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Making Sense of CSR Reports: A Methodological Perspective from Semiotics

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management

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Synonyms

Artificial intelligence; CSR reports; Semiology; Semiotics; Sense making

Definition

Semiotics is a linguistic analytical tool that relates to how users of communicated information can draw meanings through the signs perceived from the information (Chandler 2007). Semiotics look further than the content of the writings through the interactions of codes and linguistic principles and the use of logical discourses to make sense of the narratives, thus enabling users to extract deep meaning from the information (Yekini 2017).

Introduction

Substantial work has been done in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting and communications, and diverse methodologies have been adopted in measuring, researching, and determining CSR disclosure quality. The quality of disclosure can be described as how well the information provided meets or exceeds users’ expectations and enables them to derive meaningful insights for making informed decisions (Price and Shanks 2005). Viewing disclosure...

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References

  • Catellani, A., & Ihlen, O. (2022). CSR communication from a rhetorical and semiotic perspective. The Routledge handbook of corporate social responsibility communication (1st ed.). Routledge eBook. ISBN 9781003184911.

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  • Chandler, D. (2007). Semiotics: The basics. London: Routledge.

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  • Price, R., & Shanks, G. (2005). A semiotic information quality framework: Development and comparative analysis. Journal of Information Technology, 20(2), 88–102.

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  • Yekini, K. C. (2017). Insights regarding the applicability of semiotics to CSR communication research. In D. Crowther & L. Lauesen (Eds.), Handbook of research methods in corporate social responsibility (pp. 241–264). Cheltenham/Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing.

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  • Yekini, K. C., Omoteso, K., & Adegbite, E. (2021). CSR communication research: A theoretical-cum methodological perspective from semiotics. Business and Society, 60(4), 876–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Finance and Management, SOAS University of London, London, UK

    Kemi C. Yekini

Authors
  1. Kemi C. Yekini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kemi C. Yekini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. London Metropolitan University, Guildhall Faculty of Business and Law London Metropolitan University, London, UK

    Samuel Idowu

  2. Cologne Business School, Ingolstadt, Germany

    René Schmidpeter

  3. College of Business, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Nicholas Capaldi

  4. International Training Centre of the IL, International Labor Organization, Turin, Italy

    Liangrong Zu

  5. Department of Economics, Society and Politics, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy

    Mara Del Baldo

  6. Instituto Politécnico da Guarda, Guarda, Portugal

    Rute Abreu

Section Editor information

  1. Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Eila Jeronen Ph.D.

  2. Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Eila Jeronen Ph.D.

  3. Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

    Eila Jeronen Ph.D.

  4. Tampere, Finland

    Eila Jeronen Ph.D.

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Cite this entry

Yekini, K.C. (2023). Making Sense of CSR Reports: A Methodological Perspective from Semiotics. In: Idowu, S., Schmidpeter, R., Capaldi, N., Zu, L., Del Baldo, M., Abreu, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02006-4_1159-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02006-4_1159-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-02006-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-02006-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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