session 16, ihlen
TRANSCRIPT
Øyvind Ihlen, Steve May, Jennifer Bartlett
Four Aces: Bringing Communication Perspectives to Corporate Social Responsibility
Paper presented at the CSR Communication Conference, October 26-28, 2011; Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what communication studies is. I don’t know its history. I don’t know its significance. Now—what was it that you wanted to offer?
What have we got?
• What can communication studies bring to CSR? • Postulate: We have four aces:
– epistemology – dialogue theory – ideas for how to build trust – complexity theory
3/9
Epistemology for all!
Felix
co, I
nc.
• Premise: Knowledge is generated and socially constructed through discourse.
• The words we use are important. • Communication scholarship helps demonstrate how
the social reality of CSR is constructed! • ! what is ‘good’ and ‘bad’?
4/9
Ideas for dialogue!
Felix
co, I
nc.
• Dialogue can facilitate good governance, effective decision-making and stakeholder engagement.
• Communication scholarship points to requisites for dialogue quality relating to dimensions like inclusion, openness, and tolerance!
• ! it issues warnings against instrumentalization of the dialogue.
5/9
Trust building tools!
Felix
co, I
nc.
• Getting stakeholders’ trust is paramount for organizational long-term survival.
• Communication scholarship points to how trust is built by demonstrating practical competence, good character and concern for the audience!
• ! and how transparency is linked to trust in the organizational context.
6/9
Complexity to boot!
Felix
co, I
nc.
• Ambiguity and uncertainty characterizes the social context for organizations.
• Communication scholarship points to the necessity of reflection and learning!
• ! and urges us to avoid over-simplification and to be adept at improvisation.
7/9
Conclusion
• Communication studies can strengthen practice of and research on CSR, both instrumental and critical.
• Organizations ignore communication studies at their own peril!
• ! management studies run the risk of reinventing the wheel and/or adopting simplistic perspectives on complex processes.
• We have a pretty good hand, but it must be played right...
8/9
Reference
Ihlen, Ø., Bartlett, J., May, S. (Eds.) (2011). Handbook of communication and corporate social responsibility. Oxford, UK: Wiley Blackwell.