Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A Discursive Perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility Education: A Story Co-creation Exercise

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) pedagogies and teaching techniques have been extensively discussed in the literature. They are viewed as crucial for illustrating business–society relationships and encouraging business students to act ethically. Although the experiential learning perspective prevails in the discussions on CSR education, little attention has been paid to the discursive nature of CSR learning. Considering this gap, the paper explores the role of discourses in CSR education by drawing upon the discursive perspective on CSR and the relational social-constructionist orientation to management learning. To that end, a story co-creation exercise implemented in a CSR course in a Nordic University is used to demonstrate how discourses enable and constrain certain CSR meanings within a business educational context. The paper contributes to the field of CSR education and critical CSR research by suggesting how the discursive nature of CSR can be used to promote more reflexive practices among business students.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In line with Matten and Moon (2004, p. 324), CSR is used here as an umbrella term for a broad set of overlapping concepts reflecting business–society relations, environmental responsibility and business ethics.

References

  • Abma, T. A. (2003). Learning by telling: Storytelling workshops as an organizational learning intervention. Management Learning, 34(2), 221–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abrahamson, C. E. (1998). Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in higher education. Education, 118(3), 440–451.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, J., & Crowther, D. (Eds.). (2013). Education and corporate social responsibility: International perspectives. Developments in corporate governance and responsibility (Vol. 4). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvesson, M., & Karreman, D. (2000). Varieties of discourse: On the study of organizations through discourse analysis. Human Relations, 53(9), 1125–1149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, S. B. (2003). Who sustains whose development? Sustainable development and the reinvention of nature. Organization Studies, 24(1), 143–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, S. B. (2007). Corporate social responsibility: The good, the bad and the ugly. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, S. B., Chio, V. C. M., & Mir, R. (2009). The imperial formations of globalization. In S. B. Banerjee, V. C. M. Chio, & R. Mir (Eds.), Organizations, markets and imperial formations: Towards an anthropology of globalization (pp. 3–14). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Boje, D. M. (1991). The storytelling organization: A study of story performance in an office-supply firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36, 106–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boje, D. M. (1995). Stories of the storytelling organization: A postmodern analysis of Disney as “Tamara-Land”. Academy of Management Journal, 38(4), 997–1035.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckenridge, C. A., & van der Veer, P. (1994). Orientalism and the postcolonial predicament. In C. A. Breckenridge & P. van der Veer (Eds.), Orientalism and the postcolonial predicament: Perspectives on South Asia (pp. 1–19). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burchell, J., & Cook, J. (2006). Confronting the “corporate citizen”: Shaping the discourse of corporate social responsibility. The International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 26(3/4), 121–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caruana, R., & Crane, A. (2008). Constructing consumer responsibility: Exploring the role of corporate communications. Organization Studies, 29(12), 1495–1519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chia, R. (1996). Teaching paradigm shifting in management education: University business schools and the entrepreneurial imagination. Journal of Management Studies, 33(4), 409–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chio, V. (2005). Malaysia and the development process: Globalization, knowledge transfer and postcolonial dilemmas. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, L. J., Peirce, E., Hartman, L. P., Hoffman, W. M., & Carrier, J. (2007). Ethics, CSR, and sustainability education in the financial times top 50 global business schools: Baseline data and future research directions. Journal of Business Ethics, 73(4), 347–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunliffe, A. L. (2002). Reflexive dialogical practice in management learning. Management Learning, 33(1), 35–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunliffe, A. L. (2004). On becoming a critically reflexive practitioner. Journal of Management Education, 28(4), 407–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, B., & Harré, R. (1990). Positioning the discursive construction of selves. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 20, 43–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desjardins, J. R., & Diedrich, E. (2003). Learning what it really costs: Teaching business ethics with life-cycle case studies. Journal of Business Ethics, 48(1), 33–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • du Gay, P., Salaman, G., & Rees, B. (1996). The conduct of management and the management of conduct: Contemporary managerial discourse and the constitution of the “competent” manager. Journal of Management Studies, 33(3), 263–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Escobar, A. (1995). Encountering development: The making and unmaking of the third world, 1945–1992. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esin, C., Fathi, M., & Squire, C. (2014). Narrative analysis: The constructionist approach. In U. Flick (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis (pp. 203–216). London: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2011). The gender balance in business leadership. Brussels: European Commission. SEC 246 final.

  • Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and power. Essex: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, P., & Jones, M. T. (2013). The end of corporate social responsibility: Crisis and critique. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Franzosi, R. (1998). Narrative analysis—Or why (and how) sociologists should be interested in narrative. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 517–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gabriel, Y., & Connell, N. A. D. (2010). Co-creating stories: Collaborative experiments in storytelling. Management Learning, 41(5), 507–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García-Rosell, J. C. (2013). Struggles over corporate social responsibility meanings in teaching practices: The case of hybrid problem-based learning. Management Learning, 44(5), 537–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerde, V. W., & Foster, R. S. (2008). X-men ethics: Using comic books to teach business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 77(3), 245–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi, S., & Poggio, B. (2007). Tales of ordinary leadership: A feminist approach to experiential learning. In M. Reynolds & R. Vince (Eds.), The handbook of experiential learning and management education (pp. 156–168). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(1), 75–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gold, J., & Holman, D. (2001). Let me tell you a story: An evaluation of the use of storytelling and argument analysis in management education. Career Development International, 6(7), 384–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gold, J., Holman, D., & Thorpe, R. (2002). The role of argument analysis and storytelling in facilitating critical thinking. Management Learning, 33(3), 371–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greimas, A. J. (1966). Semantique structurale. Paris: Larousse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grosser, K. (2009). Corporate social responsibility and gender equality: Women as stakeholders and the European Union sustainability strategy. Business Ethics, 18(3), 290–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grosser, K., & Moon, J. (2005). The role of corporate social responsibility in gender mainstreaming. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 7(4), 532–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haigh, C., & Hardy, P. (2011). Tell me a story—A conceptual exploration of storytelling in healthcare education. Nurse Education Today, 31, 408–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halliwell, S. (1987). The poetics of Aristotle: Translation and commentary. London: Duckworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (1996). Ethnography: Principles in practice. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holman, D. (2000). Contemporary models of management education in the UK. Management Learning, 31(2), 197–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkinson, G. C. (2003). Stories from the front-line: How they construct the organization. Journal of Management Studies, 40(8), 1943–1969.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkinson, G. C., & Hogarth-Scott, S. (2001). “What happened was…” broadening the agenda for storied research. Journal of Marketing Management, 17, 27–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iivonen, K., & Moisander, J. (2015). Rhetorical construction of narcissistic CSR orientation. Journal of Business Ethics, 131(3), 649–664.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jonker, J., & Marberg, A. (2007). Corporate social responsibility—Quo vadis? A critical inquiry into a discursive struggle. The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 27, 107–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joutsenvirta, M. (2011). Setting boundaries for corporate social responsibility: Firm-NGO relationship as discursive legitimation struggle. Journal of Business Ethics, 102(1), 57–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kallio, T. (2007). Taboos in corporate social responsibility discourse. Journal of Business Ethics, 74(2), 165–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerins, K., & Springett, D. (2003). Educating for sustainability: Developing critical skills. Journal of Management Education, 27(2), 188–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, J., & Down, J. (2001). On taking stories seriously: Emotional and moral intelligences. Teaching Business Ethics, 5(4), 419–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macleod, C. (2002). Deconstructive discourse analysis: Extending the methodological conversation. South African Journal of Psychology, 32(1), 17–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, J. (1990). Deconstructing organizational taboos: The suppression of gender conflict in organizations. Organization Science, 1(4), 339–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2004). Corporate social responsibility: Education in Europe. Journal of Business Ethics, 54(4), 323–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McWilliams, V., & Nahavandi, A. (2006). Using live cases to teach ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 67(4), 421–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meriläinen, S., Moisander, J., & Pesonen, S. (2000). The masculine mindset of environmental management and green marketing. Business Strategy and the Environment, 9(3), 151–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikos, L. (2014). Analysis of film. In U. Flick (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis (pp. 407–423). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moisander, J., & Valtonen, A. (2006). Qualitative marketing research: A cultural approach. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, S., & Dennehy, R. F. (2004). Using stories to reframe the social construction of reality: A trio of activities. Journal of Management Education, 28(3), 372–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrell, M. (2006). Anita roddick: Corporate social responsibility. Big picture TV. Retrieved May 27, 2015 from http://www.globalissues.org/video/733/anita-roddick-corporate-social-responsibility.

  • Parker, I. (1992). Discourse dynamics: Critical analysis for social and individual psychology. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, R. (2007). Beyond women workers: Gendering CSR. Third World Quarterly, 28(4), 731–749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, L. J., & Jorgensen, M. W. (2002). Discourse analysis as theory and method. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsey, C. (2005). Narrative: From learning in reflection to learning in performance. Management Learning, 36(2), 219–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, M. (1999). Critical reflection and management education: Rehabilitating less hierarchical approaches. Journal of Management Education, 23(5), 537–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sims, R. R. (2004). Business ethics teaching: Using conversational learning to build an effective classroom learning environment. Journal of Business Ethics, 49(2), 201–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sims, R. R., & Felton, E. L. (2006). Designing and delivering business ethics teaching and learning. Journal of Business Ethics, 63(3), 297–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skålén, P., Fougère, M., & Fellesson, M. (2008). Marketing discourse: A critical perspective. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Springett, D., & Kearins, K. (2005). Educating for sustainability: An imperative for action. Business Strategy and the Environment, 14(3), 143–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomlinson, F., & Egan, S. (2002). Organizational sensemaking in a culturally diverse setting: Limits to the valuing diversity discourse. Management Learning, 33(1), 79–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaara, E. (2010). Taking the linguistic turn seriously: Strategy as a multifaceted and interdiscursive phenomenon. Advances in Strategic Management, 27, 29–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaara, E., & Tienari, J. (2008). A discursive perspective on legitimation strategies in MNC’s. Academy of Management Review, 33(4), 985–993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, T. A. (1993). Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse & Society, 4(2), 249–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, C. E. (2003). Using stories to teach business ethics: Developing character through examples of admirable actions. Teaching Business Ethics, 7(2), 93–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, T. J. (1995). Rhetoric, discourse and argument in organizational sense making: A reflexive tale. Organization Studies, 16(5), 805–821.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, T. J. (2001a). The emergent manager and processes of management pre-learning. Management Learning, 32(2), 221–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, T. J. (2001b). Beyond managism: Negotiated narratives and critical management education in practice. British Journal of Management, 12, 385–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westwood, R. (2006). International business and management studies as an orientalist discourse. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 2(2), 91–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willig, C. (2014). Discourses and discourse analysis. In U. Flick (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis (pp. 341–353). London: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Zemke, R. (1990). Storytelling: Back to a basic. Training Magazine, 27(3), 44–50.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Sciences, Multidimensional Tourism Institute (MTI), University of Lapland, P.O. Box 122, 96101, Rovaniemi, Finland

    José-Carlos García-Rosell

Authors
  1. José-Carlos García-Rosell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to José-Carlos García-Rosell.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

García-Rosell, JC. A Discursive Perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility Education: A Story Co-creation Exercise. J Bus Ethics 154, 1019–1032 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3399-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3399-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation