Managerial Views of Corporate Impacts and Dependencies on Ecosystem Services : A Case of International and Domestic Forestry Companies in China

A line of research is emerging investigating the private sector impacts and dependencies on critical biodiversity and ecosystem services, and related business risks and opportunities. While the ecosystem services narrative is being forwarded globally as a key paradigm for promoting business sustainability, there is scarce knowledge of how these issues are considered at managerial level. This study thus investigates managerial views of corporate sustainability after the ecosystem services concept. We analyse interviews conducted with 20 managers from domestic and international forestry companies operating with a plantation-based business model in China. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data, with a focus on four key areas: (1) interviewee familiarity with the ecosystem services concept; (2) their views of corporate dependencies and impacts on ecosystem services; (3) related business risks and opportunities; and (4) viability of existing instruments and practices that can be employed in detecting and addressing business impacts and dependencies on ecosystem services. Through an inductive approach to the empirical findings, we refined a framework that holds operational value for developing company response strategies to ecosystem services impact/dependence assessment, ensuring that all issues are addressed comprehensively, and that related risks and opportunities are properly acknowledged.Peer reviewe

The Communication of Corporate-NGO Partnerships: Analysis of Sainsbury’s Collaboration with Comic Relief.

This study focuses on CSR communication using the example of Corporate-NGO partnership between British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief. Questionnaires were distributed to 40 participants asking them about their consumer behaviour and opinion on partnerships. Using thematic analysis, two main themes have been identified in the data set: some consumers are sceptical towards cross sector partnerships because they assume selfish reasons behind the collaboration and view them as corporate PR tool. On the other hand, the majority of consumers evaluate Corporate-NGO Partnerships as appropriate and a gain for society at large. The analysis showed that Sainsbury’s customers know about the partnership with Comic Relief while non-customers lack awareness, and that the most successful means of communication of partnerships is the supermarket promotion

Understanding Communication of Sustainability Reporting: Application of Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT)

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of rhetoric and rhetorical strategies that are implicit in the standalone sustainability reporting of the top 24 companies of the Fortune 500 Global. We adopt Bormann’s (Q J Speech 58(4):396–407, 1972) SCT framework to study the rhetorical situation and how corporate sustainability reporting (CSR) messages can be communicated to the audience (public). The SCT concepts in the sustainability reporting’s communication are subject to different types of legitimacy strategies that are used by corporations as a validity and legitimacy claim in the reports. A content analysis has been conducted and structural coding schemes have been developed based on the literature. The schemes are applied to the SCT model which recognizes the symbolic convergent processes of fantasy among communicators in a Society. The study reveals that most of the sample companies communicate fantasy type and rhetorical vision in their corporate sustainability reporting. However, the disclosure or messages are different across locations and other taxonomies of the SCT framework. This study contributes to the current CSR literature about how symbolic or fantasy understandings can be interpreted by the users. It also discusses the persuasion styles that are adopted by the companies for communication purposes. This study is the theoretical extension of the SCT. Researchers may be interested in further investigating other online communication paths, such as human rights reports and director’s reports

Positionierung von Kommunikationsabteilungen und Kommunikatoren: Leistungsbeitrag, Rollen und Selbstverständnis

Kommunikationsabteilungen und Kommunikationsverantwortliche stehen im internen Wettbewerb um Ressourcen und Einfluss im Unternehmen. Um sich gegenüber der Unternehmensleitung, Business Partnern in Geschäftseinheiten und anderen Zentralbereichen als strategisch relevante Managementfunktion zu positionieren, muss man den Beitrag der eigenen Aktivitäten zum Unternehmenserfolg begründen können. Dazu sind die Definition eines klaren Leistungsportfolios und das Herausstellen der eigenen Qualitäten und Kompetenzen unerlässlich. Dieser Beitrag skizziert überblicksartig den aktuellen Forschungsstand zur Positionierung von Kommunikationsabteilungen und erläutert grundlegende Begriffe und Konzepte. Er reflektiert das zunehmende Leistungsspektrum der Unternehmenskommunikation und stellt relevante Befunde zu den Berufsrollen und Selbstverständnissen von Kommunikationsverantwortlichen vor. Darüber hinaus werden zwei neue Bezugsrahmen zur Systematisierung von Leistungen und Berufsrollen vorgestellt, die wissenschaftlich fundiert und in der Praxis anwendbar sind: das Communications Contributions Framework und das Communication Manager Roles Grid. Der Beitrag schließt mit einem Ausblick, wie Praktiker und Wissenschaftler die Positionierung von Kommunikationsabteilungen bzw. Kommunikatoren analysieren und Ziele zur Verbesserung der Stellung im Unternehmen definieren können

A public relations identity for the 2010s

New voices are being heard and new questions are being asked within the field of public relations. However, in its present multifaceted state, public relations research is still struggling with recurring questions regarding academic and practical contributions. This position article presents some common starting points for a public relations identity for the 2010s aiming to preserve both consistency and multiplicity. We argue that public relations should be studied as a social activity in its own right and that it must be understood in relation to its societal context. Furthermore, we point to some concepts (trust, legitimacy, understanding and reflection) that are crucial to understanding public relations practice. We also argue that issues of power, behavior, and language have to be dealt with if public relations is to be taken seriously as an academic field. Building on these ideas we make some suggestions for empirical research. Finally, we propose, on a philosophical level, to develop a critical realist framework in order to study public relations scientifically