"Too Good to Be True!". The Effectiveness of CSR History in Countering Negative Publicity

• Published in: Journal of business ethics Vol. 85; no. Suppl 2; pp. 273 - 283
• Main Authors: Vanhamme, Joëlle, Grobben, Bas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01.04.2009; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Series: Journal of Business Ethics
• Subjects: Business administration; Business and Management; Business communications; Business Ethics; Business reputation; Business structures; Business studies; Communication; Consumer advertising; Consumer goods industries; Consumer motivation; Consumer research; Consumers; Corporate responsibility; Corporate social responsibility; crisis communication; CSR history; Education; Ethics; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hypotheses; Legitimacy; Management; Management of crises; Marketing; negative publicity; Persuasion; Philosophy; Public relations; Publicity; Quality of Life Research; reputation; Reputations; Skepticism; Social norms; Social responsibility; Studies; Sumer; skepticism; reputation; crisis communication; CSR history; negative publicity
• ISSN: 0167-4544; 1573-0697
• DOI: 10.1007/s10551-008-9731-2

Corporate crises call for effective communication to shelter or restore a company's reputation. The use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) claims may provide an effective tool to counter the negative impact of a crisis, but knowledge about its effectiveness is scarce and lacking in studies that consider CSR communication during crises. To help fill this gap, this study investigates whether the length of company's involvement in CSR matters when it uses CSR claims in its crisis communication as a means to counter negative publicity. The use of CSR claims in crisis communication is more effective for companies with a long CSR history than for those with a short CSR history, and consumer skepticism about claims lies at the heart of this phenomenon.