How to appear responsible? Legitimizing CSR communication on corporate Websites - A study of the 100 largest companies in Finland

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to investigate how the 100 largest companies in Finland communicate about corporate social responsibility (CSR) on their Websites. More specifically, the study focused on the companies' use of different CSR related incentives and initiatives, or other means of legitimizing their own message, on their Websites. The study explored the phenomenon through five research questions:(1) To what extent do large Finnish companies communicate on CSR issues on the corporate Websites? (2) Which CSR issues do large Finnish companies communicate on their corporate Websites? (3) To what extent do large Finnish companies use CSR instruments and initiatives in their CSR communication on the corporate Websites?(4) Which CSR instruments and initiatives do large Finnish companies use in their CSR communication on their corporate Websites? and (5) How is the legitimacy of the companies' communication of their CSR activities supported on the corporate Websites?

Methodology and Theoretical framework The data of the study consisted of corporate Websites of the 100 largest companies on the Talouselämä 500 list from 2012. A quantitative content analysis was made to analyze which issues the companies communicate and to what extent and which CSR instruments and initiatives, or other means of legitimizing, they prefer. A qualitative content analysis was conducted to provide deeper understanding on how the companies' CSR communication and the use of different external references appeared to look like. The theoretical framework of the study was formed on the basis of the literature review and focused on the legitimizing role of CSR communication on the corporate Websites.

Findings and Conclusions The findings of the study indicate that the majority of the 100 largest companies in Finland communicate about CSR and use different CSR instruments and initiatives, as well as other means of stressing the truthfulness of their own communication, on the corporate Websites. The results of the content analysis showed that most of the companies' CSR communication is focused on environmental and social issues, whereas issues related to financial responsibility were rarely mentioned. Of the different CSR instruments and initiatives used by the companies, a few publicly developed, as well as some privately developed ones remained popular across all sectors and industries. The study also found the variety of different privately developed CSR instruments to be especially high within the 100 largest companies.