Alcohol Industry Corporate Social Responsibility Research Articles

Distilling the curriculum: An analysis of alcohol industry-funded school-based youth education programmes.

Background and aimFor decades, corporations such as the tobacco and fossil fuel industries have used youth education programmes and schools to disseminate discourses, ideas and values favourable to their positions, and to pre-empt regulation that threatens profits. However, there is no systematic research into alcohol industry-funded youth education programmes. This article serves to address this important gap in the literature.MethodsUsing a discourse theoretical approach informed by poststructural discourse theory and critical discourse analysis, we analysed teaching materials from three school-based youth education initiatives which focus on alcohol consumption and health harms: Drinkaware for Education, The Smashed Project (funded by Diageo), and Talk About Alcohol (Alcohol Education Trust). These materials, some of which are disseminated internationally, are provided to schools through intermediary bodies in receipt of alcohol industry funding.FindingsThe analysis found that these materials drew from and presented discourses of personal responsibility, moderate alcohol consumption, and involved a narrowing of the problem definition and causes. The locus of the problem is located by the discourses within individuals including youth, with causes of youth alcohol consumption repeatedly presented as peer pressure and ‘poor choices’, with little or no mention of alcohol industry marketing or other practices. All programmes promoted familiarisation and normalisation of alcohol as a ‘normal’ adult consumer product which children must learn about and master how to use responsibly when older. The discourses constructed in these materials closely align with those of other alcohol industry corporate social responsibility discourses which employ selective presentation of harms, including misinformation about cancer, and ambiguous terms such as “responsible drinking”. Furthermore, the role of alcohol price, availability and access, and the impacts of alcohol and the industry on inequities were not articulated within the discourses. The research was limited to an analysis of teaching materials and further research is needed to explore their impact on youth, teachers and wider discourses and social norms.ConclusionAlcohol industry-sponsored youth education programmes serve industry interests and promote moderate consumption while purportedly educating children about harms and influences of alcohol use. There are considerable conflicts of interest in the delivery of alcohol education programmes funded by the alcohol industry and intermediary bodies in receipt of such funding. Alcohol education materials should be developed independent from industry, including funding, and should empower children and young people to understand and think critically about alcohol, including harms and drivers of consumption, and effective interventions needed to protect them and others from alcohol-related harms. Independent organisations can use this analysis to critique their materials to strengthen alignment with meeting student and public health interests. The ongoing exposure of children and young people to such conflicted and misleading materials needs urgent attention from policymakers, practitioners, teachers and parents, and resources dependent on industry support should cease being used in schools.

Recruitment, risks, rewards and regrets: Senior researcher reflections on working with alcohol industry social aspects organisations.

A growing body of literature suggests alcohol industry corporate social responsibility activity, including the creation of 'social aspects' organisations (SAO), may harm rather than improve public health. We aimed to explore established researcher experiences of working with SAOs, and the factors informing their decisions to do so. Qualitative interview study with senior alcohol researchers who had previous or ongoing connections to SAOs or their predecessors initiated when their careers were established (n= 16). Thematic analysis using NVivo software. Established researchers were recruited for their expertise by alcohol industry SAOs via employees who were previously academics or via academic colleagues with SAO connections. Motivated by the desire to improve public health and 'reach out' beyond academia, researchers were confident that they could maintain their independence when sharing their expertise with SAOs. Short-term connections included attendance at SAO-funded events and book chapter contributions. Sometimes, these led to long-term relationships with SAOs, or researchers were invited to long-term roles by a colleague. These included memberships of scientific advisory committees, board positions, or work as independent consultants. Most researchers reflected negatively on their experiences and had ended their associations, while some had positive experiences. Current and former researchers play key roles in initiating connections with SAOs, with industry-funded events and invitations to long-term roles by trusted colleagues, mechanisms used to facilitate the development of such relationships. Our study adds to existing evidence that SAO scientific activity does not contribute to public health goals, but does present industry with public relations opportunities.

Interdependent self-construal and number of Twitter followers: consumer responses to alcohol industry corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign on Twitter

Twitter has become an important means of communicating alcohol industry CSR campaigns. However, little is known about individual differences in consumer responses to CSR campaigns in the context of Twitter. An online experiment was conducted to explore the effects of interdependent self-construal on purchase and electronic word of mouth intentions through attitudes toward CSR campaigns on Twitter. Results found that the indirect effects were stronger when the number of Twitter followers was higher. Also, the indirect effects were presented for females, but not for males. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings were also discussed in more detail.

Comment on "Dark Nudges and Sludge in Big Alcohol: Behavioral Economics, Cognitive Biases, and Alcohol Industry Corporate Social Responsibility".

Comment on "Dark Nudges and Sludge in Big Alcohol: Behavioral Economics, Cognitive Biases, and Alcohol Industry Corporate Social Responsibility".

Alcohol industry, corporate social responsibility and country features in Latin America.

Research on corporate behaviour can contribute to the understanding of the possible adverse impacts of alcohol-industry corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and their potential influence on policymaking. This study explores the association between alcohol-industry CSR activities and selected country features in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nine health experts evaluated 148 CSR activities using a standardised protocol; activities were classified into the categories risk management CSR (rmCSR), that is, to avoid/rectify externalities (n = 67), and strategic CSR, that is, to fulfill philanthropic responsibilities (n = 81). We evaluated the associations, separately, between the number of rmCSR and of strategic CSR actions in each country with threats from public health measures (specifically, the level of research into alcohol consumption and harms, the existence of an alcohol surveillance system and the number of governmental alcohol policy actions) and per capita alcohol consumption; we adjusted by economic indices (country income level and the gross domestic product) and population size. Multivariate analyses showed that the higher the level of alcohol research within a country and its per capita consumption, the more likely rmSCR activities were to occur, independently of the country's economic development or population. Results suggest rmSCR actions could be implemented as a way to preserve markets by counteracting scientific evidence about alcohol related harms. This evidence could serve as a starting point to future research, contributing to the understanding of alcohol industry behaviour and the advancement of effective public policies.

Dark Nudges and Sludge in Big Alcohol: Behavioral Economics, Cognitive Biases, and Alcohol Industry Corporate Social Responsibility.

Policy Points Nudges steer people toward certain options but also allow them to go their own way. “Dark nudges” aim to change consumer behavior against their best interests. “Sludge” uses cognitive biases to make behavior change more difficult.We have identified dark nudges and sludge in alcohol industry corporate social responsibility (CSR) materials. These undermine the information on alcohol harms that they disseminate, and may normalize or encourage alcohol consumption.Policymakers and practitioners should be aware of how dark nudges and sludge are used by the alcohol industry to promote misinformation about alcohol harms to the public. Context“Nudges” and other behavioral economic approaches exploit common cognitive biases (systematic errors in thought processes) in order to influence behavior and decision‐making. Nudges that encourage the consumption of harmful products (for example, by exploiting gamblers’ cognitive biases) have been termed “dark nudges.” The term “sludge” has also been used to describe strategies that utilize cognitive biases to make behavior change harder. This study aimed to identify whether dark nudges and sludge are used by alcohol industry (AI)–funded corporate social responsibility (CSR) organizations, and, if so, to determine how they align with existing nudge conceptual frameworks. This information would aid their identification and mitigation by policymakers, researchers, and civil society.MethodsWe systematically searched websites and materials of AI CSR organizations (e.g., IARD, Drinkaware, Drinkwise, Éduc'alcool); examples were coded by independent raters and categorized for further analysis.FindingsDark nudges appear to be used in AI communications about “responsible drinking.” The approaches include social norming (telling consumers that “most people” are drinking) and priming drinkers by offering verbal and pictorial cues to drink, while simultaneously appearing to warn about alcohol harms. Sludge, such as the use of particular fonts, colors, and design layouts, appears to use cognitive biases to make health‐related information about the harms of alcohol difficult to access, and enhances exposure to misinformation. Nudge‐type mechanisms also underlie AI mixed messages, in particular alternative causation arguments, which propose nonalcohol causes of alcohol harms.ConclusionsAlcohol industry CSR bodies use dark nudges and sludge, which utilize consumers’ cognitive biases to promote mixed messages about alcohol harms and to undermine scientific evidence. Policymakers, practitioners, and the public need to be aware of how such techniques are used to nudge consumers toward industry misinformation. The revised typology presented in this article may help with the identification and further analysis of dark nudges and sludge.

Alcohol Industry Corporate Social Responsibility, Strategic Ambiguity, and the Limits of Fact-Checking: Response to Drinkaware UK and International Alliance for Responsible Drinking Regarding Our Study of Misinformation on Alcohol Consumption and Pregnancy

Alcohol Industry Corporate Social Responsibility, Strategic Ambiguity, and the Limits of Fact-Checking: Response to Drinkaware UK and International Alliance for Responsible Drinking Regarding Our Study of Misinformation on Alcohol Consumption and Pregnancy

Is the alcohol industry doing well by ‘doing good’? Findings from a content analysis of the alcohol industry’s actions to reduce harmful drinking

ObjectivesThe aims of this study were to: (1) describe alcohol industry corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions conducted across six global geographic regions; (2) identify the benefits accruing to the industry...

Alcohol industry corporate social responsibility initiatives and harmful drinking: a systematic review.

BackgroundThere is growing awareness of the detrimental effects of alcohol industry commercial activities, and concern about possible adverse impacts of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, on public health. The aims of this systematic review were to summarize and examine what is known about CSR initiatives undertaken by alcohol industry actors in respect of harmful drinking globally.MethodsWe searched for peer-reviewed studies published since 1980 of alcohol industry CSR initiatives in seven electronic databases. The basic search strategy was organized around the three constructs of ‘alcohol’, ‘industry’ and ‘corporate social responsibility’. We performed the searches on 21 July 2017. Data from included studies were analyzed inductively, according to the extent to which they addressed specified research objectives.ResultsA total of 21 studies were included. We identified five types of CSR initiatives relevant to the reduction of harmful drinking: alcohol information and education provision; drink driving prevention; research involvement; policy involvement and the creation of social aspects organizations. Individual companies appear to undertake different CSR initiatives than do industry-funded social aspects organizations. There is no robust evidence that alcohol industry CSR initiatives reduce harmful drinking. There is good evidence, however, that CSR initiatives are used to influence the framing of the nature of alcohol-related issues in line with industry interests.ConclusionsThis research literature is at an early stage of development. Alcohol policy measures to reduce harmful drinking are needed, and the alcohol industry CSR initiatives studied so far do not contribute to the attainment of this goal.

Community Alcohol Partnerships with the alcohol industry: what is their purpose and are they effective in reducing alcohol harms?

Local initiatives to reduce alcohol harms are common. One UK approach, Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAPs), involves partnerships between the alcohol industry and local government, focussing on alcohol misuse and anti-social behaviour (ASB) among young people. This study aimed to assess the evidence of effectiveness of CAPs. We searched CAP websites and documents, and databases, and contacted CAPs to identify evaluations and summarize their findings. We appraised these against four methodological criteria: (i) reporting of pre-post data; (ii) use of comparison area(s); (iii) length of follow-up; and (iv) baseline comparability of comparison and intervention areas. Out of 88 CAPs, we found three CAP evaluations which used controlled designs or comparison areas, and further data on 10 other CAPs. The most robust evaluations found little change in ASB, though few data were presented. While CAPs appear to affect public perceptions of ASB, this is not a measure of the effectiveness of CAPs. Despite industry claims, the few existing evaluations do not provide convincing evidence that CAPs are effective in reducing alcohol harms or ASB. Their main role may be as an alcohol industry corporate social responsibility measure which is intended to limit the reputational damage associated with alcohol-related ASB.

The marketing potential of corporate social responsibility activities: the case of the alcohol industry in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The aims were to: (1) identify, monitor and analyse the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices of the alcohol industry in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and (2) examine whether the alcohol industry is using these actions to market their products and brands. Nine health experts from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay conducted a content analysis of 218 CSR activities using a standardized protocol. A content rating procedure was used to evaluate the marketing potential of CSR activities as well as their probable population reach and effectiveness. The LEAD procedure (longitudinal, expert and all data) was applied to verify the accuracy of industry-reported descriptions. A total of 55.8% of the actions were found to have a marketing potential, based on evidence that they are likely to promote brands and products. Actions with marketing potential were more likely to reach a larger audience than actions classified with no marketing potential. Most actions did not fit into any category recommended by the World Health Organization; 50% of the actions involving classroom and college education for young people were found to have marketing potential; 62.3% were classified as meeting the definition of risk management CSR. Alcohol industry Corporate Social Responsibility activities in Latin America and the Caribbean appear to have a strategic marketing role beyond their stated philanthropic and public health purpose.