Communicating corporate LGBTQ advocacy: A computational comparison of the global CSR discourse

Abstract

Corporations are increasingly engaging with political and social issues through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, in new areas such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) advocacy. Informed by institutional theory and stakeholder theory, this article systematically, comparatively, and computationally examines the intersection of LGBTQ advocacy and CSR communication. In particular, it contributes to the literature by (1) examining the global LGBTQ CSR discourse constructed by Fortune Global 500 companies (136,820 words) with semantic network analysis and structural topic modeling; (2) surveying non-profit organizations’ guidelines and comparing corporate values with them; and (3) exploring how stakeholder expectations and institutional factors influence CSR communication. Results indicate 6 corporate topics and 9 non-profit topics, which were explicated by referencing organizations’ original writing. It is further shown that stakeholder expectations and institutional factors not only affect whether or not corporations report LGBTQ efforts, but also affect what topics they highlight in CSR reports. Corporations in democratic countries with substantial stakeholder expectations emphasize areas that need high investment and exceed legal obligations.