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COMMENTARY
Corporate social responsibility: a corporate marketing perspective
Diogo Hildebrand and Sankar Sen
Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York, New York, New York, USA, and
Corporate social responsibility
1353
C.B. Bhattacharya
European School of Management and Technology, Berlin, Germany
Abstract
Purpose – The main goal of this paper is to provide an integrative understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from a corporate marketing perspective, highlighting the critical role of CSR in effective corporate marketing strategies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual and draws on the social identification, organisational identity and corporate marketing literatures from the European and US schools of thought. Findings – The paper integrates and builds on extant thinking in corporate marketing and CSR to provide an identity-based conceptualization of CSR. Based on this, it positions CSR as an optimal managerial tool for promoting alignment between multiple corporate identities (e.g. internal, external), which ultimately leads to key benefits for the company. Originality/value – The paper is the first to highlight the unique role of CSR in being able to align multiple corporate identities. Furthermore, the paper threads together diverse perspectives on corporate identity and marketing to highlight the potential role of CSR in effective corporate marketing. Keywords Corporate social responsibility, Corporate marketing, Corporate identity, Europe, Consumer-company identification, Identity alignment, Marketing strategy, United States of America Paper type Research paper
Introduction In recent years, few notions have so totally captured the global corporate consciousness as the twin ideas of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. While both ideas have followed
COMMENTARY
Corporate social responsibility: a corporate marketing perspective
Diogo Hildebrand and Sankar Sen
Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York, New York, New York, USA, and
Corporate social responsibility
1353
C.B. Bhattacharya
European School of Management and Technology, Berlin, Germany
Abstract
Purpose – The main goal of this paper is to provide an integrative understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from a corporate marketing perspective, highlighting the critical role of CSR in effective corporate marketing strategies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual and draws on the social identification, organisational identity and corporate marketing literatures from the European and US schools of thought. Findings – The paper integrates and builds on extant thinking in corporate marketing and CSR to provide an identity-based conceptualization of CSR. Based on this, it positions CSR as an optimal managerial tool for promoting alignment between multiple corporate identities (e.g. internal, external), which ultimately leads to key benefits for the company. Originality/value – The paper is the first to highlight the unique role of CSR in being able to align multiple corporate identities. Furthermore, the paper threads together diverse perspectives on corporate identity and marketing to highlight the potential role of CSR in effective corporate marketing. Keywords Corporate social responsibility, Corporate marketing, Corporate identity, Europe, Consumer-company identification, Identity alignment, Marketing strategy, United States of America Paper type Research paper
Introduction In recent years, few notions have so totally captured the global corporate consciousness as the twin ideas of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. While both ideas have followed