CSR on display: using spectacles and storytelling as stakeholder engagement mechanisms

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly used by communication professionals, not only to bolster the image and reputation of organisations, but as a means to facilitate stakeholder engagement. Recent literature suggests that social networking sites (SNSs) are suitable platforms to communicate CSR messages as these media aid organisations in creating meaningful dialogic interactions with stakeholders through purposeful engagement and the co-creation of meaning. While notions of trust creation and the forging of organisation-stakeholder bonds have been investigated, this article proposes that theoretical constructs such as archetypal plots, social visibility, spectacles and spectatorship inherent to storytelling have not been explored comprehensively within the context of CSR communication. To ascertain whether these theoretical categories manifest in practice in corporate communication, the authors examined the CSR communication of First National Bank (FNB), which was communicated on its SNSs. Through a hermeneutical analysis, it was established that FNB incorporated three archetypes, namely the Caregiver, the Innocent and the Hero, in its CSR communication. These archetypes functioned within created archetypal narratives such as the quest, adventure and transformation. Lastly, FNB framed its CSR activities as spectacles, and appropriated elements of collective fun such as viral, interactive message content to engage with its stakeholders

Stakeholder engagement: a crucial element in the governance of corporate reputation

The King III Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa (with a separate chapter on Governing Stakeholder Relationships) highlights the importance of stakeholder management in corporate governance. For the first time the inclusive approach to stakeholder relationship management is explained more fully and principles on how stakeholder relationships can be managed in a corporate governance context are provided. These have implications for corporate communication strategy in all organisations. The inclusion of all stakeholders in corporate issues has taken centre stage in corporate governance. In any given communication situation, a  stakeholder could play many roles in an internal or external organisational environment. Total stakeholder involvement (engagement) is crucial and will have implications for organisational practices, reputation and corporate sustainability. The explosion in social media and networking has empowered stakeholders beyond imagination. Their roles are no longer merely employees, clients or the community in general, but on the virtual stage of communication, stakeholders are taking on roles as citizen editors, journalists, writers, recipients and interpreters of their own communication material. They can become reputation ambassadors or demolishers in the corporate environment. In this continuous neo-corporate communication environment, it is not about communication control, but about communication power-sharing. In this article stakeholder engagement as an   allinclusive communication management approach will be illustrated by considering stakeholder theory, corporate governance and integrated reporting and the growing importance of reputation management