Communication Excellence

Abstract

Strategic communication is normatively goal‐oriented. Effectiveness is a main concern for strategic communication in any form, through any channel, and with any goal. A typical goal‐oriented communication is corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. CSR is a socially responsible behavior on its face. A simple inference is that corporations will benefit from communicating CSR. However, cases indicate that CSR communication can be a double‐edged sword. While it may generate the public's perception of positive corporate virtues, corporate CSR messages have proven to attract critical attention. A series of real cases have highlighted the need for a corporation to communicate CSR more effectively and sophisticatedly to its stakeholders. Learning to enhance the excellence of CSR communication has become an urgent topic for strategic corporate communication. Thus, can corporations save the world and themselves, too? The answer requires that the excellence of motive must align with CSR communication.