social capital
in its various forms;
• Responses related to community challenges and poor communication,
and communication that did not include some stakeholders;
• Responses that pointed to social media, regional media and other forms
of communication important to public relations and communication
exchange, connectedness and relationship building that affect social
capital development.
Field notes were prepared in the additional interviews with community
project staff and in the meetings with a regional mayor, and other support
staff they proved invaluable to establish understanding about community
engagement and context.
The Roxby Downs focus group participants included representatives of
the local newspaper (The Monitor) and community radio station (RoxFM)
as well as the local council and local businesses, the local community board
and the regional development authority. Telephone interviews were also
conducted with representatives of the mining company BHP-Billiton,
Olympic Dam and local media, as they support the Roxby Downs commu-
nity. Mt Gambier participants included community coordinators and
managers of the two local councils that govern the city and its immediate
environs, including those with responsibilities in the areas of communi-
cation, community and sustainability, as well as local media. Separate
interviews were conducted with senior council staff, local journalists and
media directors, a local university director, sustainability action group
members and business owner who were actively involved in community
support, policy development, communication management and media
liaison.
50 JOY CHIA
there was considerable discussion about the needs of the youth in the town,
and many youth would not speak about these needs in face-to-face forums,
or even attend such a forum, but social media provided an avenue for them
to put forward their points of view. The community learnt that young
people were bored and felt very isolated, so the mining corporation was
challenged to reconsider its community programmes and its response to the
mining town’s needs. This is especially relevant to this discussion on CSR
as the mining corporation was involved in giving back to the community,
but it also needed to dialogue and understand the needs of the community.
Social media provided a forum for exchange facilitating the mining cor-
poration’s engagement with key stakeholders, as a better understanding
emerged about how best to work with the community.
Similarly, Canadian organisations such as Credit Unions became
involved with their communities when they communicated with a range of
individuals and groups online, and then planned face-to-face discussions
with them. They were able to set up support programmes, fund community
events and take a long-term interest in setting up education programmes
for low-income families. These examples, from Canadian Credit Unions,
closely linked social capital growth to socially responsible programme
management. Importantly, the communication with the community in its
various forms, newsletters, websites, Facebook, regional media articles and
face-to-face forums, gave them understanding about the realities of their
communities’ needs. Their social capital, especially through their networks,
contributed to valuable community knowledge assisting them to make
good business decisions about how best to assist their communities and
work with them. When relationships were established between organisa-
tions and their communities they also began to trust each other.
posit that organisations act as first responders, find common ground with
community leaders and proactively use this medium to leverage community
relations. This was especially evident in the Roxby Downs mining corpora-
tion that worked hard to establish relationships with the community using
both traditional and social media, so that their CSR programmes could
then be effective. When they initially attempted to give money and support
programmes they considered important, they were often criticised for ‘look-
ing good’ but not really caring about the community. As Ewing (2007)
asserts, attempts to look good and to ‘spin’ a story will not be tolerated by
stakeholders or community members, rather good news stories about CSR
programmes, whether they appear on traditional or social media, are
important. Ewing (2007, p. 368) posits that ‘actions speak louder than
words when communicating corporate responsibility’ as the most effective
communications are ‘those that address the concerns of stakeholders’.
Further, when trust has been established the parties that are in relation-
ships are also more likely to understand each other’s needs and respond
appropriately to them. Trust, emphasised by Putnam (1995) and Coleman
(1988), is a feature and a symbol that social capital is contributing to orga-
nisations’ overall capital. Putnam’s (1995) view that the sense of commu-
nity is declining, and social capital is being depleted can be allayed when
networks are opened up through social media and through diverse commu-
nication exchange that establishes meaningful relationships.
In the study reported here social capital was the catalyst for many
things: strong community relationships between organisations such as
Credit Unions, mining corporations and their communities, successful
events, sharing resources and developing a better understanding of commu-
nity needs. Appropriate, open, culturally respectful and diverse communi-
cation was shown to leverage social engagement and trust between
community members and the organisations that were important to them.
The notion that social capital is embedded in organisations, as they
work with their communities, establishes a basis for engagement, collabora-
tion and a way to deal with community problems and issues. The three
regional communities, often through public relations practitioners and
Developing Social Capital for Socially Responsive Organisations 55
O’Connell, 2008, p. 156) and they are also aware of the competitive advan-
tage of developing social capital that, according to Cornelissen (2006), is
also central to organisations’ and communities’ sustainability. Cornelissen
suggests that there is a ‘need for business to deliver wider societal value
beyond shareholder and market value alone’ (p. 63): this is the premise of
much of the discussion on social capital in this chapter; social capital
leverages CSR, complements and augments it.
CONCLUSION
This chapter emphasises that diverse communication is required that facili-
tates an understanding of the needs of various groups and stakeholders.
Relationships develop through different communication channels to estab-
lish trust in the organisations that support communities. The three regional
communities reported here were making progress as public relations practi-
tioners, community leaders and concerned businesses acted as the bridge
that connected, or set up communication to inform, connect and engage
their communities. This presents a way forward to also prepare commu-
nities for programmes that organisations want to fund and support. The
study here dovetails into the concepts and context of CSR as scholars
(Cornelissen, 2006, Doorley & Garcia, 2007) indicate that stakeholders
want and expect organisations to be actively engaged in responding to soci-
etal needs not just giving back to society. The study of three regional
communities indicates that established social capital through networks and
reciprocal relationships underpins sound CSR programmes that make a
difference to their communities and strengthens them.
Social capital is intangible and constantly changing and the role of
communication and communication professionals who work alongside
other community members and leaders needs further research and under-
standing, especially in terms of the possibilities that social media have
where new players, new ideas and extended exchanges and dialogue begin
56 JOY CHIA
complexities have been explored and the context of social capital and CSR
considered as the development of social capital is argued to be a basis for
all other planning. Social capital may be hard to define and even more
difficult to quantify, yet this study has alerted us to the importance of
organisations needing to develop strong and meaningful relationships
where CSR programmes and all exchanges reflect genuine concern for
communities the community is the stakeholder that matters.
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