Improving the promotion of CSR initiatives: A framework for understanding stakeholder communications from a dynamic learning perspective

In this paper we propose a dynamic framework for understanding how stakeholder perceptions influence firm decisions about corporate social responsibility initiatives. In discussing the framework, we outline the process through which NGOs leverage powerful stakeholders, such as shareholders, in their efforts to encourage social responsibility. Based on our framework, we recommend that firms take the following three steps to increase the success of CSR initiatives: (1) develop meaningful and relevant measures of the impact of CSR initiatives for each stakeholder, (2) craft stakeholder-targeted promotion plans that explain in objective terms how the initiative addresses stakeholder specific concerns, and (3) explain to core stakeholders, such as shareholders, how the firm is satisfying or addressing the concerns of other stakeholders.