(In)effective communication about social responsibility? Examining large European businesses in the Czech Republic
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Date
2024-08-28
Authors
MacGregor Pelikánová, Radka
Nesbitt, Todd
Balcerzak, Adam Przemyslaw
Oulehla, Jiří
ORCID
0000-0002-4686-0140Advisor
Referee
Mark
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Volume Title
Publisher
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University
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Abstract
Purpose – Businesses are expected to be socially responsible by engaging in Corpo-rate social responsibility (CSR) and even the Creation of shared values (CSV). The aim of this contribution is to critically explore whether large European businesses operating in Czechia, recognized as social responsibility leaders, effectively communicate CSR as opposed to their competitors.Research methodology – A case study with three stages was conducted. First, 35 large Europe-an businesses were identified, which repeatedly ranked among the TOP 25 Czech companies with the highest social responsibility BpS synthetic index, and their 15 competitors. Second, an Internet search and content analysis of Websites of these 50 companies was performed to categorize and assess how they report about their socially responsible behaviors. Third, lead-ing Czech disinformation websites were examined for evidence of tacit cooperation with the disinformation scene in the form of support via advertising. Findings – The study revealed that large European businesses, recognized as social respon-sibility leaders, communicate extensively about their social responsibility. However, the ef-fectiveness of such communications is controversial. In addition, a significant part of these businesses were found to be tacitly associated with disinformation platforms, which are com-pletely at odds with with basic social responsibility concepts. Research limitations – The qualitative nature of the case study does not allow direct gener-alizations. Practical implications – The visualization of the juxtaposed results via comparative and com-plementary tables leads to pioneering propositions about the interest and lack of maturity regarding social responsibility, very diverse degrees of effectiveness of the communications, and even several alleged leaders failing in their efforts.Originality/Value– It is the first study to compare CSR communications by alleged white sheep and black sheep, while having consistency tested by association with disinformation websites. The generated propositions call for further longitudinal and multi-jurisdiction stud-ies to verify and enhance the awareness about efficient, effective, mature and consistent social responsibility in the EU.
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Citation
Business Management and Economics Engineering. 2024, vol. 22, issue 2, p. 214-239.
https://journals.vilniustech.lt/index.php/BMEE/article/view/21414
https://journals.vilniustech.lt/index.php/BMEE/article/view/21414
Document type
Peer-reviewed
Document version
Published version
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Language of document
en