Integration and communication of CSR principles by IKEA. An analysis of the influence of and on external stakeholders

In spite of the rising influence of NGOs, the impact of CSR implementation and communication on NGOs’ perceptions and attitudes is rarely evoked. Moreover, empirical studies generally take into account one category of stakeholder at a time, preventing analysts from examining the likely differential impacts of CSR on distinct categories of stakeholders. In this context, this paper proposes (1) to analyze how different external and ubiquitous stakeholders can influence the development of CSR commitments and (2) to assess the impact of CSR commitments and communications on those stakeholders, by using an integrative framework aimed at providing an integrated stakeholder orientation for a step by step implementation of CSR (Maignan et al., 2005). Our analyses are based on an in-depth case study of IKEA and its main stakeholders: trade unions, customers, partner NGOs, organizations having blamed IKEA on CSR matters, local public authorities, organizations protecting small businesses, and specialized organizations dedicated to consultancy, promotion, and monitoring of CSR practices. Because of its continuous pressure on price and sub-contractors from developing countries, IKEA stands in a good position to run up against the sensitivity of alter globalization protesters. But in the same time, IKEA is seldom blamed on its CSR practices. Our results show how stakeholders can influence the development of CSR policies by conveying their societal expectations, by publicly blaming corporate behaviours considered as irresponsible or by entering in a collaborative and constructive relationship with the company. This case study also highlights the complexity of the corporate decisions related to CSR practices and communication, as well as the central role played by scepticism in the construction of CSRbased attitudes towards the company. By not involving stakeholders enough, IKEA’s CSR policy is gauged as too unilateral, what leads to a certain stakeholders’ scepticism about IKEA’s CSR practices. And IKEA is criticized for adopting a low profile in terms of CSR communication

One vision, different paths: an investigation of corporate social responsibility initiatives in Europe

This comparative study explores 499 corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives implemented by 178 corporations in five distinct, institutionally consistent European clusters. This study provides an empirically grounded response to calls to develop comprehensive, nuanced pictures of CSR in the composite European business environment. In so doing, the article stresses three distinct, non-exclusive approaches that characterize the embedding of CSR considerations in corporations’ strategies across Europe and the CSR challenges for corporations operating in different socio-political contexts. Furthermore, the study reaffirms the CSR notion as a contextualized concept, shaped by socio-political drivers, and contributes by bridging macro-level, socio-political facets of CSR with its meso-level, organizational implications

One vision, different paths: an investigation of corporate social responsibility initiatives in Europe

This comparative study explores 499 corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives implemented by 178 corporations in five distinct, institutionally consistent European clusters. This study provides an empirically grounded response to calls to develop comprehensive, nuanced pictures of CSR in the composite European business environment. In so doing, the article stresses three distinct, non-exclusive approaches that characterize the embedding of CSR considerations in corporations’ strategies across Europe and the CSR challenges for corporations operating in different socio-political contexts. Furthermore, the study reaffirms the CSR notion as a contextualized concept, shaped by socio-political drivers, and contributes by bridging macro-level, socio-political facets of CSR with its meso-level, organizational implications

Thinking of the organization as a system: the role of managerial perceptions in developing a corporate social responsibility strategic agenda

The societal issues conveyed to the organization by its internal and external stakeholders can be various and often conflicting. Consequently, organizations confront difficulties when attempting to identify the range of relevant societal issues they must prioritize to design corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. This article proposes a conceptual framework to clarify the processes that underlie the emergence, prioritization and integration of CSR issues into organizational goals. Specifically, this article uses systems thinking, CSR, and organizational interpretation theories to highlight the central influence of top managers' perceptions on the development of CSR strategic agendas

How Do Employees Perceive Corporate Responsibility? Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Corporate Stakeholder Responsibility Scale

Recent research on the microfoundations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has highlighted the need for improved measures to evaluate how stakeholders perceive and subsequently react to CSR initiatives. Drawing on stakeholder theory and data from five samples of employees (N = 3,772), the authors develop and validate a new measure of corporate stakeholder responsibility (CStR), which refers to an organization’s context-specific actions and policies designed to enhance the welfare of various stakeholder groups by accounting for the triple bottom line of economic, social, and environmental performance; it is conceptualized as a superordinate, multidimensional construct. Results from exploratory factor analyses, first- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses, and structural equation modeling provide strong evidence of the convergent, discriminant, incremental, and criterion-related validities of the proposed CStR scale. Two-wave longitudinal studies further extend prior theory by demonstrating that the higher-order CStR construct relates positively and directly to organizational pride and perceived organizational support, as well as positively and indirectly to organizational identification, job satisfaction, and affective commitment, beyond the contribution of overall organizational justice, ethical climate, and prior measures of perceived CSR

Corporate social responsibility: an empirical investigation of U.S. organizations

Organizations that believe they should give something back to the society have embraced the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Although the theoretical underpinnings of CSR have been frequently debated, empirical studies often involve only limited aspects, implying that theory may not be congruent with actual practices and may impede understanding and further development of CSR. The authors investigate actual CSR practices related to five different stakeholder groups, develop an instrument to measure those CSR practices, and apply it to a survey of 401 U.S. organizations. Four different clusters of organizations emerge, depending on the CSR practice focus. The distinctive features of each cluster relate to organizational demographics, perceived influence of stakeholders, managers perceptions of the influence of CSR on performance, and organizational performance

L’utilisation de l’argument « citoyen » dans les campagnes de communication : analyse des risques dans la perspective d’une crise

Notre étude part du triple constat que (1) pour une entreprise, communiquer ses activités citoyennes ne conduit pas nécessairement à des effets bénéfiques, (2) l’impact négatif des activités non citoyennes sur les résultats de l’entreprise semble démontré, et (3) les entreprises qui communiquent le plus au sujet de leurs activités citoyennes sont aussi les plus critiquées. Le présent article propose d’évaluer l’effet global d’une communication citoyenne sur les consommateurs, et cela dans le cas où l’entreprise doit faire face dans un second temps à une accusation de comportements ‘non citoyens’

Organizational citizenship and corporate citizenship : Two constructs, one research theme

The marketing and management literatures have investigated the notion of citizenship from an organizational perspective with the organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) construct, and from a social perspective with the notion of corporate citizenship (CC). Research on these two related aspects of citizenship has developed significantly over the past few years. Yet, studies of OCB and CC have grown independently of each other. This isolation is likely to result in (1) a confusion in terms, (2) no fruitful cross-fertilization of the two research streams, and (3) little insights into citizenship behaviors in general, regardless of their exact initiators and beneficiaries. In other words, an integration of these two bodies of research may enhance our understanding of citizenship initiatives in general, a knowledge which may then be applicable to various actors and contexts. Against this backdrop, the paper (1) examines the behaviors characteristic of citizenship in the OCB and CC literatures respectively, (2) compares OCB and CC, and (3) investigates potential linkages between these two concepts

L'argument citoyen dans la communication interne des entreprises

Nombre d’auteurs dans des courants très différents (de la sociologie aux sciences de gestion) s’accordent à dire que l’entreprise connaît depuis quelques décennies une profonde mutation. Ainsi, Michel Crozier (1994) parle d’une « révolution conceptuelle » qui place la gestion des ressources humaines au sommet des priorités du manager. La société change et le management semble devoir évoluer vers une gestion de la performance par la promotion de l’excellence. Ces analyses vont dans le sens d’une préoccupation plus grande de l’entreprise pour l’individu en tant que ressource et discutent du rôle devenu primordial de l’implication des individus dans les objectifs de l’organisation tout en insistant paradoxalement sur sa nécessaire flexibilité. Ce management s’appuie donc plus que jamais sur un effort de communication, non plus des règles, mais des orientations économiques et philosophiques de l’organisation. Le marketing de l’entreprise auprès de ses composantes humaines semble ainsi devenir un enjeu pour le manager. Parallèlement à cette évolution, le positionnement des entreprises par rapport à la société a connu une évolution progressive vers une plus grande intégration des problèmes échappant à la seule sphère économique comme : la protection de l’environnement, le développement, le droit du travail et la participation à la résolution de problèmes sociaux. Si l’accumulation du capital est encore bien ce que l’on attend des entreprises et industries, elle ne constitue plus une fin justifiant tous les moyens. Nous nous interrogeons dans ce texte sur les relations possibles entre ces deux évolutions. Notre hypothèse générale est que les contraintes imposées par l’environnement social sont utilisées par le management dans le but de satisfaire à l’exigence de mobilisation des ressources humaines de l’entreprise. Cette interrogation prend pour nous tout son sens lorsque nous la replaçons dans le contexte actuel d’intensification de la concurrence et d’un besoin de mobilisation de ces composantes humaines à des fins clairement identifiées. Nous déclinerons cette hypothèse en différentes sous-questions qui sont l’amorce d’une recherche sur les formes actuelles de communication interne et de management humain dans les organisations, et afin d’apporter des pistes de solution aux questions de recherche posées, nous procéderons dans un avenir proche, à plusieurs analyses de cas au sein d’entreprises sélectionnées en fonction du critère de citoyenneté