Session 7, Schmitt
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Jana Schmitt M.A. Department of communication (IfK), University of Muenster, Germany valu e Media coverage Corporate Citizenship Corporate Social Responsibility sustainab ility Reputation ecologi cal environme nt green Research Frame Analysis natur e Impact Three-bottom-line media ethica l green CRM
Transcript of Session 7, Schmitt
Jana Schmitt M.A.
Department of communication (IfK), University of Muenster, Germany
valu
e
Media coverageCorporate Citizenship
Corporate Social Responsibility
sustainability
Reputation
ecological
environment
gre
en
ResearchFrame Analysis
natu
re
Impact
Three-bottom-line
media
ethical
green
CRM
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(1) CSR is understood as a symbolic and communicative practice and it is therefore precisely in communicative practices that the institutionalisation of CSR manifests itself.
(2) Companies – whether they wish to or not – cannot escape from public communication and public scrutiny in the media society.
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REPUTATION
ADDED VALUE ?
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CSR – opportunity or risk for a company‘s reputation?
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“A positive action can [.] turn negative as a result of the firms’ promotion of its CSR. Although many consumers find it acceptable for a firm to derive some benefit from their CSR activities, and the inclusion of cause-marketing messages in advertising is generally seen as beneficial to the firm, researchers caution that this type of promotion requires great care. Attempting to capitalize on good deeds by promoting them has backfired on some firms who have spent more on promoting their actions than they spent on the action itself.”
Peloza 2005: 16
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Media analysis of CSR – for what reason?
“[T]he media salience on the dimension of the firm’s ‘social and environmental responsibility’ had a significant relationship with the respondents’ evaluation of the firm on this very same dimension. Moreover media salience in this dimension was related to respondents’ evaluation of the firm’s products and services and their affective reaction.”
Einwiller et al., 2010: 312
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The Impact of Frame Analysis
Given that the mass media are a significant source of public information, understanding framing offers the opportunity to see the ways that key stakeholders seek and process information.
The public is more likely to experience the issues through the media rather than through their own experience. The study of framing aims to identify the dominant frame for a particular social issue or phenomenon.
Framing can provide a useful, strategic way to come to understand how the news media shape how we perceive and think about issues.
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Questions to be answered… In which amount and where is reported on CSR?/Are there variations in
time and how can they be explained?
How is reported on CSR? Which issues are mentioned in media coverage/Are there variations in time and how can they be explained?
In which amount political, societal, economic and scientific actors/groups are present in media coverage and what is their attitude to CSR?
What are the differences in framing between certain media?
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Conclusion: Empirical output From the perspective of research, the analysis of CSR in media promises
to offer valuable clues to the public appraisal of CSR and, furthermore, to the public appreciation of corporate legitimacy, trust and reputation.
Frame analysis gives the opportunity to explore in temporal dimension(1)whether frames alter among each other;(2)if modifications within frames themselves can be observed; (3)if media-induced differences in the patterns of interpretation can be
identified; (4)if differences in evaluating CSR caused by industrial sector or business
type are visible.
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Conclusion: Practical output
Understanding how media frame CSR can be helpful for practitioners for (re-)gaining the privilege of interpretation by trying to influence the CSR discourse in media themselves by strategic framing.
“While the corporation can control the CSR message sent through advertising, the corporation can lose control of the message when using media as intermediaries of the CSR information.”
Lee & Kim, 2010: 283
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Thanks for your attention!
Jana Schmitt
References Eisenegger, M., Imhof, K. (2008), “The True, the Good and the Beautiful:
Reputation Management in the Media Society”, in Zerfass, A., van Ruler, B., Sriramesh, K. (Eds.), Public Relations Research. European and International Perspectives and Innovations, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp. 125-146.
Einwiller, S.A., Carroll, C.E. and Korn, K. (2010), “Under What Conditions Do the News Media Influence Corporate Reputation? The Roles of Media Dependency and Need for Orientation”, Corporate Reputation Review, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 299-315.
Peloza, J. (2005), “Corporate Social Responsibility as Reputation Insurance”, Center for Responsible Business, Working paper series, Paper 24, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary.
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