Corporate social responsibility in the British英文文献.pdfVIP

Commentary Corporate social responsibility in the British media industries – preliminary findings Ágnes Gulyás CANTERBURY CHR ST CHURCH UN VERS TY, UK There has been a significant increase in interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) in recent years. A series of corporate scandals, growing numbers of formal and informal protocols about corporate behaviour, as well as high-profile public debates on social issues, such as global warming and world poverty, have led to increasing pressures on companies to act in a socially responsible way. The media industries are no exceptions to this trend, albeit media companies are often seen trailing behind other industries in CSR engagement and performance. Given the social importance of media organizations the development of CSR is particularly intriguing question in their case. However, there has been very limited research on CSR in the media sec- tors. To remedy this gap a study was carried out that examined CSR perceptions and practices among British media companies and assessed CSR engagement in the national daily newspaper sector. The aims of the study – and this commentary – were: • by using a questionnaire survey, to explore the perceptions of CSR among media companies and examine their CSR activities and practices; • to develop a framework to assess CSR engagement in the daily newspaper market and investigate whether ‘strong’ CSR engagement is linked to specific corporate characteristics. The study is the first part of a larger research proj ect. t is envisaged that later parts of the research will include both qualitative and quantitative data analysis as well as involve a larger selection of media sectors for CSR assessment. Development and definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility The ideas behind CSR have existed for a very long time, but it was at the beginning of the 20th century, in the USA, that CSR issu