session 19, schoeneborn, trittin & scherer
DESCRIPTION
CSR & Theory: Constructivist perspectivesTRANSCRIPT
Transcending the Transmission Model: A Reconstruction of CSR Communication From a Constitutive Perspective (CCO)
Dennis Schoeneborn (U of Zurich)
Hannah Trittin (U of Zurich)
Andreas Georg Scherer (U of Zurich)
This study is part of the research project „Corporate Legitimacy and Corporate Communication“, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
Transcending the Transmission Model
In Andrew Crane‘s matrix, our paper deals with the right hand side…
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Communication as Reflecting Reality
Communication as Constituting Reality
InternalFocus
CSRIntegration
CSRInterpretation
ExternalFocus
CSRIdentity
CSRImage
Transcending the Transmission Model
In CSR communication, a number of studies follow the transmission model of communication
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Communication as complex process of meaning negotiation
Communication as complex process of meaning negotiation
Communication as simple process of package-like information transfer
Communication as simple process of package-like information transfer
What if CSR took communication seriously?
“There are a variety of communication channels through which information about a company's CSR activities […] can be disseminated” (Du et al., 2010: 13)
Transcending the Transmission Model
Trancending transmission by turning to the CCO view („communication constitutes organization“)
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Organization as communicationOrganization as communicationCommunication in/by organizationsCommunication in/by organizations
(1) Shift in perspective: Communication as basic element of organizations
(2) Given the ephemeral character of communicative events, organization’s existence depends on ability to interconnectTime
Organization
CommunicationOrganization
Communication
Transcending the Transmission Model
CCO perspective originates in the interdisciplinary field of organizational communication
Main schools of thought
Key assumptions
• Constitutive instead of instrumental/mechanistic notion of communication
• Radical interactionism: Organization emerges from communication
• Question of perpetuation/interconnectivity of organization as communication
• Decentering the subject, emphasis on „non-human actors“/sociomateriality
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Montréal School
(e.g., Taylor, van Every, Cooren,
Robichaud,Giroux, etc.)
McPhee &colleagues
(e.g., McPhee,Zaug, Iverson,
etc.)
„BoulderSchool“
(e.g., Kuhn, Ashcraft,
Koschmann, etc.)
„Luh Man Group“
(e.g., Luhmann, Seidl, etc.)
Transcending the Transmission Model
Application of CCO view to CSR communication yields various implications
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(1) Organizations as polyphonic and contested sites of communication
• CSR one of several communicative practices that constitute organizations
• Not only external, but also internal communication – and their interplay
• Talk (in some cases) = action (“aspirational talk”; Christensen et al. 2010)
(2) CSR communication as constitutive basis of (partial) organizations
• How does CSR communication differ from other communication in its constitutive capacity: pressure of “completion” (Schoeneborn et al., 2011)
(3) Extending CSR communication to what non-human actors do
• Non-human entities (e.g., texts, scripts, templates) have communicative agency (Cooren, 2004): How to account for their responsibility in CSR?
Transcending the Transmission Model
We contribute to the existing literature by proposing a new theory lens
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Theoretical contributions
• …to CSR communication: Taking the constitutive and emergent character of communication into account: communication as meaning negotiation
• …to CSR: Emphasizing fundamental role of communication to CSR
• …to CCO: Exploring what the CCO view implies for interorganizational relations (e.g., between firms & stakeholders)
Practical contributions
• CSR communication as holistic endeavor (external & internal)
• Role of sensemaking & translation instead of info dissemination
Transcending the Transmission Model
BACKUP
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Transcending the Transmission Model
CCO view has found resonance in journals from management and organization studies
Ashcraft, K. L., Kuhn, T. R., & Cooren, F. (2009). Constitutional Amendments: “Materializing” Organizational Communication. Academy of Management Annals, 3(1), 1-64.
Cooren, F., Kuhn, T. R., Cornelissen, J. P., & Clark, T. (2011). Communication, Organizing, and Organization: An Overview and Introduction to the Special Issue. Organization Studies, 32(9), 1149-1170.
Koschmann, M., Kuhn, T. R., & Pfarrer, M. D. (forthcoming). A Communicative Framework of Value in Cross-Sector Partnerships. Academy of Management Review.
Kuhn, T. R. (2008). A Communicative Theory of the Firm: Developing an Alternative Perspective on Intra-Organizational Power and Stakeholder Relationships. Organization Studies, 29(8-9), 1227-1254.
Schoeneborn, D. (2011). Organization as Communication: A Luhmannian Perspective. Management Communication Quarterly, 25(4), 663-689.
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Transcending the Transmission Model
Application of CCO view to CSR communication yields three main implications
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(1) Organizations as polyphonic communication (see Christensen & Cheney, 2011; Humphreys & Brown, 2008; Wehmeier & Schultz, 2010)
CSR communication as one of several communicative practices that collectively constitute the organization
(2) CSR communication as constitutive basis of (partial) organizations (see Ahrne & Brunsson, 2011; Schoeneborn, Kuhn & Haack, 2011)
How do organizational phenomena that are primarily constituted by CSR communication differ from other forms of organization?
(3) Extending CSR communication to what non-human actors do(see Ashcraft, Kuhn & Cooren, 2009; Cooren, 2006; Kuhn, 2008)
Extending CSR communication in order to account for the agency and responsibility of non-human entities (e.g., texts or other artifacts)