CSR communication & stigmatized industriesIs inclusion and diversity becoming a means for stigma-washing? Six decades of literature review

  1. Juan Manuel Alonso
  2. Laura Illia
  3. Belén Rodríguez-Cánovas
Journal:
Cuadernos.Info

ISSN: 0719-3661

Year of publication: 2024

Issue Title: Continúa el impacto de las redes sociales y de las tecnologías digitales en la producción científica en comunicaciones

Issue: 57

Pages: 268-292

Type: Article

DOI: 10.7764/CDI.57.65557 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Cuadernos.Info

Sustainable development goals

Abstract

This work aims to present an in depth literature review under the lens of three disciplines: Corporate Social Responsibility (from now on CSR) communications, stigmatized industries, and diversity and inclusion (D&I). Such review is supported by a bibliometric mapping software, SciMAT, developed by Cobo and colleagues (2011), at Universidad de Granada, Spain. A total of 8,942 papers on the three topics from 1963 to 2022 published in 98 leading journals indexed in theJournal Citation Reports of the Web of Science have been examined. The aforementioned software has been used to identify the relevant studies to focus on a second in-depth qualitative individual scrutiny. Findings suggest that the use of D&I to mitigate organizational stigma has yet to be analyzed. One still needs to confirm or reject the proposition that stigmatized firms use CSR communication and D&I to mitigate their stigma. Furthermore, they indicate that if future studies may find that stigmatized companies utilize D&I to manage their stigma via CSR communication, the D&I discipline would suffer from this practice, since one would prove that D&I is instrumentally used in a different way than it is supposed to.

Bibliographic References

  • Armstrong, C., Flood, P. C., Guthrie, J. P., Liu, W., MacCurtain, S., & Mkamwa, T. (2010). The impact of diversity and equality management on firm performance: Beyond high performance work systems. Human Resource Management, 49(6), 977–998. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20391
  • Banerjee, S. B. (2008). Corporate social responsibility: The good, the bad and the ugly. Critical Sociology, 34(1), 51–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920507084623
  • Banerjee, S. B. & Bonnefous, A. M. (2011). Stakeholder management and sustainability strategies in the French nuclear industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, 20(2), 124–140. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.681
  • Bansal, P. & Clelland, I. (2004). Talking trash: Legitimacy, impression management, and unsystematic risk in the context of the natural environment. Academy of Management Journal, 47(1), 93–103. https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/20159562
  • Bartlett, J., Tywoniak, S., & Hatcher, C. (2007). Public relations professional practice and the institutionalisation of CSR. Journal of Communication Management, 11(4), 281-299. https://doi.org/10.1108/13632540710843904
  • Bebbington, J., Larrinaga, C., & Moneva, J. M. (2008). Corporate social responsibility reporting and reputation risk management. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 21(3), 337–361. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570810863932
  • Brown, T. J. & Dacin, P. A. (1997). The company and the product: corporate associations and consumer product responses. Journal of Marketing, 61(1), 68-84. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299706100106
  • Cai, Y., Jo, H., & Pan, C. (2012). Doing well while doing bad? CSR in controversial industry sectors. Journal of Business Ethics, 108, 467-480. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1103-7
  • Callon, M., Courtial, J. P., Turner, W. A., & Bauin, S. (1983). From translations to problematic networks: An introduction to co-word analysis. Social Science Information, 22(2), 191-235. https://doi.org/10.1177/053901883022002003
  • Campbell, D., Craven, B., & Shrives, P. (2003). Voluntary social reporting in three FTSE sectors: A comment on perception and legitimacy. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 16(4), 558–581. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570310492308
  • Carroll, A. B. (1999). Corporate social responsibility: evolution of a definitional construct. Business and Society, 38(3), 268-295. https://doi.org/10.1177/000765039903800303
  • Chatman, J. A. & Flynn, F. J. (2001). The influence of demographic heterogeneity on the emergence and consequences of cooperative norms in work teams. Academy of Management Journal, 44(5), 956–974. https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/3069440
  • Cho, C. H., Laine, M., Roberts, R. W., & Rodrigue, M. (2015). Organized hypocrite, organizational façades, and sustainability reporting. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 40, 78-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2014.12.003
  • Clemens, B. W. & Papadakis, M. (2008). Environmental management and strategy in the face of regulatory intensity: radioactive contamination in the US steel industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, 17(8), 480–492. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.573
  • Cobo, M. J., López-Herrera, A. G., Herrera-Viedma, E., & Herrera, F. (2011). Science mapping software tools: review, analysis, and cooperative study among tools. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(7), 1382-1402. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.21525
  • Crane, A. & Glozer, S. (2016). Researching corporate social responsibility communication: Themes, opportunities and challenges. Journal of management studies, 53(7), 1223-1252. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12196
  • Curtis, J. K. (2004). Corporate report obfuscation: Artefact or phenomenon? The British Accounting Review, 36(3), 291–312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2004.03.005
  • Dennissen, M., Benschop, Y., & van Den Brink, M. (2020). Rethinking diversity management: An intersectional analysis of diversity networks. Organization Studies, 41(2), 219-240. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840618800103
  • Devers, C. E., Dewett, T., Mishina, Y., & Belsito, C. A. (2009). A general theory of organizational stigma. Organization Science, 20(1), 154-171. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1080.0367
  • Dhaliwal, D. S., Li, O. Z., Tsang, A., & Yang, Y. G. (2011). Voluntary nonfinancial disclosure and the cost of equity capital: the initiation of corporate social responsibility reporting. The Accounting Review, 86(1), 59–100. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr.00000005
  • Dhandhania, A. & O'Higgins, E. (2021). Can “sin industries” prove their legitimacy through CSR reporting? A study of UK tobacco and gambling companies. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 35(4), 1009 – 1034. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-11-2019-4239
  • Dutton, J. E. & Dukerich, J.M. (1991). Keeping an eye on the mirror: image and identity in organizational adaptation. Academy of Management Journal, 34(3), 517–554. https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/256405
  • Elsbach, K. D. & Sutton, R. I. (1992). Acquiring organizational legitimacy through illegitimate actions: A marriage of institutional and impression management theories. Academy of Management Journal, 35, 699–738. https://doi.org/10.5465/256313
  • El Ghoul, S., Guedhami, O., Kwok, C. C., & Mishra, D. R. (2011). Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital? Journal of Banking & Finance, 35(9), 2388-2406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2011.02.007
  • Elsass, P. M. & Graves, L. M. (1997). Demographic diversity in decision-making groups: The experiences of women and people of color. The Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 946–973. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1997.9711022111
  • Ezzine, H. & Olivero, B. (2018). Does sin matter in corporate governance issues in the United States. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 11(3), 449-469. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMEFM-06-2017-0151
  • Ferguson, M. A. (2018). Building theory in public relations: Interorganizational relationships as a public relations paradigm. Journal of Public Relations Research, 30(4), 164-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2018.1514810
  • Gan, Y., Ma, J., Wu, J., Chen, Y., Zhu, H., & Hall, B. J. (2022). Immediate and delayed psychological effects of province-wide lockdown and personal quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Psychological Medicine, 52(7), 1321-1332. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720003116
  • Goffman, E. (1990). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Penguin Books.
  • Gomez, L. E., & Bernet, P. (2019). Diversity improves performance and outcomes. Journal of the National Medical Association, 111(4), 383-392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnma.2019.01.006
  • Gray, R., Kouhy, R., & Lavers, S. (1995). Corporate social and environmental reporting: a review of the literature and a longitudinal study of UK disclosure. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 8(2), 47–77. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513579510146996
  • Grougiou, V., Dedoulis, E., & Leventis, S. (2016). Corporate social responsibility reporting and organizational stigma: The case of “sin” industries. Journal of Business Research, 69(2), 905-914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.06.041
  • Heal, G. (2008). When principles pay: corporate social responsibility and the bottom line. Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/heal14400
  • Hill, J. (2001). Thinking about a more sustainable business - An indicators approach. Corporate Environmental Strategy, 8(1), 30-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1066-7938(00)00097-X
  • Hilson, G. (2012). Corporate social responsibility in the extractive industries: Experiences from developing countries. Resources Policy, 37(2), 131–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2012.01.002
  • Hillenbrand, C., Money, K., & Ghobadian, A. (2013). Unpacking the mechanism by which corporate responsibility impacts stakeholder relationships. British Journal of Management, 24(1), 127–146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2011.00794.x
  • Hirsch, J.E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(46), 16569-16572. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0507655102
  • Hooghiemstra, R. (2000). Corporate communication and impression management: New perspectives on why companies engage in corporate social reporting. Journal of Business Ethics, 27, 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006400707757
  • Hopwood, A. G. (2009). Accounting and the environment. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34(3-4), 433–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2009.03.002
  • Hudson, B. A. (2008). Against all odds: A consideration of core-stigmatized organizations. Academy of Management Review, 33(1), 252–266. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2008.27752775
  • Hudson, B. A. & Okhuysen, G. A. (2009). Not with a ten-foot pole: Core stigma, stigma transfer, and improbable persistence of men’s bathhouses. Organization Science, 20(1), 134–153. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1080.0368
  • Humphrey, J. E. & Tan, D. T. (2014). Does it really hurt to be responsible? Journal of Business Ethics, 122, 375-386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1741-z
  • Jensen, T. & Sandström, J. (2015). Normal deviants and Erving Goffman: Extending the literature on organizational stigma. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 5(4), 125–142. https://doi.org/10.19154/njwls.v5i4.4847
  • Ji, Y. G., Tao, W., & Rim, H. (2020). Mapping corporate social responsibility research in communication: A network and bibliometric analysis. Public Relations Review, 46(5), 101963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101963
  • Jo, H. & Na, H. (2012). Does CSR reduce firm risk? Evidence from controversial industry sectors. Journal of Business Ethics, 110, 441-456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1492-2
  • Kent, M. L. & Taylor, M. (2016). From Homo Economicus to Homo Dialogicus: Rethinking social media use in CSR Communications. Public Relations Review, 42(1), 60-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.11.003
  • Key, S. & Popkin, S.J. (1998). Integrating ethics into the strategic management process: doing well by doing good. Management Decision, 36(5), 331-338. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251749810220531
  • Kim, Y. & Choi, S. M. (2022). When Bad Becomes Good: The Role of Congruence and Product Type in the CSR Initiatives of Stigmatized Industries. Sustainability, 14(13), 8164. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14138164
  • Lee, T. H. & Boynton, L. A. (2017). Conceptualizing transparency: Propositions for the integration of situational factors and stakeholders’ perspectives. Public Relations Inquiry, 6(3), 233-251. https://doi.org/10.1177/2046147X17694937
  • Lee, Y.-J. & Cho, M. (2022). Socially stigmatized company’s CSR efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic: the effect of CSR fit and perceived motives. Public Relations Review, 48(2), 102180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102180
  • Leslie, L. M. (2019). Diversity initiative effectiveness: A typological theory of unintended consequences. The Academy of Management Review, 44(3), 538–563. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2017.0087
  • Link, B. G. & Phelan, J. C. (2001). Conceptualizing stigma. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 363–385. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.363
  • Linsley, P. & Kajuter, P. (2008). Restoring reputation and repairing legitimacy: A case study of impression management in response to a major risk event at Allied Irish Banks plc. International Journal of Financial Services Management, 3(1), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJFSM.2008.016699
  • List, J. A. & Momeni, F. (2021). When corporate social responsibility backfires: Evidence from a natural field experiment. Management Science, 67(1), 8-21. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2019.3540
  • Matuska, E. & Sałek-Imińska, A. (2014). Diversity Management as Employer Branding Strategy-Theory and Practice. Human Resources Management & Ergonomics, 8(2), 72-87.
  • Mishina, Y. & Devers, C. E. (2012). On being bad: Why stigma is not the same as a bad reputation. In T. G. Pollock, & M. L. Barnett (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Reputation (pp. 201–220). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199596706.013.0010
  • O’donovan, G. (2002). Environmental disclosures in the annual report: Extending the applicability and predictive power of legitimacy theory. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 15(3), 344-371. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570210435870
  • Ogden, S. & Clarke, J. (2005). Customer disclosures, impression management and the construction of legitimacy: Corporate reports in the UK privatized water industry. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 18(3), 313–345. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570510600729
  • Oh, H., Bae, J., & Kim, S. J. (2017). Can sinful firms benefit from advertising their CSR efforts? The adverse effect of advertising sinful firms' CSR engagements on firm performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 143, 643-663. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3072-3
  • Osiichuk, D. (2022). Are there any negative career consequences for executives and directors working in stigmatized industries? Argumenta Oeconomica, 48(1), 101-130. https://doi.org/10.15611/aoe.2022.1.05
  • Palazzo, G. & Richter, U. (2005). CSR business as usual? The case of the tobacco industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 61, 387-401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-7444-3
  • Patrick, H. A. & Kumar, V. R. (2012). Managing workplace diversity: Issues and challenges. SAGE Open, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244012444615
  • Perks, K. J., Farache, F., Shukla, P., & Berry, A. (2013). Communicating responsibility and practicing irresponsibility in CSR advertisements. Journal of Business Research, 66(10), 1881–1888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.02.009
  • Philippe, D. & Durand, R. (2011). The impact of the norm-conforming behaviors on firm reputation. Strategic Management Journal, 32(9), 969–993. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.919
  • Richard, O. C., Barnett, T., Dwyer, S., & Chadwick, K. (2004). Cultural Diversity in Management, Firm Performance, and the Moderating Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation Dimensions. Academy of Management Journal, 47(2), 255–266. https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/20159576
  • Rim, H. & Kim, S. (2016). Dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) skepticism and their impacts on public evaluations toward CSR. Journal of Public Relations Research, 28(5-6), 248-267. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2016.1261702
  • Roberson, Q. M. (2006). Disentangling the meanings of diversity and inclusion in organizations. Group & Organization Management, 31(2), 212-236. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601104273064
  • Roberson, Q. M. (2019). Diversity in the workplace: A review, synthesis, and future research agenda. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6, 69-88. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015243
  • Roberts, J. (2003). The manufacture of corporate social responsibility: Constructing corporate sensibility. Organization, 10(2), 249–265. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508403010002004
  • Rundle-Thiele, S., Ball, K., & Gillespie, M. (2008). Raising the bar: from corporate social responsibility to corporate social performance. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 25(4), 245–253. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760810882434
  • Statman, M. & Glushkov, D. (2009). The wages of social responsibility. Financial Analysts Journal, 65(4), 33-46. https://doi.org/10.2469/faj.v65.n4.5
  • Steltenpool, G.-J. & Verhoeven, P. (2012). Sector-dependent framing effects of corporate social responsibility messages: An experiment with non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. Public Relations Review, 38(4), 627-629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2012.06.008
  • Thornicroft, G., Sunkel, C., Aliev, A. A., Baker, S., Brohan, E., El Chammay, R., Davies, K., Demissie, K., Duncan, J., Fekadu, W., Gronholm, P. C., Guerrero, Z., Gurung, C., Habtamu, K., Hanlon, C., Heim, E., Henderson, C., Hijazi, Z., Hoffman, C., … & Winkler, P. (2022). The Lancet Commission on ending stigma and discrimination in mental health. The Lancet, 400(10361), 1438-1480. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01470-2
  • Tilling, M. V. & Tilt, C. A., (2010). The edge of legitimacy: Voluntary social and environmental reporting in Rothmans’ 1956–1999 annual reports. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 23(1), 55–81. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513571011010600
  • Tsui, A. S. & O'Reilly, C. A., in. (1989). Beyond simple demographic effects: The importance of relational demography in superior-subordinate dyads. Academy of Management Journal, 32(2), 402-423. https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/256368
  • Vergne, J. P. (2012). Stigmatized categories and public disapproval of organizations: A mixed methods study of the global arms industry. Academy of Management Journal, 55(5), 1027-1052. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0599
  • Viererbl, B. & Koch, T. (2022). The paradoxical effects of communicating CSR activities: Why CSR Communications has both positive and negative effects on the perception of a company’s social responsibility. Public Relations Review. 48(1), 102-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102134
  • Walker, S. P. (2008). Accounting, paper shadows, and the stigmatized poor. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 33(4-5), 453–487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2007.02.006
  • Watson, W. E., Kumar, K., & Michaelsen, L. K. (1993). Cultural diversity's impact on interaction process and performance: Comparing homogeneous and diverse task groups. Academy of Management Journal, 36(3), 590–602. https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/256593
  • Wilson, A., & West, C. (1981). The marketing of unmentionables. Harvard Business Review, 59(1), 91-102
  • World Health Organization. (2019). Global status report on alcohol and health 2018. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565639
  • Wolfe, A. W. & Blithe, S. J. (2015). Managing image in a core-stigmatized organization: Concealment and revelation in Neveda’s legal brothels. Management Communication Quarterly, 29, 539-563. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318915596204