Digital CSR Communication of Welsh Companies

Francesca Conte, Jonathan H. Deacon and Alfonso Siano

Chapter 17 in Key Challenges and Opportunities for Quality, Sustainability and Innovation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution:Quality and Service Management in the Fourth Industrial Revolution — Sustainability and Value Co-creation, 2021, pp 353-375 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: Over the last decades, the idea of sustainability revolution has gradually taken over. In management perspective, the affirmation of this paradigm has determined the need for organizations to adopt new appropriate digital strategies for the sustainability communication. This study aims to assess the compliance of requirements of CSR communication on corporate websites of Welsh companies. A pilot study was conducted on a sample of 50 organizations classified in the Wales Top 300 of the year 2017. Corporate websites have been analyzed through an operational model able to identify the core dimensions of online sustainability communication (Orientation, Structure, Ergonomics, Content; OSEC), sub-dimensions, such as stakeholder engagement and governance tools, and measurable items. Moreover, the OSEC model detects any sign of greenwashing on websites. Welsh companies achieve higher values of OSEC on the “orientation” and “ergonomics” dimensions, rather than the “structure” and “content”. Results show several weaknesses in digital CSR communication on websites, above all, in the adoption of governance functions, in the implementation of CSR reporting and in the development of stakeholder engagement tools. The pilot study offers some useful guidelines for Welsh communication managers and consultants, in order to improve the online sustainability communication through corrective actions in critical areas, and avoid greenwashing. Furthermore, the study allows to identify best practices in terms of effective actions of sustainability communication. This study provides first empirical evidences focused on CSR disclosure in Wales that constitutes a business context not yet widely investigated.

Keywords: Quality and Service Management; Total Quality Management; 4th Industrial Revolution; Industry 4.0; Sustainability; Value Co-Creation; Innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L2 L6 O14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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