Abstract

Background: More and more multinational corporations (MNCs) based in East Asia are adopting international social media to communicate messages on corporate social responsibility (CSR), but little research has investigated their content qualitatively. Literature review: I reviewed the literature related to the convergence and divergence of corporate behaviors under the framework of the institutional theory. Comparative studies on web-based CSR communication (CSRC) were also addressed, and CSR development in China and Korea was described as the research context to develop hypotheses and research questions. Research questions: 1. How do Chinese and Korean CSRCs resemble each other in international social media? 2. What are the differences between Chinese and Korean CSRCs in international social media? Research methodology: I selected six Chinese companies and six Korean firms from the 2019 Forbes 2000 world's-largest-corporations ranking, and analyzed the content of their English-language Facebook accounts using “Leximancer,” a powerful textual analysis software package. Results: Results indicated that the CSR messages of Chinese and Korean firms resembled each other at a macrolevel but differed at a microlevel. In addition, the CSR messages of Chinese companies were more likely to reflect national strategic agendas, while Korean firms placed greater emphasis on short-term events and legal compliance. Conclusions: Chinese and Korean corporations have adopted an approach of “global topics, native framing” in their CSRCs to achieve a balance between internal and external legitimacy.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2021-06-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2021.3064409
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

Cites in this index (1)

  1. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Also cites 63 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30250-4
  2. 10.1080/1553118X.2017.1360892
  3. 10.1080/10495142.2018.1526748
  4. 10.1016/j.indmarman.2004.09.003
  5. 10.1007/s10551-012-1209-6
  6. 10.1007/s12140-004-0009-8
  7. 10.1080/13602381.2016.1168672
  8. 10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.05.015
  9. 10.1080/13602381.2014.900274
  10. 10.1007/s10997-015-9309-1
  11. 10.1007/s10551-014-2123-x
  12. 10.1080/10758216.2016.1236667
  13. 10.1108/JCOM-01-2012-0006
  14. 10.1177/0007650305281658
  15. 10.1108/IJBM-02-2015-0022
  16. 10.1108/BJM-10-2013-0151
  17. 10.1080/1062726X.2015.1098543
  18. 10.1108/JCOM-01-2013-0007
  19. 10.1108/JCOM-01-2013-0004
  20. 10.1108/cpoib-12-2017-0086
  21. 10.2501/JAR-51-1-224-238
  22. 10.1057/bm.2012.59
  23. 10.2753/JOA0091-3367400106
  24. 10.1002/csr.1895
  25. 10.1080/10641734.2018.1500321
  26. 10.1016/j.tele.2004.11.007
  27. 10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.05.016
  28. 10.1080/15358593.2014.942353
  29. 10.1080/10286632.2020.1752683
  30. 10.5465/AMR.1979.4498296
  31. 10.1108/CCIJ-09-2014-0062
  32. 10.2307/2095101
  33. 10.1177/2329488414525443
  34. 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.05.044
  35. 10.1016/j.pubrev.2006.11.001
  36. 10.1108/CCIJ-11-2013-0101
  37. 10.1163/15692108-12341298
  38. 10.3390/su11236562
  39. 10.1525/cmr.2011.54.1.39
  40. 10.1287/orsc.2013.0837
  41. 10.2478/ijme-2014-0009
  42. 10.1080/12294659.2018.1518000
  43. 10.1080/02185377.2012.748972
  44. 10.1108/13632540810899425
  45. 10.1007/s11575-011-0089-9
  46. 10.1080/17544750.2018.1528292
  47. 10.1016/j.pubrev.2017.05.002
  48. 10.1007/s10490-006-7160-2
  49. 10.1007/s10551-009-0306-7
  50. 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x
  51. 10.1016/j.lrp.2019.101911
  52. 10.5465/amr.1995.9508080331
  53. 10.5465/AMR.2008.34422026
  54. 10.1108/CCIJ-11-2017-0112
  55. 10.1007/s10551-011-0830-0
  56. 10.1108/IntR-04-2017-0172
  57. 10.1007/s10551-008-9794-0
  58. 10.1080/1540496X.2017.1295843
  59. 10.1093/0199247757.001.0001
  60. 10.1111/pafo.12130
  61. 10.1142/S0219091517500011
  62. 10.1142/S0219091502000717
  63. 10.1080/12294659.2015.1084091