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The role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Organisational Identity Communication, Co-Creation and Orientation

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Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) research has mainly focused on understanding the antecedents and outcomes of CSR adoption. Yet, little is known about the organisational process of ‘CSR engagement’ and how this would affect organisational identity. We mobilise Basu and Palazzo’s cognitive and linguistic notions of sense-making and Brickson’s organisational identity orientation to frame how rural community banks (RCBs) in Ghana engage with CSR. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with RCB directors, managers and other stakeholders, we conceive of the CSR engagement process as one that allows for the communication and orientation of organisational identity through an ‘informal co-creation’ involving organisational actors and stakeholders. Our findings also emphasise the ‘cultural/political’ modes of justification put forward by RCBs in their CSR engagement. Lastly, we tentatively propose the notion of an ‘opaque context’ to highlight settings that are less concerned about public visibility (i.e. transparency and disclosure), and where the focus is instead on the direct interactions between organisations and stakeholders in a given social context.

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Notes

  1. However, we do not claim that an ‘opaque’ context is a characteristic of all developing countries (or that all developed countries are, by opposition, not opaque). Instead, we argue that there are national or sub-national settings (e.g. sectoral, regional) where the use and reliance on publicly disclosed reports are not prevalent. In the accounting literature, Belal and Cooper (2011) already highlighted that the absence of CSR reporting may be due to a lack of organisational resources, absence of legal requirements, lack of knowledge/awareness, poor performance and fear of bad publicity. Our proposed conception of ‘opaque context’ dovetails this work to emphasise settings where transparency and disclosure mechanisms would be inappropriate given the primacy of direct interactions between organisation and stakeholders.

  2. Some specific details (financial amounts and name of schools) have been removed to maintain organisational anonymity.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank participants in the African Accounting and Finance Association Annual conference (Strathmore University – Nairobi, September 2016) and the Developing Studies Association (DSA) conference (Bradford University, September 2017) for their constructive comments on earlier versions of this paper. We also acknowledge the constructive comments from the editor and two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Newcastle Business School, Faculty of Business and Law, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK

    Mohamed Karim Sorour

  2. Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Professional Studies, Legon - Accra, Ghana

    Mark Boadu

  3. Essex Business School, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK

    Teerooven Soobaroyen

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Correspondence to Teerooven Soobaroyen.

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Appendix 1: Interview Protocol

Appendix 1: Interview Protocol

Introductory Protocol

My name is (withheld) (Job title and organisation withheld). I am one of (number withheld) authors conducting a research on the practice and role of corporate social responsibility in Rural Community Banks. The research is used for academic purposes. You have been chosen as a respondent of this study. I assure you that the responses you give will be treated strictly confidential and will solely be used for the intended purpose.

To facilitate our note-taking, we would like to audio tape our conversations today. Please sign the release form. For your information, only researchers on the project will be privy to the tapes which will be eventually destroyed after they are transcribed. In addition, you must sign a form devised to meet our human subject requirements. Essentially, this document states that: (1) all information will be held confidential, (2) your participation is voluntary and you may stop at any time if you feel uncomfortable, and (3) we do not intend to inflict any harm. Thank you for your agreeing to participate.

We have planned this interview to last no longer than one hour. During this time, we have several questions that we would like to cover. If time begins to run short, it may be necessary to interrupt you in order to push ahead and complete this line of questioning.

You have been selected to speak with us today because you have been identified as someone who has a great deal to share about CSR as far as your work is concerned.

Interviewee Background

How long have you been …

_______ in your present position?

_______ at this institution?

Interesting background information on interviewee:

What is your highest degree? ___________________________________________.

What is your field of study? ____________________________________________.

Interview Questions (reviewed depending on the target interviewee i.e. manager, stakeholder, board member, regulator).

  1. 1.

    Do your RCBs provide CSR within the communities they operate?

    Further probing: what is the rationale for the provision of the CSR?

  2. 2.

    What motivates your RCBs to provide CSR?

    Further probing: Does it have anything to do with the RCBs image/identity?

  3. 3.

    What image / identity did RCBs convey originally?

    Further probing: Briefly describe how the identity/image changed over time?

    What role does CSR play in contributing to this change?

  4. 4.

    What is the nature of the relationship between your bank and its stakeholders?

    Further probing: what is the nature of engagement between the RCB and stakeholders? How do managers make decision to reject a project—what rationale did they use to help one request but not another request?

  5. 5.

    How do managers/directors generally react to these demands from stakeholders for support?

    Further probing: How do you reflect and change their attitude on how RCBs should do things differently (or not)?

  6. 6.

    Will you consider the contribution of the RCBs to a particular stakeholder as being informed by political (internal or external) influence? Explain further please.

    Further probing: To what extent are stakeholders involved in the development of a CSR project undertaken by the RCB?

    How does your RCB manage the response to stakeholders in case their request or expectation is not met?

  7. 7.

    Do you (stakeholders) recognise CSR activities of the bank as somewhat embedded in their perception of what a RCB should do…” If yes/no, please justify.

    Further probing: What is it that RCB are supposed to do in terms of stakeholders’ expectation of CSR?

  8. 8.

    Does a CSR culture exist in your RCB?

    Further probing: What is central about this culture then….? What is it about?

  9. 9.

    We have come to the end of the interview, is there anything I have left out that you would like to add?

Thank you for your participation.

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Sorour, M.K., Boadu, M. & Soobaroyen, T. The role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Organisational Identity Communication, Co-Creation and Orientation. J Bus Ethics 173, 89–108 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04481-w

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