The Influence of Culture on CSR Communication : A Cross-National Comparative Study between Sweden and Spain

• Main Author: Groenemeijer, Rafael
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation, Högskolan i Jönköping, HLK, Medie- och kommunikationsforskning 2015
• Subjects: Corporate Social Responsibility; Culture; International Communication; Intercultural Communication; Audience Perception Theory
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-27612

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), doing business while keeping the environment and society in mind, has grown in importance to businesses. Companies, and especially multinationals, are communicating their CSR efforts in the hopes to get a positive commercial effect. The way in which audiences perceive these communications is crucial. There is a connection between culture and communication; communication and CSR; and CSR and culture. This thesis studies the influence of culture on the specific type of communication: CSR communication. Two culturally diverse countries, Sweden and Spain, are compared in this exploratory study. Using cross-national comparative surveys and in-depth interviews with people from both countries and placing this into context using cultural background, the relation between culture and CSR communication has been explored. The results support the assumption that the perception of CSR and CSR communication is different between the two groups of respondents. This suggests that the effectiveness of CSR communication can be increased by tailoring it to the specific audience. While the statements cannot be made for the entire ‘next generation of working professionals’, the exploratory study is valuable in making strong indications and suggestions for further research.