CSR across the globe: Dutch and Indian consumers\u27 responses to CSR

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumer responses to CSR in a developed and emerging economy (The Netherlands and India). Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a survey of 95 consumers in each country to investigate attitudes to CSR platforms and CSR initiatives and responses to CSR-based marketing strategies (in terms of attitude to the company and purchasing intent). Findings: The study found similar attitudes across nationalities to both CSR platforms and CSR initiatives, with greater importance assigned to CSR reflecting legal and ethical (rather than philanthropic) concerns. (Some) CSR-based marketing strategies, reflecting an ethical (people/planet) concern, led to significantly more positive attitudes to the company and higher purchasing intent. The study found some cross-cultural variation in the extent to which different CSR-based marketing strategies influenced consumer outcomes. Research limitations/implications: This is an exploratory study, limited to highly educated consumers. The study provides indications that stakeholder expectations in emerging and developed economies may be more similar than previously suggested. The philanthropic platform conventionally pursued in Indian business may not be the most effective way to engage (all segments of) Indian consumers. Findings suggest it is important that companies monitor stakeholders\u27 CSR attitudes to ensure that CSR policy orientations meet stakeholder expectations. Originality/value: This paper uses an innovative approach to investigate responses to CSR policy and communications. CSR research on emerging economies is underrepresented in the literature. The findings suggest areas of further enquiry with implications for global business. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Business Discourse Teaching Materials

This chapter will:; ; ; Identify a number of published materials that have taken business discourse research into account in presenting their approach to teaching;; ; ; Look at how to evaluate published materials and decide if they are appropriate for a given set of learners;; ; ; Speculate on the future of business discourse teaching materials and what they are likely to focus on;; ; ; Present a case study that shows how teaching materials can incorporate research ideas on business discourse, together with a set of tasks related to the development of materials, and a set of further readings

Corporate social responsibility communication in the Indian context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate corporate social responsibility (CSR) platforms and the communication surrounding those platforms in India. It seeks to establish the CSR platforms that are typically used, together with stakeholder attitudes to both the form and content of those platforms. Design/methodology/approach – The paper refers to both primary and secondary sources of data, i.e. a survey of internet sources and a questionnaire survey. Findings – The paper shows that the Indian corporations surveyed pursue a primarily philanthropic platform with a focus on community development projects, as predicted by previous studies. It also indicates, however, that Indian consumers may not value philanthropic CSR as highly as other CSR initiatives and that this may in turn influence their attitudes to different marketing communication strategies. Practical implications – The paper suggests ways in which Indian corporations may formulate the form and content of their CSR policies in the future within a marketing strategy in order to influence their stakeholders positively and increase their competitive advantage. Originality/value – The paper provides an innovative approach to investigating the consequences of how Indian corporations communicate their CSR policies to their stakeholders. It suggests a number of fruitful areas of enquiry with direct implications for Indian business in the future. © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limite

What Is Business Discourse Teaching

This chapter will:; ; ; Define business discourse teaching as it will be referred to in the rest of this book;; ; ; Discuss the most important approaches that have been taken in business discourse teaching;; ; ; Give a geographical overview of how business discourse teaching has evolved around the world;; ; ; Provide a case study that illustrates one approach to business discourse teaching, alongside a set of tasks related to the business discourse classroom and a set of further readings

Research-based Teaching Materials

This chapter will:Provide a brief survey of published materials for Language for Specific Business Purposes and Business Communication;Profile six sets of research-based teaching materials;Discuss the approaches taken in each case and show how these are related to business discourse research

Research-based Business Discourse Teaching

This chapter will:profile five examples of projects related to research-based business discourse teaching from around the world;discuss the methodologies used and implications for teaching or training;show how the profiled teaching projects critically reflect the developments in business discourse research we have discussed in Part 1

Challenges in the Future

This chapter will:; ; ; Discuss the future of intercultural business discourse research with particular reference to rapport management;; ; ; Provide a discussion of multimodality and how this might change business discourse in the future;; ; ; Discuss multimethod, multidisciplinary research as a way forward for business discourse research

Research Cases

This chapter will present ten research studies that showcase the work of business discourse researchers from around the world. The studies reflect many of the themes, research sites and approaches discussed in the rest of this volume, and illustrate the different facets of business discourse research today. For each study, details will be given of the business genre or genres under investigation, the research methodology(ies) used and the theories and paradigms referred to in the approach to analysis. Each study will be presented using the structure of a research article:Summary;Introduction and aims;Method;Findings;Commentary (Discussion & suggestions for future research)

Research-based Consultancy Work

This chapter will:Profile five examples of research-based consultancy work involving business discourse from around the world;Discuss the methodologies used and the implications either for teaching or training, or the design of more effective documents;Show how each of the projects reflects the developments in business communication research now or in the future that we have discussed in Part 1