Discourse analysis and corporate social responsibility: a qualitative approach

摘要

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how firms build and develop corporate discourse in the field of corporate social responsibility (CRS). The paper has two main objectives: to clarify notions that are used when analyzing discourse; and to provide a qualitative methodology to analyze how the discourse is used to construct a CRS strategy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a qualitative methodology, deconstructing four CRS reports using a story-telling approach. Findings – The analysis shows that firms construct their environment while marketing the report on social responsibility, in order to make of it an asset in an institutional communication system. Research limitations/implications – Further attention should be devoted to the specificity of qualitative approach and to discourse analysis (selection of the corpus, validity and triangulation, etc.). Originality/value – The paper shows how discourse can be used to provide competitive advantage. It also provides a clear framework while using discourse analysis and identifies the major pitfalls that should be avoided when using such a methodology.