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Integrated CSR Communications

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Handbook of Integrated CSR Communication

Part of the book series: CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance ((CSEG))

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has developed over the years from being a mere social idea to becoming a corporate concept and philosophy. In recent years, it has gained a remarkable amount of attention from top management as a strategic concept that is designed to promote the competitive competence of a corporation by espousing the principle of social legitimacy. A company’s public commitment to cooperate with a socially accepted ethical code improves its reputation and brand image, enhances its relationships with stakeholders and with the public, and thereby helps it to achieve better long-term performance. To fully exploit its strategic potential, CSR requires—more than any other strategic program or initiative—a credible and consistent communications management system. Although Integrated CSR Communications risks being seen as a vehicle for window-dressing or green-washing owing to the increasing information and options that internal and external stakeholders have access to, it is, nevertheless, an underestimated strategic tool. This article reflects on different perspectives in managing Integrated CSR Communications at different organizational levels. On the basis of an Integrated Communications concept, it discusses how companies can plan CSR Communications as a strategic communications approach, as well as how they can implement it as a more content-based approach, by targeting specific departments or using specialist CSR teams.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    To get deeper into the topic of internal CSR Communication see also Chap. 6 of this Handbook: “Investigating Internal CSR Communication: Building a Theoretical Framework” by Sigrid Bekmaier-Feuerhahn, Paula Maria Bögel, and Carina Koch.

  2. 2.

    To the relation between PR and CSR Communication see also Chap. 7 of this Handbook: “Organizing CSR Communication Challenges for Integrated CSR Communication from a PR and Organizational Communication Perspective” by Stefan Jarolimek and Franzisca Weder.

  3. 3.

    To gain a deeper insight into this topic see also Chap. 11 of this Handbook: “The World Wide Web and the Social Media as Tools of CSR Communication” by Paul Capriotti.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing and Management, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Basel, Peter Merian-Weg 6, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland

    Manfred Bruhn

  2. Lucerne School of Business, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Zentralstrasse 9, CH-6002, Luzern, Switzerland

    Anja Zimmermann

Authors
  1. Manfred Bruhn
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  2. Anja Zimmermann
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manfred Bruhn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. f. Media a. Communication Studies, Klagenfurt University, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Sandra Diehl

  2. Inst. f. Media a. Communication Studies, Klagenfurt University, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Matthias Karmasin

  3. School of Journalism & Media Studies, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA

    Barbara Mueller

  4. Dpt. of Marketing and Int. Management, Klagenfurt University, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Ralf Terlutter

  5. Inst. f. Media a. Communication Studies, Klagenfurt University, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Franzisca Weder

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Bruhn, M., Zimmermann, A. (2017). Integrated CSR Communications. In: Diehl, S., Karmasin, M., Mueller, B., Terlutter, R., Weder, F. (eds) Handbook of Integrated CSR Communication. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44700-1_1

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