Glozer, Sarah Alice (2015) Corporate social responsibility communication in social networking sites

375 Pages·2017·28.43 MB·English

by  Christine Middleton

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
COMMUNICATION IN SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES:
UNFINALISABLE AND DIALOGICAL PROCESSES OF
LEGITIMATION

SARAH ALICE GLOZER

Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy

July 2015
Abstract
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Building upon constitutive models of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
communication (Golob et al., 2013; Schoeneborn & Trittin, 2013; Schultz et
al., 2013), which appreciate the role of both organisations and stakeholders in
constructing CSR, this thesis suggests that understanding of CSR is on-going
and emergent through unfinalisable legitimation processes in social networking
sites (SNSs). Constructed upon management research that has examined
discursive legitimation processes (e.g. Castelló & Lozano, 2011; Vaara et al.,
2006; Vaara & Tienari, 2008; van Leeuwen, 2007) this thesis shifts away from
CSR communications research into websites, CSR reports and press releases
(Castelló & Lozano, 2011; Cho & Roberts, 2010; Livesey, 2002) to
descriptively investigate discourse within interaction (dialogue) in the textually
rich SNS context. The research thus unveils how discursive legitimation occurs
in contemporary networked societies across four UK-based retailers: the Co-
operative, Lidl, Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s.

The thesis contributes to the CSR literature by challenging conventional
definitions of legitimacy (Suchman, 1995), which suggest that objective,
legitimacy ‘realities’ are espoused from ‘transmission’ (sender-orientated)
models of communication (Axley, 1984), to offer interpretations of
legitimation processes rooted within discursive and dialogical constructionism
(Bakhtin, 1986; Potter & Wetherell, 2001). While the extant legitimacy
literature has attributed external actors with agency to ‘give’ legitimacy to
organisations, this thesis empirically demonstrates and conceptually analyses
how legitimacy is not ‘given’, but continually and discursively (re)constituted
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by internal (organisational) and external (stakeholder) voices. Building upon
the need for legitimacy theory to more markedly draw upon language theory,
especially that which addresses multiple actors, Bakhtinian dialogism (1986)
offers the conceptual basis for this empirical research project in examining the
performative (constructive nature), polyphonic (multi-vocal) and perpetual
(unfinalisable) characteristics of organisation-stakeholder discourse in SNSs.

Findings capture not only the ‘centripetal’ (unifying) forces at play in
organisation-stakeholder dialogue across the SNSs, but also the ‘centrifugal’
(dividing) forces (Baxter, 2004), illuminating the indeterminate, disintegrative
and dissensual character of CSR communication (Castelló et al., 2013; Schultz
et al., 2013; Whelan, 2013). While identifying discursive processes of
normalisation, moralisation and mytholigisation as centripetal forces, the study
also unveils discursive processes of authorisation, demythologisation and
carnivalisation as centrifugal forces, which problematise the consensual tone
of legitimacy as organisation-society ‘congruence’ (Suchman, 1995) and reveal
the shifting and contradictory expectations that surround CSR. Within a
Bakhtinian (1981, 1986) conception of dialogue, the findings most markedly
reveal perpetuality in CSR communication and the impossibility of exhausting
relations in polyphonic SNS environments, characterised by ‘dispersed
authority.’ Furthermore, in conceptualising SNSs as interactive, agential
organisational ‘texts’, findings also illuminate the performative nature of SNSs
in organising and (re)constructing CSR through organisation-stakeholder
dialogue. Therein, this thesis provides a framework for understanding
legitimation processes in SNSs, with implications for theory and practice.
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Acknowledgments

The last three years have taken me in a number of directions, to a variety of
locations and connected me with many inspirational people. This PhD research
project would not have been possible without the support of a number of these
people.

I would firstly like to thank my supervisors, Rob Caruana and Sally Hibbert.
They have provided so much of their time to supporting my personal and
professional development, for which I am forever grateful. Their advice,
guidance, enthusiasm and sense of humour have challenged and encouraged
me; I have learnt so much from them. I look forward to continuing our
friendships and working together over the years to come.

It is with the encouragement of Jeremy Moon that my PhD interest became a
reality. I would like to thank Jeremy for all he has done for me since we met on
the ICCSR Masters Programme in 2005. I would like to say a huge thank you
to Lesley and Karen at the ICCSR for their expertise in supporting my endless
travel appetite, as well as to the entire ICCSR team for creating an incredible
working environment both inside and outside of the university. I would also
like to thank Professor Daniel Nyberg from the ICCSR, as well as Professor
Mette Morsing from Copenhagen Business School, for offering insightful and
constructive suggestions as part of the examination process.

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The funding for this research provided by the ESRC has been invaluable and I
wish to thank the ESRC DTC team at the University of Nottingham. I am also
very grateful to the team at the Nottingham University Business School for
their administrative support over the last three years (thank you Andrea!), and
to the NUBS Doctoral Society. I also wish to thank the Sustainability Research
Network (SRN) team for making this all worthwhile.

A personal highlight of the PhD journey was my time spent in Toronto in 2013
as part of a Building an Experience and Skills Travel Scholarship (BESTS). I
would like to thank the Graduate School for making this opportunity possible,
all the great friends I made in Canada for welcoming me, and Andy Crane for
being such an ‘awesome’ host.

I have taken so much strength from my friends and family from all over the
world and I love you all so much. Thanks for always believing in me Mum and
Dad! I would also like to thank all of my friends in Nottingham for making this
experience so rewarding and so much fun. Finally, I would never have been
able to do all of this without my wonderful husband, Eyal. Thank you for
encouraging me to fulfil my dream to do a PhD, for your patience, wise words
and kindness every step of the way, and for your help and motivation in getting
me over the finishing line.
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Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
CSR Communication in Social Networking Sites ______________________ 1
1.1 Chapter Overview ________________________________________________ 1
1.2 Introduction _____________________________________________________ 1
1.3 Aims and Contributions of the Thesis _________________________________ 7
1.4 Research Questions ______________________________________________ 13
1.5 Thesis Structure _________________________________________________ 14
1.6 Chapter Summary _______________________________________________ 20
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Chapter 2: Literature Review
Corporate Social Responsibility & Legitimacy _______________________ 22
2.1 Chapter Overview _______________________________________________ 22
2.2 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) _______________________________ 23
2.2.1 CSR as a Social Construction __________________________________ 27
2.3 Legitimacy _____________________________________________________ 30
2.3.1 Defining Legitimacy _________________________________________ 31
2.3.2 Constructionism and Legitimacy ________________________________ 37
2.3.3 Processes of Legitimation _____________________________________ 41
2.3.4 Discursive Legitimation _______________________________________ 44
2.4 Chapter Summary _______________________________________________ 49
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Chapter 3: Literature Review
Constitutive Corporate Social Responsibility Communication ___________ 51
3.1 Chapter Overview _______________________________________________ 51
3.2 Constructionism in CSR Communication _____________________________ 51
3.2.1 The Instrumental View _______________________________________ 54
3.2.2 The Political-Normative View __________________________________ 57
3.2.3 The Constitutive View ________________________________________ 60
3.3 Constitutive CSR Communication in Networked Societies _______________ 65
3.3.1 Defining ‘New Media’ ________________________________________ 66
3.3.2 Social Media and Constitutive CSR Communications _______________ 70
3.4 Chapter Summary _______________________________________________ 76
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Chapter 4: Literature Review
Bakhtinian Dialogism ___________________________________________ 78
4.1 Chapter Overview _______________________________________________ 78
4.2 Dialogue: A Communication Studies Perspective ______________________ 79
4.2.1 Postmodern Dialogue _________________________________________ 85
4.3 Bakhtinian Dialogism ____________________________________________ 88
4.3.1 Dialogue is Performative ______________________________________ 92
4.3.2 Dialogue is Polyphonic _______________________________________ 95
4.3.3 Dialogue is Perpetual _________________________________________ 97
4.4 Bakhtinian Dialogism: Implications for CSR and Legitimation ____________ 99
4.4.1 Performativity: Legitimation at the Level of Discourse _____________ 101
4.4.2 Polyphony: Organisation-Stakeholder Dialogue in SNSs ____________ 104
4.4.3 Perpetuality: Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces in Legitimation ______ 106
4.5 Chapter Summary ______________________________________________ 107
4.6 Research Questions _____________________________________________ 108
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Chapter 5: Methodology
Discursive Constructionism in Dialogue ___________________________ 111
5.1 Chapter Overview ______________________________________________ 111
5.2 Research Paradigm _____________________________________________ 111
5.2.1 Ontology _________________________________________________ 112
5.2.2 Reflexivity ________________________________________________ 114
5.2.3 Epistemology ______________________________________________ 117
5.3 Methods: Discourse Analysis _____________________________________ 120
5.3.1 Defining Discourse _________________________________________ 120
5.3.2 Discursive Constructionism ___________________________________ 125
5.3.3 Dialogue as Discourse _______________________________________ 127
5.4 Research Design _______________________________________________ 129
5.4.1 Research Contextualisation ___________________________________ 129
5.4.2 Data Gathering _____________________________________________ 135
5.4.3 Data Analysis ______________________________________________ 138
5.5 Ethical Considerations ___________________________________________ 153
5.5.1 Limitations ________________________________________________ 155
5.6 Chapter Summary ______________________________________________ 157
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Chapter 6: Findings & Analysis
Legitimation: Centripetal Forces _________________________________ 159
6.1 Introduction to Findings Chapters __________________________________ 159
6.2 Chapter Overview ______________________________________________ 162
6.3 Organisational Discourse: Normalisation & Moralisation _______________ 163
6.3.1 Normalisation ______________________________________________ 163
6.3.2 Moralisation _______________________________________________ 173
6.3.3 Organisational Discourse: Summary ____________________________ 180
6.4 Organisation-Stakeholder Discourse: Normalisation & Mytholigisation ____ 181
6.4.1 Reactive Normalisation ______________________________________ 182
6.4.2 Mytholigisation ____________________________________________ 191
6.4.3 Organisation-Stakeholder Discourse: Summary ___________________ 200
6.5 Chapter Summary ______________________________________________ 201
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Chapter 7: Findings & Analysis
Legitimation: Centrifugal Forces ________________________________ 203
7.1 Chapter Overview ______________________________________________ 203
7.2 Authorisation __________________________________________________ 204
7.2.1 Personal Authorisation _______________________________________ 204
7.2.2 Expert Authority ___________________________________________ 211
7.2.3 Authorisation Summary ______________________________________ 216
7.3 Demytholigisation ______________________________________________ 217
7.3.1 Storytelling ________________________________________________ 218
7.3.2 Emotivisation ______________________________________________ 220
7.3.3 Self-Other Relations _________________________________________ 222
7.3.4 Analogisation ______________________________________________ 224
7.3.5 Demytholigisation Summary __________________________________ 227
7.4 Carnivalisation ________________________________________________ 227
7.4.1 Profanity __________________________________________________ 228
7.4.2 Sarcasm __________________________________________________ 232
7.4.3 Humour __________________________________________________ 234
7.4.4 Carnivalisation Summary _____________________________________ 236
7.5 Chapter Summary ______________________________________________ 237
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Chapter 8: Findings & Analysis
Legitimation: Centripetal/Centrifugal Forces _______________________ 239
8.1 Chapter Overview ______________________________________________ 239
8.2 Reactive Normalisation __________________________________________ 240
8.2.1 The Co-operative ___________________________________________ 240
8.2.2 Lidl ______________________________________________________ 244
8.2.3 Marks and Spencer __________________________________________ 247
8.2.4 Sainsbury’s ________________________________________________ 251
8.2.5 Reactive Normalisation Summary ______________________________ 254
8.3 Reactive Authorisation __________________________________________ 255
8.3.1 The Co-operative ___________________________________________ 256
8.3.2 Lidl ______________________________________________________ 259
8.3.3 Marks and Spencer __________________________________________ 263
8.3.4 Sainsbury’s ________________________________________________ 267
8.3.5 Reactive Authorisation Summary ______________________________ 271
8.4 Chapter Summary ______________________________________________ 272
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Chapter 9: Discussion & Conclusion
Unfinalisable Processes of Legitimation ___________________________ 274
9.1 Chapter Overview ______________________________________________ 274
9.2 Discussion Overview ____________________________________________ 275
9.2.1 Unfinalisable Processes of Legitimation _________________________ 275
9.2.2 Centripetal and Centrifugal forces: Discursive Features _____________ 284
9.2.3 Unfinalisable Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces: Implications _______ 297
9.2.4 Discussion Summary ________________________________________ 299
9.3 Conclusions ___________________________________________________ 301
9.3.1 Thesis Summary ____________________________________________ 302
9.3.2 Research Contributions ______________________________________ 306
9.3.3 Further Research ___________________________________________ 310
9.4 Chapter Summary ______________________________________________ 312
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Chapter 10: Appendices
Social Media CSR Dialogues ____________________________________ 313
Appendix 1: Social Media Immersion _________________________________ 314
Appendix 2: Supporting Data for the Thematic Analysis ___________________ 328
2.1 The Co-operative ____________________________________________ 328
2.2 Lidl _______________________________________________________ 329
2.3 Marks and Spencer ___________________________________________ 330
2.4 Sainsbury’s _________________________________________________ 331
Appendix 3: Supporting Data for the Discourse Analysis __________________ 332
3.1 Legitimation: Centripetal Forces (Chapter 6) _______________________ 332
3.2 Legitimation: Centrifugal Forces (Chapter 7) _______________________ 335
3.3 Legitimation: Centripetal/Centrifugal Forces (Chapter 8) _____________ 339
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Chapter 11: References ________________________________________ 342
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Figures
Figure 1: Processual Research Contribution ________________________________ 11
Figure 2: The Thesis Narrative __________________________________________ 21
Figure 3: Overview of the Pluralistic CSR Framework (Gond & Matten, 2007) ____ 28
Figure 4: Instrumental CSR Communication _______________________________ 55
Figure 5: Political-Normative CSR Communication __________________________ 58
Figure 6: Constitutive CSR Communication ________________________________ 61
Figure 7: Framework of Sociological Paradigms (Burrell & Morgan, 1979) ______ 113
Figure 8: Approaches to Discourse Analysis (Phillips & Hardy, 2002) __________ 122
Figure 9: Text and Context (Fairclough, 1995) _____________________________ 128
Figure 10: Seven-Step Model of Research Design __________________________ 129
Figure 11: Mobile Co-op Grocery Van (1954) _____________________________ 165
Figure 12: Moralisation at Lidl _________________________________________ 177
Figure 13: Shwopping Post ____________________________________________ 178
Figure 14: Unfinalisable Processes of Legitimation _________________________ 300

Tables
Table 1: Mapping Approaches to CSR Communication _______________________ 64
Table 2: Tabularising Theories of Dialogue ________________________________ 82
Table 3: Dialogical Traditions and CSR Research ___________________________ 84
Table 4: Juxtaposing Monologue and Dialogue _____________________________ 92
Table 5: Theoretical Framework ________________________________________ 108
Table 6: Literature Review Summary ____________________________________ 110
Table 7: Diversity in Discourse Analysis (Wetherell et al., 2001) ______________ 124
Table 8: CSR Intensity and CSR Interaction in Social Media Sites _____________ 133
Table 9: Food Retailers in Facebook (CSR Intensity and CSR Interactivity) ______ 136
Table 10: The Co-operative Macro CSR Themes ___________________________ 142
Table 11: Lidl Macro CSR Themes ______________________________________ 145
Table 12: Marks and Spencer Macro CSR Themes __________________________ 148
Table 13: Sainsbury’s Macro CSR Themes ________________________________ 151
Table 14: Centripetal Processes of Legitimation ____________________________ 160
Table 15: Centrifugal Processes of Legitimation ___________________________ 161
Table 16: Centripetal/Centrifugal Processes of Legitimation __________________ 162
Table 17: Centripetal Forces in Organisation-Stakeholder Discourse ___________ 202
Table 18: Centrifugal Forces in Stakeholder Discourse ______________________ 238
Table 19 Centripetal/Centrifugal Forces in Organisation-Stakeholder Discourse __ 273
Table 20: Characteristics of Unfinalisable Processes of Legitimation ___________ 301

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Glossary of Key Terms

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Given its fragmented development
across management disciplines, a range of definitions for CSR exists in
contemporary literature (Dahlsrud, 2008) (see Chapter 2). Broadly speaking,
this thesis builds upon CSR as the dominant term though which to
conceptualise business responsibility for the wider societal good (Matten &
Moon, 2008). The thesis aligns with the prevailing epistemological stance that
CSR is a social construction, forged between organisations and stakeholders
(Gond & Matten, 2007; Lee & Carroll, 2011). Consequently, the thesis builds
upon the definitional foundation provided by Aguinis (2011:855), who
suggests that CSR relates to “context-specific organizational actions and
policies that take into account stakeholders’ expectations and the triple bottom
line of economic, social, and environmental performance”.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Communication: A plethora of
conceptualisations of CSR communication are currently operating in
management research (Crane & Glozer, 2014). Whilst Chapter 3 provides a
comprehensive discussion of the variety of ways in which CSR communication
is theorised, this thesis aligns with Podnar’s (2008) characterisation of CSR
communication as a process of anticipating stakeholders’ expectations to
provide true and transparent information on economic, social and
environmental concerns.

Dialogue: Dialogical exchanges relate to interactive moments of joint action
(Bakhtin, 1986) between mutually co-present individuals (Linell, 1998). Deetz
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