Communicating responsibility-practicing irresponsibility in CSR advertisements

With research focusing on corporate social disclosure mainly through websites and corporate reports, corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications remain an emerging field. However, little is known about CSR advertisements. Combining legitimacy theory and the theory of impression management, this paper develops and evaluates a conceptual framework about how organizations publicize their CSR strategies through print advertisements in order to disclose social and environmentally responsible behavior to their stakeholders. Theoretically, this paper contributes to the body of knowledge of CSR communications by identifying the impression management approach organizations adopt to legitimize their CSR strategies through “informing” (CSR) and/or “diverting attention” by practicing corporate and social irresponsibility (CSI). The exploratory research finds that CSR advertisements contain a limited amount of substantial information and third-party associations which reflects possible latent CSI motives. This paper contributes to managerial practice and policy making by offering a set of recommendations for meaningful CSR engagement.