CSR communication to employees as stakeholders in the pharmaceutical sector

Abstract

PurposeThis research aims to contribute substantively and methodologically to our understanding of CSR communications in the pharmaceutical sector targeted to employees. Of specific concern is how companies can most effectively communicate their CSR activities to employees.Design/methodology/approachMulti-methods were used to identify CSR-related communication trends and relationships in the largest pharmaceutical companies by market cap. Replicatable data are ROA from Bloomberg, ESG scores, employee satisfaction from Indeed.com and content of CSR and similar reports.FindingsSignificant findings include the content of CSR reports related to employee behaviors and human resource processes. Both HR behaviors and HR processes are related to return on assets ROA. Multinational differences were found in Indeed satisfaction scores and in trends in communications from the CSR reports.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the limitations was that not all pharmaceutical companies consistently reported their data.Practical implicationsGiven that the pharmaceutical sector is comprised of a high proportion of uniquely qualified types of employees, this type of information can be used by prospective employees to consistently include more HR processes. Especially missing is recruitment and selection data that can reasonably be expected to facilitate identifying prospective employees who align with the CSR mission.Originality/valueThe methodology used in this study allows for replication in the pharmaceutical sector. Moreover, it encourages using similar disaggregated ESG data sources to study CSR in other sectors.