Abstract
This paper examines how advocacy organizations organize engagements to advance corporate social and environmental accountability. We present an in-depth case study examining how an influential Dutch advocacy organization enacted its engagement with companies to promote the adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting and management practices. Drawing on the construct of strategic framing, we unpack the characteristics that supported the development of a resonant engagement frame that set the boundaries and expectations around the organization’s engagement with companies. We unveil how several internal organizational deficiencies impeded the quality of these engagements, thereby threatening this frame resonance. The paper extends our understanding of the nature and role of strategic framing in the construction of CSR reporting and advances our limited knowledge of how CSR advocacy organizations’ internal operations impact on their engagement efforts. This allows us to better comprehend how these organizations can set engagement agendas and mobilize support for collaborative CSR change initiatives.
Highlights
The recognition of sustainable development as one of modern society’s ‘grand-challenges’ has stimulated the implementation of a range of corporate social responsibility (CSR)-focused initiatives by supra-national organizations, governments, companies and non-government organizations (NGOs) (George et al, 2016)
We reveal how VBDO attained resonance for its engagement frame through its ability to: promote topical CSR issues; mobilize the rules and norms advocated by extant CSR frameworks; facilitate engagement targets’ efforts to hold it to account; conduct engagements aimed at mutually desirable outcomes; and enable CSR managers to exert influence in their organizations
The paper extends our understanding of the role of strategic framing in the construction of CSR reporting
Summary
The recognition of sustainable development as one of modern society’s ‘grand-challenges’ has stimulated the implementation of a range of corporate social responsibility (CSR)-focused initiatives by supra-national organizations, governments, companies and non-government organizations (NGOs) (George et al, 2016). The strategic framing and frame resonance concepts enable us to unveil how VBDO mobilizes what we conceive of as ‘an engagement frame’ that sets the boundaries and expectations for its engagement practices with companies. The paper deepens our understanding of why advocacy organizations can struggle to shape the implementation of CSR reporting and management practices when granted an audience by companies (Deegan & Blomquist, 2006; Islam & van Staden, 2018). Our theoretical focus allows us to analyse the conditions under which engagements between advocacy organizations and companies on CSR-related matters may be maintained over time This extends our understanding of how advocacy organizations can set the agenda when engaging with companies and mobilize support for collaborative CSR change initiatives (Arenas et al, 2009). The final two sections discuss the implications of our findings and offer some concluding observations
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