Journal ArticleDOI
The Perils and Opportunities of Communicating Corporate Ethics
Reads0
Chats0
TLDR
The authors argue that the ideal relationship between corporate ethics, corporate communication, and corporate image is a sequence of activities, with companies adjusting their messages as they change their business conduct, and public perceptions are a fair reflection of corporate behaviour.Abstract:
This paper examines critical success factors for ethics-related corporate communication with a view to helping companies communicate their ethical stance more effectively. We analyze this communication process from the company's point of view and discuss the implications of source credibility, attitude formation, audience involvement and media choice for image management. We argue that the ideal relationship between corporate ethics, corporate communication, and corporate image is a sequence of activities, with companies adjusting their messages as they change their business conduct. In this way, public perceptions are a fair reflection of corporate behaviour. This process should be a continuous, upward moving cycle that stops when the company's public image matches its desired image. We also point out the dangers inherent in communicating corporate ethics, including public cynicism and elevated stakeholder expectations.read more
Citations
More filters
Corporate citizenship as a marketing instrument: concepts, evidence and research directions
Abstract: Confronted with increasing pressures to limit government spending on social welfare, more and more public policy makers welcome the growing social involvement of corporations. Yet, inasmuch as corporate citizenship may be desirable for society as a whole, it is unlikely to be embraced by a large number of organizations unless it is associated with concrete business benefits. This paper presents past findings and proposes future research directions useful for understanding the potential value of corporate citizenship as a marketing tool. Specifically, after examining the nature of corporate citizenship, the paper discusses its potential impact, first on consumers, then on employees. Two conceptual frameworks are introduced to guide research on the value of corporate citizenship in terms of external and internal marketing respectively.
Journal ArticleDOI
How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter “Greenwashing”: A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the role of independent sustainability ratings on consumers' responses to companies' corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication and find that consumers infer less intrinsic motives by the brand.
Posted Content
How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter "Greenwashing": A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the role of independent sustainability ratings on consumers' responses to corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication and find that consumers infer less intrinsic motives by the brand.
Journal ArticleDOI
CSR Information Disclosure on the Web: A Context-Based Approach Analysing the Influence of Country of Origin and Industry Sector
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the websites of 127 corporations from emerging countries, such as Brazil, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand and South Africa, and found that both country of origin and industry sector have a significant influence over CSR information disclosure on the web.
Journal ArticleDOI
Small-Business Owner-Managers’ Perceptions of Business Ethics and CSR-Related Concepts
TL;DR: In this paper, the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) is used to identify how small-business owners make sense of notions linked to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics.
References
More filters
Book
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
TL;DR: Cognitive dissonance theory links actions and attitudes as discussed by the authors, which holds that dissonance is experienced whenever one cognition that a person holds follows from the opposite of at least one other cognition that the person holds.
Book
Attitudes and Persuasion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a general framework for understanding attitude change processes, including the message-learning approach and the self-persuasion approach, as well as other approaches.
Book
Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image
TL;DR: The hidden value of a good reputation: going for the gold what's in a name? enlightened self-interest reputational capital the Midas touch shaping consistent images of pageants and horse races managing reputation as discussed by the authors.
Journal ArticleDOI
Corporate communication and impression management - New perspectives why companies engage in corporate social reporting
TL;DR: The authors used corporate communication as an overarching framework to study corporate social reporting in which corporate image and corporate identity are central, and argued that the increase in social disclosures represent a strategy to alter the public's perception about the legitimacy of the organisation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Managing Corporate Image and Corporate Reputation
Edmund R. Gray,John M.T. Balmer +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a pragmatic operational model to guide the thinking of senior executives in managing their organization's reputation and image, and argue that in today's sensitive business milieu, a firm's ultimate survival may well depend on maintaining a recognizable image and favorable reputation.
Related Papers (5)
The Company and the Product: Corporate Associations and Consumer Product Responses:
Tom J. Brown,Peter Dacin +1 more
Does Doing Good Always Lead to Doing Better? Consumer Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility
Sankar Sen,C. B. Bhattacharya +1 more