Mass media effects on non-governmental organizations (original) (raw)
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The media report news that in turn influences behaviors. This news is drawn from a set of available information. In this paper, we study how the set of information is "ex ante" affected by anticipated media coverages. First, we take an exogenous but anticipated shock of media coverage: Olympic Games and FIFA World Cups. Then, we estimate the effect of this media coverage shock on the production of reports by a publicity-seeking actor: NGOs. We use a unique database that collects NGO reports on a sample of 572 firms in 140 countries between 2002 and 2010. Those reports deal with firm practices, and tone of the speech of these reports is classified as "good" or "bad" for the reputation of the firm. We find that these media coverage shocks significantly impact the production of information. More precisely, stories that are substitute to sport news (reports on host and participant countries) are significantly less reported by NGOs, while the number of reports on complement to sport news (practices of sponsors) significantly increases. Further, in both cases bad reports overreact compared to good ones.
New Evidence on the Role of the Media in Corporate Social Responsibility
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2016
Prior research suggests that the media plays an important information intermediary role in capital markets. We investigate the role of the media in influencing firms' engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Using a large sample of 4,396 unique firms from 42 countries over the period 2003 to 2012, we find strong evidence that firms engage in more CSR activities if located in countries where the media has more freedom. This relation is robust to using various proxies for media freedom, an alternative source of CSR data, and to applying the instrumental variables approach to address endogeneity. In additional analyses, we find that the positive relation between media freedom and CSR engagement is stronger for better governed firms and for larger firms. Since the media have the ability to impact reputational capital, we conclude that media freedom affects firms' incentives to engage in costly CSR activities.
The Power of Activism: Assessing the Impact of NGOs on Global Business
California Management Review, 2003
Recent decades have witnessed the proliferation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the emergence of activism across a wide variety of issue areas. On topics ranging from human rights to labor conditions, NGOs and activists represent an increasingly important constituency in a firm's nonmarket environment. Surprisingly, however, scholars have only recently begun to seriously consider the interaction between NGOs and firms. As an early step in an emerging research program, we explore the different ways in which firms manage NGO pressure, noting instances of preemption, capitulation and resistance. Through a consideration of three case studies, Unocal, Nike and Novartis, we evaluate a series of preliminary hypotheses about the economic and non-economic factors that drive variation in firms' responses to NGO activism. We conclude with a discussion of our findings and some implications for managers.
Multinational Corporations and Social Responsibility
International journal of applied management sciences and engineering, 2015
Non-governmental organisations often accuse multinational corporations of exploiting the various legal environments in different countries to their advantage in order to avoid the assumption of responsibility for human rights violations or environmental disasters. This empirical study shows that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can, by employing various instruments, increase the likelihood of multinational corporations accepting social and environmental responsibility for their actions. These instruments, ranging from dialogue to scandalisation, are intended to influence corporate behaviour and their use depends on the pressure the NGO wishes to exert on a particular company. All instruments need careful research and the gathering of evidence, including witness statements. To gain public attention the information must be well prepared for the media, resonate in the corporation's domestic market, stimulate concern and be up-to-date. The most promising activities are those that emphasise that economic success could be compromised to the key decision makers within the company.
An Evaluation Of The Influence Of Media Activities On Multinational Corporations In Kenya
2019
Despite of the many research conducted on media effects, there has been little efforts with regards to the effects of media on Multinational Corporation (MNCs). This study attempts to understand the effect media has on international businesses specifically MNCs. The research seeks to determine the extent to which media attention influences, contribute to and or shapes the activities of various MNCs in Kenya such as financing, investments, marketing strategy and companies' Corporate social Responsibility. It also evaluates the role of media in holding MNCs to account and in promoting good business practice among MNCs. This study is anchored on the Media Effects Theory and it draws from framing effects, priming and agendasetting theories. The study used the mixed method approach, specifically the Survey Research Design, and was conducted in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, which hosts the headquarters of most MNCs. The project gathered data from several multinational companies drawn from various sectors including finance and banking, telecommunications, consumer goods, motor vehicle industry, food and beverage among others. The researched revealed that MNCs use the media as a source of information on the policies that affect them in one way or another, to gauge what the competition is doing as well as the political climate. Thus, media coverage affects decisionmaking in a corporation. The research also found out that news coverage has more impact on the image of the company compared to adverts as audiences tend to believe news articles more than adverts. However, the study shows that journalists rarely keep corporations and their executives accountable with lack of enough data being cited as one of the reasons. This is mainly because there are very few listed MNCs which makes it hard for journalists as they do not get the information/ data they would need to hold companies and their executives to account. The research concludes that media significantly affects activities of MNCs as the operating environment of MNC is largely informed or reliant on local media content. This study recommends future studies on the subject using a higher sample size to increase credibility and reliability of the data obtained herein. Further to that and noting that this study proves that media coverage influences MNC activities, therefore, there is need to investiga te how media coverage impacts these companies. In this era of digital revolution and the rise of audience shift from traditional to social media platforms, there is need to interrogate the effects of social media on MNCs. It also calls upon corporations to have robust policies to guide them when to respond to media scrutiny, who should respond and how they should respond. Additionally, they should proactively map out issues likely to affect them, rank them according to severity and prepare potential responses to help spokespeople and senior manageme nt prepare for such cases.
Looking Good: Mediatisation and International NGOs
Many international NGOs value those parts of their work that are suited to media representation: campaigning, advocacy, projects that produce the right sort of images. In this article I make three points about this change. First, those parts of the NGO most reliant on media – such as the campaign desk – may be becoming more powerful. This can change the internal dynamics of NGOs. Second, the increasing use of media means that NGOs, like other organisations, hold themselves accountable in new ways. Third, NGOs may appear to look more and more like media organisations. These changes have received relatively little attention in the literature on NGOs, though they reflect a broader set of debates about the role of media in society. Using a case analysis of an international NGO, I suggest that the concept of mediatisation might be a useful way to understand some of the changes observed in the NGO sector. Beaucoup d'ONG internationales donnent de plus en plus valeur aux parties de leur travail qui sont adaptés à une représentation médiatique : organisation de campagnes, défense d'intérêts, et projets qui produisent 'le bon type' d'images. Dans cet article, je mets en avant trois arguments concernant ce changement. Premièrement, c'est que les parties des ONG les plus dépendants des media (comme le bureau d'une campagne) peuvent devenir plus puissantes et changer les dynamiques internes de l'ONG. Deuxièmement, l'utilisation croissante des medias font si que les ONG (comme d'autres organisations) soient tenus responsables dans des nouvelles formes. Troisièmement, les ONG apparaissent de plus en plus comme des organisations médiatiques. Ces changements n'ont pas reçu beaucoup d'attention dans la littérature sur les ONG, cependant ils réfléchissent une série de débats plus larges sur le rôle des medias dans la société. Utilisant un analyse de cas de une ONG internationale, je suggère que le concept de médiatisation peut nous donner une nouvelle façon de comprendre quelques-uns des changements observés dans le secteur des ONG.
This article analyzes the newsmaking experiences of selected NGOs in Latin America. It argues that the newsmaking experiences of NGOs reflect the ascendancy of a pragmatic approach characterized by organizations engaging with the press and state actors to gain visibility and construct social problems as public issues. The wide-ranging interests and goals among NGOs, coupled with the heterogeneous interests of news organizations and state officials, make it impossible to produce generalizations about the impact of NGOs in strengthening linkages with the press. Not all civic demands have similar chances of finding sympathetic and receptive actors. The fact that NGOs pursue separate newsmaking strategies with different results evidences the fragmented and conflictive character of civil society. The analysis has implications for understanding both the effectiveness of NGOs in making the press permeable to citizens' interests, and the articulation between civic society and the media.