Transcending the Transmission Model: A Reconstruction of CSR Communication From a Constitutive Perspective (CCO)

Dennis Schoeneborn (U of Zurich)

Hannah Trittin (U of Zurich)

Andreas Georg Scherer (U of Zurich)

This study is part of the research project „Corporate Legitimacy and Corporate Communication“, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)

Transcending the Transmission Model

In Andrew Crane‘s matrix, our paper deals with the right hand side…

2

Communication as Reflecting Reality

Communication as Constituting Reality

InternalFocus

CSRIntegration

CSRInterpretation

ExternalFocus

CSRIdentity

CSRImage

Transcending the Transmission Model

In CSR communication, a number of studies follow the transmission model of communication

3

Communication as complex process of meaning negotiation

Communication as complex process of meaning negotiation

Communication as simple process of package-like information transfer

Communication as simple process of package-like information transfer

What if CSR took communication seriously?

“There are a variety of communication channels through which information about a company's CSR activities […] can be disseminated” (Du et al., 2010: 13)

Transcending the Transmission Model

Trancending transmission by turning to the CCO view („communication constitutes organization“)

4

Organization as communicationOrganization as communicationCommunication in/by organizationsCommunication in/by organizations

(1) Shift in perspective: Communication as basic element of organizations

(2) Given the ephemeral character of communicative events, organization’s existence depends on ability to interconnectTime

Organization

CommunicationOrganization

Communication

Transcending the Transmission Model

CCO perspective originates in the interdisciplinary field of organizational communication

Main schools of thought

Key assumptions

• Constitutive instead of instrumental/mechanistic notion of communication

• Radical interactionism: Organization emerges from communication

• Question of perpetuation/interconnectivity of organization as communication

• Decentering the subject, emphasis on „non-human actors“/sociomateriality

5

Montréal School

(e.g., Taylor, van Every, Cooren,

Robichaud,Giroux, etc.)

McPhee &colleagues

(e.g., McPhee,Zaug, Iverson,

etc.)

„BoulderSchool“

(e.g., Kuhn, Ashcraft,

Koschmann, etc.)

„Luh Man Group“

(e.g., Luhmann, Seidl, etc.)

Transcending the Transmission Model

Application of CCO view to CSR communication yields various implications

6

(1) Organizations as polyphonic and contested sites of communication

• CSR one of several communicative practices that constitute organizations

• Not only external, but also internal communication – and their interplay

• Talk (in some cases) = action (“aspirational talk”; Christensen et al. 2010)

(2) CSR communication as constitutive basis of (partial) organizations

• How does CSR communication differ from other communication in its constitutive capacity: pressure of “completion” (Schoeneborn et al., 2011)

(3) Extending CSR communication to what non-human actors do

• Non-human entities (e.g., texts, scripts, templates) have communicative agency (Cooren, 2004): How to account for their responsibility in CSR?

Transcending the Transmission Model

We contribute to the existing literature by proposing a new theory lens

7

Theoretical contributions

• …to CSR communication: Taking the constitutive and emergent character of communication into account: communication as meaning negotiation

• …to CSR: Emphasizing fundamental role of communication to CSR

• …to CCO: Exploring what the CCO view implies for interorganizational relations (e.g., between firms & stakeholders)

Practical contributions

• CSR communication as holistic endeavor (external & internal)

• Role of sensemaking & translation instead of info dissemination

Transcending the Transmission Model

BACKUP

8

Transcending the Transmission Model

CCO view has found resonance in journals from management and organization studies

Ashcraft, K. L., Kuhn, T. R., & Cooren, F. (2009). Constitutional Amendments: “Materializing” Organizational Communication. Academy of Management Annals, 3(1), 1-64.

Cooren, F., Kuhn, T. R., Cornelissen, J. P., & Clark, T. (2011). Communication, Organizing, and Organization: An Overview and Introduction to the Special Issue. Organization Studies, 32(9), 1149-1170.

Koschmann, M., Kuhn, T. R., & Pfarrer, M. D. (forthcoming). A Communicative Framework of Value in Cross-Sector Partnerships. Academy of Management Review.

Kuhn, T. R. (2008). A Communicative Theory of the Firm: Developing an Alternative Perspective on Intra-Organizational Power and Stakeholder Relationships. Organization Studies, 29(8-9), 1227-1254.

Schoeneborn, D. (2011). Organization as Communication: A Luhmannian Perspective. Management Communication Quarterly, 25(4), 663-689.

9

Transcending the Transmission Model

Application of CCO view to CSR communication yields three main implications

10

(1) Organizations as polyphonic communication (see Christensen & Cheney, 2011; Humphreys & Brown, 2008; Wehmeier & Schultz, 2010)

CSR communication as one of several communicative practices that collectively constitute the organization

(2) CSR communication as constitutive basis of (partial) organizations (see Ahrne & Brunsson, 2011; Schoeneborn, Kuhn & Haack, 2011)

How do organizational phenomena that are primarily constituted by CSR communication differ from other forms of organization?

(3) Extending CSR communication to what non-human actors do(see Ashcraft, Kuhn & Cooren, 2009; Cooren, 2006; Kuhn, 2008)

Extending CSR communication in order to account for the agency and responsibility of non-human entities (e.g., texts or other artifacts)