Corporate social responsibility communication in apparel retail industry
The apparel industry is accused of being socially and environmentally irresponsible. Due to the growing awareness of the social and environmental impact caused by the apparel industry, stakeholders are increasingly vigilant and demand ethical corporate behavior. For that reason, it has become crucia...
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| Formato: | H2 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
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SLU/Dept. of Forest Economics
2021
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855572756541734912 |
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| author | Saati, Natalie |
| author_browse | Saati, Natalie |
| author_facet | Saati, Natalie |
| author_sort | Saati, Natalie |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | The apparel industry is accused of being socially and environmentally irresponsible. Due to the growing awareness of the social and environmental impact caused by the apparel industry, stakeholders are increasingly vigilant and demand ethical corporate behavior. For that reason, it has become crucial for apparel companies to adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) in their operations so that their behavior can be legitimized with their constituents. CSR communication is a delicate topic, and it is not just about communicating a commitment to environmental and social issues, it is also important that stakeholders understand the company's motives for these commitments. Research that studies the environmental and social dimensions of CSR communication is lacking in the garment industry. Therefore, it was of interest in this study to explain how CSR communication has changed over time in the apparel retail industry and how stakeholders were considered in CSR communication.
To meet the aim of the study, a comparative case study was conducted where the CSR communication of three large clothing retailers was analyzed. The clothing retailers are KappAhl, MQ, and ASOS. The empirical results were collected from the annual reports of the selected companies and considered the years 2012/2013, 2014/2015 and 2018/2019.
The study's findings suggest that all companies showed strong commitments to social and environmental concerns, but to varying degrees. CSR communication went from considering a few social and environmental matters to considering the product’s entire life cycle. An important change identified over the years, is how CSR communication went from communicating a few contributions in some part of the product’s life cycle, to communicating collaborations with other stakeholders to implement common codes of conduct and innovative sustainable business practices that influence the industry. CSR communication went from considering an internal and local perspective to consider industrial matters, suggesting that the idea of corporate responsibility has changed over the years. The main motive behind these CSR commitments was to meet stakeholder expectations, which indicated strong extrinsic motives behind CSR communication throughout the years. The study also suggests that the two-way symmetric communication strategy describes how organizations can achieve legitimacy through strategic communication with its stakeholders. As CSR practices became considered at the industrial level, collaborations and dialogue with stakeholders increased throughout the years. Involving stakeholders in CSR communication also increases transparency. This study suggests connections between organizational legitimacy and stakeholder involvement strategy, which is also connected to the institutional expectations on the company and their CSR commitments and motives. |
| format | H2 |
| id | RepoSLU16510 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Forest Economics |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Forest Economics |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU165102021-04-27T12:19:08Z Corporate social responsibility communication in apparel retail industry Företagens sociala ansvars kommunikation i textila detaljhandeln Saati, Natalie apparel retail CSR commitment CSR communication CSR communication strategy CSR motives institutional theory legitimacy sustainability CSR CSR engagemang CSR kommunikation CSR kommunikationsstrategier CSR motiv hållbarhet institutionell teori klädhandlare legitimitet The apparel industry is accused of being socially and environmentally irresponsible. Due to the growing awareness of the social and environmental impact caused by the apparel industry, stakeholders are increasingly vigilant and demand ethical corporate behavior. For that reason, it has become crucial for apparel companies to adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) in their operations so that their behavior can be legitimized with their constituents. CSR communication is a delicate topic, and it is not just about communicating a commitment to environmental and social issues, it is also important that stakeholders understand the company's motives for these commitments. Research that studies the environmental and social dimensions of CSR communication is lacking in the garment industry. Therefore, it was of interest in this study to explain how CSR communication has changed over time in the apparel retail industry and how stakeholders were considered in CSR communication. To meet the aim of the study, a comparative case study was conducted where the CSR communication of three large clothing retailers was analyzed. The clothing retailers are KappAhl, MQ, and ASOS. The empirical results were collected from the annual reports of the selected companies and considered the years 2012/2013, 2014/2015 and 2018/2019. The study's findings suggest that all companies showed strong commitments to social and environmental concerns, but to varying degrees. CSR communication went from considering a few social and environmental matters to considering the product’s entire life cycle. An important change identified over the years, is how CSR communication went from communicating a few contributions in some part of the product’s life cycle, to communicating collaborations with other stakeholders to implement common codes of conduct and innovative sustainable business practices that influence the industry. CSR communication went from considering an internal and local perspective to consider industrial matters, suggesting that the idea of corporate responsibility has changed over the years. The main motive behind these CSR commitments was to meet stakeholder expectations, which indicated strong extrinsic motives behind CSR communication throughout the years. The study also suggests that the two-way symmetric communication strategy describes how organizations can achieve legitimacy through strategic communication with its stakeholders. As CSR practices became considered at the industrial level, collaborations and dialogue with stakeholders increased throughout the years. Involving stakeholders in CSR communication also increases transparency. This study suggests connections between organizational legitimacy and stakeholder involvement strategy, which is also connected to the institutional expectations on the company and their CSR commitments and motives. Klädindustrin anklagas för att vara socialt och miljömässigt oansvarigt. På grund av den ökande medvetenheten om den sociala och miljömässiga påverkan som klädindustrin orsakar är intressenter alltmer vaksamma och kräver etiskt företagsbeteende. Av det skälet har det blivit avgörande för klädföretag att anta företagens sociala ansvar (CSR) i sin verksamhet så att deras beteende kan legitimeras. CSR-kommunikation är ett känsligt ämne och det handlar inte bara om att kommunicera ett engagemang för miljö- och sociala frågor, utan det är också viktigt att intressenterna förstår företagets motiv för dessa åtaganden. Forskning som studerar de miljömässiga och sociala dimensionerna av CSR-kommunikation saknas i klädindustrin. Därför var det av intresse i denna studie att förklara hur CSR-kommunikation har förändrats över tid i klädhandeln och hur intressenter ansågs i CSR-kommunikation. För att uppfylla studiens mål genomfördes en jämförande fallstudie där CSR-kommunikationen från tre stora klädhandlare analyserades. Klädhandlarna är KappAhl, MQ och ASOS. De empiriska resultaten samlades in från årsredovisningarna för de utvalda företagen och beaktades åren 2012/2013, 2014/2015 och 2018/2019. Studiens resultat tyder på att alla företag visade starkt engagemang för sociala och miljömässiga problem, men i varierande grad. CSR-kommunikation gick från att överväga några sociala och miljömässiga frågor, till att beakta produktens hela livscykel. En viktig förändring som identifierats under åren är hur CSR-kommunikation gick från att kommunicera några bidrag i någon del av produkternas livscykel till att kommunicera samarbeten med andra intressenter för att implementera gemensamma uppförandekoder samt hållbara affärsmetoder som påverkar industrin. CSR-kommunikation gick från att överväga ett internt och lokalt perspektiv till att beakta industriella frågor, vilket tyder på att idén om företagsansvar har förändrats genom åren. Huvudmotivet bakom dessa CSR-åtaganden var att uppfylla intressenternas förväntningar, vilket tydde på starka yttre motiv bakom CSR-kommunikation genom åren. Studien föreslår också att tvåvägs-symmetrisk kommunikationsstrategin beskriver hur organisationer kan uppnå legitimitet genom strategisk kommunikation med sina intressenter. När CSR övervägdes på industriell nivå, ökade samarbetet och dialogen med intressenter genom åren. Att engagera intressenter i CSR-kommunikation ökar också öppenheten. Denna studie antyder kopplingar mellan organisatorisk legitimitet och intressentinvolveringsstrategin, som i sin tur också är kopplad till de institutionella förväntningarna på företaget och deras CSR-åtaganden och motiv. SLU/Dept. of Forest Economics 2021 H2 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/16510/ |
| spellingShingle | apparel retail CSR commitment CSR communication CSR communication strategy CSR motives institutional theory legitimacy sustainability CSR CSR engagemang CSR kommunikation CSR kommunikationsstrategier CSR motiv hållbarhet institutionell teori klädhandlare legitimitet Saati, Natalie Corporate social responsibility communication in apparel retail industry |
| title | Corporate social responsibility communication in apparel retail industry |
| title_full | Corporate social responsibility communication in apparel retail industry |
| title_fullStr | Corporate social responsibility communication in apparel retail industry |
| title_full_unstemmed | Corporate social responsibility communication in apparel retail industry |
| title_short | Corporate social responsibility communication in apparel retail industry |
| title_sort | corporate social responsibility communication in apparel retail industry |
| topic | apparel retail CSR commitment CSR communication CSR communication strategy CSR motives institutional theory legitimacy sustainability CSR CSR engagemang CSR kommunikation CSR kommunikationsstrategier CSR motiv hållbarhet institutionell teori klädhandlare legitimitet |