[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v110y2012i4p413-427.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Striving for Legitimacy Through Corporate Social Responsibility: Insights from Oil Companies

Author

Listed:
  • Shuili Du
  • Edward Vieira
Abstract
Being a controversial industry, oil companies turn to corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a means to obtain legitimacy. Adopting a case study methodology, this research examines the characteristics of CSR strategies and CSR communication tactics of six oil companies by analyzing their 2011–2012 web site content. We found that all six companies engaged in CSR activities addressing the needs of various stakeholders and had cross-sector partnerships. CSR information on these companies’ web sites was easily accessible, often involving the use of multimedia technologies and sometimes social media platforms. Furthermore, to boost the credibility of their CSR messages, these companies utilized a variety of tactics, such as factual arguments and two-sided messages. In sum, this research unveils the interconnectedness among business strategy, CSR practices, and CSR communication in oil companies’ attempt to gain legitimacy in an environment of controversy. The article ends with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the research findings. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Shuili Du & Edward Vieira, 2012. "Striving for Legitimacy Through Corporate Social Responsibility: Insights from Oil Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(4), pages 413-427, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:110:y:2012:i:4:p:413-427
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1490-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-012-1490-4
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-012-1490-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Isabelle Maignan & David A Ralston, 2002. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe and the U.S.: Insights from Businesses' Self-presentations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(3), pages 497-514, September.
    2. Gabriel, Yiannis, 2000. "Storytelling in Organizations: Facts, Fictions, and Fantasies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198297062.
    3. Crowley, Ayn E & Hoyer, Wayne D, 1994. "An Integrative Framework for Understanding Two-Sided Persuasion," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 20(4), pages 561-574, March.
    4. Ye Cai & Hoje Jo & Carrie Pan, 2012. "Doing Well While Doing Bad? CSR in Controversial Industry Sectors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 108(4), pages 467-480, July.
    5. Richard L. Daft & Robert H. Lengel, 1986. "Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness and Structural Design," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(5), pages 554-571, May.
    6. van Laer, Tom & de Ruyter, Ko, 2010. "In stories we trust: How narrative apologies provide cover for competitive vulnerability after integrity-violating blog posts," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 164-174.
    7. Luis Escobar & Harrie Vredenburg, 2011. "Multinational Oil Companies and the Adoption of Sustainable Development: A Resource-Based and Institutional Theory Interpretation of Adoption Heterogeneity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 98(1), pages 39-65, January.
    8. Deighton, John & Romer, Daniel & McQueen, Josh, 1989. "Using Drama to Persuade," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 16(3), pages 335-343, December.
    9. Shawnee K. Vickery & Cornelia Droge & Theodore P. Stank & Thomas J. Goldsby & Robert E. Markland, 2004. "The Performance Implications of Media Richness in a Business-to-Business Service Environment: Direct Versus Indirect Effects," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(8), pages 1106-1119, August.
    10. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    11. Mangold, W. Glynn & Faulds, David J., 2009. "Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 357-365, July.
    12. Shuili Du & Sankar Sen & C. B. Bhattacharya, 2008. "Exploring the Social and Business Returns of a Corporate Oral Health Initiative Aimed at Disadvantaged Hispanic Families," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(3), pages 483-494, April.
    13. Guido Palazzo & Andreas Scherer, 2006. "Corporate Legitimacy as Deliberation: A Communicative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 71-88, June.
    14. Blake E. Ashforth & Barrie W. Gibbs, 1990. "The Double-Edge of Organizational Legitimation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(2), pages 177-194, May.
    15. Shuili Du & C. B. Bhattacharya & Sankar Sen, 2011. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitive Advantage: Overcoming the Trust Barrier," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(9), pages 1528-1545, March.
    16. Uwafiokun Idemudia, 2009. "Oil Extraction and Poverty Reduction in the Niger Delta: A Critical Examination of Partnership Initiatives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 91-116, May.
    17. Ronald Hill & Thomas Ainscough & Todd Shank & Daryl Manullang, 2007. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Socially Responsible Investing: A Global Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(2), pages 165-174, January.
    18. Ellerman, David, 2001. "Helping people help themselves - toward a theory of autonomy-compatible help," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2693, The World Bank.
    19. Mahoney, Joseph & McGahan, Anita & Pitelis, Christos, 2009. "The Interdependence of Private and Public Interests," Papers DYNREG40, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    20. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1027-1047, September.
    2. Korschun, Daniel & Du, Shuili, 2013. "How virtual corporate social responsibility dialogs generate value: A framework and propositions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1494-1504.
    3. Shuili Du & C. B. Bhattacharya & Sankar Sen, 2011. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitive Advantage: Overcoming the Trust Barrier," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(9), pages 1528-1545, March.
    4. Shuili Du & C.B. Bhattacharya & Sankar Sen, 2010. "Corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage: Overcoming the trust barrier," ESMT Research Working Papers ESMT-10-006, ESMT European School of Management and Technology.
    5. Rajat Panwar & Karen Paul & Erlend Nybakk & Eric Hansen & Derek Thompson, 2014. "The Legitimacy of CSR Actions of Publicly Traded Companies Versus Family-Owned Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 481-496, December.
    6. Salla Laasonen & Martin Fougère & Arno Kourula, 2012. "Dominant Articulations in Academic Business and Society Discourse on NGO–Business Relations: A Critical Assessment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(4), pages 521-545, September.
    7. Shuili Du & Valérie Swaen & Adam Lindgreen & Sankar Sen, 2013. "The Roles of Leadership Styles in Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(1), pages 155-169, April.
    8. Shuili Du & C. Bhattacharya & Sankar Sen, 2015. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Multi-faceted Job-Products, and Employee Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 319-335, October.
    9. Liu, Xianda & Hou, Wenxuan & Main, Brian G.M., 2022. "Anti-market sentiment and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from anti-Jewish pogroms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    10. Dorfleitner, Gregor & Kreuzer, Christian & Sparrer, Christian, 2022. "To sin in secret is no sin at all: On the linkage of policy, society, culture, and firm characteristics with corporate scandals," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 762-784.
    11. Jo, Hoje & Song, Moon H. & Tsang, Albert, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility and stakeholder governance around the world," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 42-69.
    12. Maria Giovanna Confetto & Maddalena Della Volpe & Claudia Covucci, 2018. "Dual marketers and sustainability communication. Empirical evidence from corporate websites," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(3), pages 41-68.
    13. Drobetz, Wolfgang & Merikas, Andreas & Merika, Anna & Tsionas, Mike G., 2014. "Corporate social responsibility disclosure: The case of international shipping," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 18-44.
    14. Geert Demuijnck & Björn Fasterling, 2016. "The Social License to Operate," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(4), pages 675-685, July.
    15. Giovanni Catello Landi & Francesca Iandolo & Antonio Renzi & Andrea Rey, 2022. "Embedding sustainability in risk management: The impact of environmental, social, and governance ratings on corporate financial risk," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 1096-1107, July.
    16. Heather Markham Kim & Kyuha Cho & Younggin Choi & Junghoon (Jay) Lee & Jinsoo Hwang, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in the Casino Industry: A Content Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-16, October.
    17. Marjo Siltaoja & Meri Vehkaperä, 2010. "Constructing Illegitimacy? Cartels and Cartel Agreements in Finnish Business Media from Critical Discursive Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(4), pages 493-511, April.
    18. Hoje Jo & Haejung Na, 2012. "Does CSR Reduce Firm Risk? Evidence from Controversial Industry Sectors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(4), pages 441-456, November.
    19. Antony Paulraj & Injazz J. Chen & Constantin Blome, 2017. "Motives and Performance Outcomes of Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices: A Multi-theoretical Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 239-258, October.
    20. Katharina Kaupke & Dodo zu Knyphausen‐Aufseß, 2023. "Sustainability and firm value in the oil and gas industry—A vicious circle?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1129-1144, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:110:y:2012:i:4:p:413-427. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.