Communication of corporate social responsibility by Portuguese banks (original) (raw)

Communication of corporate social responsibility by Portuguese banks: A legitimacy theory perspective

Corporate Communications: An …, 2006

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether Portuguese banks use their web sites as a medium to disclose social responsibility information and identify what types of this kind of information they disclose, and compare such disclosure with similar disclosure in annual reports. Design/methodology/approach -Examines social responsibility information disclosure on the internet by Portuguese banks in 2004 and compares the internet and 2003 annual reports as disclosure media using content analysis. Findings -Banks with a higher visibility among consumers seem to exhibit greater concern to improve the corporate image through social responsibility information disclosure. Results thus suggest that legitimacy theory may be an explanation of social responsibility disclosure by Portuguese banks.

Social responsibility disclosure: a study of proxies for the public visibility of Portuguese banks

The British Accounting Review, 2008

This study, grounded in legitimacy theory (LT), examines social responsibility disclosure (SRD) on the Internet by Portuguese banks in 2004 and 2005. It compares these disclosures with those made in annual reports in 2003 and 2004. According to LT, companies with a higher public visibility are expected to exhibit greater concern to improve the corporate image through SRD. Size and industry affiliation are two of the most popular proxies for public visibility. By using companies from one industry this study explores size-related measures as proxies for public visibility. It analyses several size-related proxies and proposes a measure which has never been discussed in SRD studies: a spatial competition index based on the number of branches. Results suggest that the perspective adopted explains SRD by Portuguese banks and that the new measure proposed should be explored further in SRD empirical research. r

Online corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in the banking industry: evidence from Poland

Social Responsibility Journal, 2019

Purpose-Based on a set of complementary theories, namely, the legitimacy, stakeholder and signaling theories, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the visibility of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures on bank websites. In particular, we explored the accessibility, placement, reporting format, extent and content of online CSR information. This paper also examined the effect of size, being listed, ownership structure and the internationalization of banks on online CSR reporting. Design/methodology/approach-A sample consisting of 20 banks was used where the data were manually collected from the websites of various banks during the fourth quarter of 2017. Three reporting formats were explored: information posted directly on the website, information contained in a separate CSR report and information within a management commentary or annual report or integrated report. Content analysis was used to measure the level of online CSR disclosures in four sub-dimensions: environment, human resources, products and customers and community involvement. The sample was grouped according to the criteria of size, being listed, ownership structure and internationality. Non-parametric statistics were used to analyze some factors that influence CSR disclosure, namely, size, public ownership, internationalization and foreign ownership. Findings-The results indicate that accessibility to CSR information is relatively good. The placement of CSR information on websites varies among banks. Moreover, community involvement was the most disclosed dimension on the banks' websites. There was a lack of disclosure on items regarding the environment. Furthermore, the findings of this paper showed that significant determinants for explaining online CSR disclosure level were size and being listed. Originality/value-This study contributes to the literature by examining the online CSR disclosure practices of banks from an emerging market with a different socioeconomic context and regulations compared to the developed market.

Online Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in the Croatian Banking Sector

International Public Administration Review, 2017

In the past few decades, the concept of corporate social responsibility has been at the centre of interest in many areas of economic research, studies using different levels of analysis. This paper analyses corporate social responsibility at the level of organisation within the banking system, where the issue of corporate social responsibility disclosure comes under the spotlight with the emergence of the global economic crisis. The purpose of the study is twofold: to examine whether Croatian banks’ online corporate social responsibility reporting depends upon their market share, and whether it focuses on community related information. Using website content analysis of all twenty-eight banks currently operating in the Croatian banking sector, corporate social responsibility disclosure is categorised in terms of themes (environment, human resources, customers and products, and community involvement). The research findings reveal that the level of Croatian banks’ online CSR disclosure...

Online Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in the Croatian Banking Sector1

In the past few decades, the concept of corporate social responsibility has been at the centre of interest in many areas of economic research, studies using different levels of analysis. This paper analyses corporate social responsibility at the level of organisation within the banking system, where the issue of corporate social responsibility disclosure comes under the spotlight with the emergence of the global economic crisis. The purpose of the study is twofold: to examine whether Croatian banks' online corporate social responsibility reporting depends upon their market share, and whether it focuses on community related information. Using website content analysis of all twenty-eight banks currently operating in the Croatian banking sector, corporate social responsibility disclosure is categorised in terms of themes (environment, human resources, customers and products, and community involvement). The research findings reveal that the level of Croatian banks' online CSR disclosure is largely dependent on banks' market share. On the other hand, results indicate that Croatian banks are mainly reporting on activities related to customers and products, followed by those, which imply community involvement. Human resources and environmental initiatives receive the least amount of attention. The results of the study can be used to more deeply comprehend and understand banks' corporate social responsibility as a business philosophy that contributes to organisational performance and building trust between market participants.

An Investigation Regarding the Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility Information for Listed Companies from Romania

The AMFITEATRU …, 2011

The purpose of this research was to establish the degree of transparency concerning the communication of the information regarding the corporate social responsibility by the Romanian companies listed. The study used as a sample the listed companies in the first part of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Considering the fact that in Romania there is no mandatory reporting of such information, we examined the extent to which public companies in Romania have, voluntarily, on their sites, such disclosures. As a research framework we used the model proposed by Dahlsrud (2008). According to this model, CSR-type information can be classified into five dimensions: the environmental dimension, social dimension, economic dimension, the "stakeholders" dimension and voluntary dimension. After conducting site investigation we made a classification of their degree of transparency (dependent variable). For this variable we tested the association with the type of ownership and activity (independent variables).

The advertising of corporate social responsibility in a Brazilian bank

Purpose – Organizations achieve brand awareness through marketing efforts. Studies show that advertising plays a central role in garnering results. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the corporate social responsibility (CSR) advertised by a retail bank in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach – Critical discourse analysis (CDA) was adopted, with the three steps proposed by Fairclough: textual analysis, processing analysis, and social analysis. This approach allows in-depth analysis of the CSR discourse present in communications of organizations with their target. Findings – Literature indicates that consumers prefer to obtain personal advantages rather than benefits to the environment in which they live. This could influence organizations’ preference towards communication campaigns that demonstrate CSR actions, and that additionally communicate benefits which individuals receive. However, one of the largest banks using advertising limited to CSR-specific aspects achieves impressive brand awareness results. Originality/value – This study presents evidence that CSR advertising can stimulate brand awareness without using commercial aspects in its content. Keywords Brazil, Banks, Advertising, Corporate social responsibility, Brand awareness, Consumer behaviour, Branding, Brazilian banks, Bradesco Paper type Research paper