Examining the relationship between business and society: Constructions, practices, and communication of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among organizations in India.

摘要

This project investigates the (contested) phenomenon of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Indian context. The study uses a metatheoretical lens of social constructionism and qualitative methods to examine participating organizations' constructions of CSR, the institutional context for CSR in India, and the perceived role of CSR communication. By employing a social constructionist perspective on how organizations make sense of CSR, this project advances a communicative understanding of the phenomenon that locates language as central to knowledge creation. Findings reveal varied yet overlapping constructions of CSR, a combination of micro practices and macro factors that guide, enable, and constrain CSR practices, and conflicting attitudes toward CSR communication. Collectively, these findings have implications for how organizations come to see their own role as social actors and consequently how they perceive the role of other (institutional) actors. These findings contribute to contextualized understandings of an, arguably, global phenomenon (CSR) and its complexities. In so doing, the research also responds to the call for communication scholars to join the CSR conversation (e.g., May, Cheney, & Roper, 2007; May & Zorn, 2003).