Defining Publics Through Csr Communication: Testing an Integrated Theoretical Model for Examining the Impact of Companies’ Environmental Responsibility Messaging Strategies on Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions
Open Access
Author:
Overton, Holly K
Graduate Program:
Mass Communications
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
February 29, 2016
Committee Members:
Denise Sevick Bortree, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor Denise Sevick Bortree, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Lee Ahern, Committee Member Francis Erin Dardis, Committee Member Kurt David Johnson, Committee Member
Keywords:
corporate social responsibility communication environmental responsibility situational theory of publics public relations
Abstract:
This study aims to apply the situational theory of publics and framing theory to corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication research. Specifically, the purpose of the study is to apply and test the theories in this realm to answer the recurring questions that are often investigated in CSR research: what and how companies should communicate CSR efforts to publics. A key focus of the study is to determine how different environmental issues and the manner in which information about each issue impacts publics’ behaviors and, ultimately, their perceptions of a Fortune 500 company and of a given environmental issue. Using a 3 (message frame: diagnostic, prognostic, or motivational) x 2 (environmental issue: general vs. specific) plus control between subjects experimental design, the study examines the attitudes, cognitions, and behavioral intentions different publics may form about different environmental responsibility issues. Furthermore, the study aims to examine how different types of message frames (diagnostic, prognostic, or motivational) and topics may impact how a company can move a public toward information seeking behaviors. Based on theoretical considerations, structural equation modeling was used to examine significant paths between variables, thus creating a proposed new theoretical model that can be applied to CSR literature. The present study adds to existing CSR communication research by applying a new theory to CSR literature and offering an integrated model that can assist companies with addressing questions that could enable organizations to enhance their CSR communication efforts, which can assist public relations practitioners with determining when, why, and how people seek information; their responsiveness to issues; and how communication impacts attitudes and behaviors.
