Academic Paper Writing Service http://StudyHub.vip/A-Critical-Analysis-Of-Corporate-Social

1. 302 Int. J. Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2015
Copyright © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
A critical analysis of corporate social responsibility
as a PR practice in Cyprus and Greece
Marcos Komodromos
Department of Communications,
School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law,
University of Nicosia,
46 Makedonitissis Str., 1700 Egkomi, Cyprus
Email: m.komodromos@gmail.com
Abstract: There has been a significant increase in corporate social
responsibility (CSR) during the last five years in Cyprus and Greece. This
paper is aimed at both researchers and public relations (PR) practitioners. The
contribution of CSR practice from organisations is regarded as an important
topic for Cyprus and Greece, and is a topic that received academic and practice
attention and is becoming a mainstream issue for many organisations. This
research represents a study of current practice of CSR and an examination of
their contribution and the fulfilment of its three pillars – social, economic, and
environmental – understanding better the thematic areas of CSR currently
taking place in both countries. This research employs a qualitative
methodology. Understanding how communication practitioners contribute and
practice CSR in Cyprus and Greece can have a positive impact in terms of
greater public visibility of organisations that create interest in the different
sectors, and leads to greater public scrutiny of these firms.
Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; Cyprus; Greece; corporate
communications; corporate responsibility; business; public relations
professionals.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Komodromos, M. (2015)
‘A critical analysis of corporate social responsibility as a pr practice in Cyprus
and Greece’, Int. J. Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Vol. 3, No. 4,
pp.302–312.
Biographical notes: Marcos Komodromos is an Assistant Professor and
lectures at the University of Nicosia’s Department of Communications. He is
an Accredited Charter Instructor of Public Relations in Cyprus, Greece and
Romania. He has worked in the field of internal communication, corporate
communication and crisis management in both Cyprus and Greece. He acts as a
business consultant for a range of organisations in Cyprus and abroad. He has
more than 12 years experience in the media industry, particularly radio and TV,
and has many media projects to his credit. He has published widely on
organisational justice, organisational trust, internal communication and
corporate social responsibility.

2. A critical analysis of corporate social responsibility 303
1 Introduction
There has been an increasing appreciation and recognition for the role of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) as a public relations (PR) practice across various countries
worldwide. CSR is today both a high profile notion perceived as strategic in the business
world and a prominent concept in academia. Most PR professionals support that there has
been a growing worldwide interest in the issue of CSR that is supported not only by the
multinational organisations, the European Union, and the governments, but also by the
companies themselves. If the PR practitioner’s job is to maintain the relationship of the
enterprise with its stakeholders, then CSR bridges by which this is usually done (Nicoli
and Komodromos, 2013). As some researchers usually say, “actions speak louder than
words”. Corporate actions and behaviour speak volumes to its publics. But it’s a different
case when it comes to Greece and Cyprus where the role of CSR is not widely
acknowledged by companies or enterprises, and the role of a PR practitioner is becoming
more demanding. Practice from theory changes, and PR professionals try to put CSR to a
better use, more than just to building a good image to the public.
The risk of damaging your reputation as a company far outweighs the risk of
spending more on CSR practices. In the age of greater connectedness between customers,
when they feel that corporations are acting in an unethical or less than noble manner,
news travels much further and much faster than ever before. Due to the past struggle in
the world’s economy, customers are more focused on value, which results in a reduced
willingness to avail products and services, which they do not need. However, this time
around, customers are growing a deeper awareness and affinity for the company that
contributes to the welfare of humanity.
Smith (2012) mentioned how we exist in a reputation economy, wherein what you
stand for as a company counts more than what you sell or provide. In June 2012, the
Reputation Institute invited more than 40,000 customers across 15 markets to rank the
world’s most reputable multinational companies. Their study discovered that consumers
were willing to buy, to recommend, working for, and to invest in a company based on
their perception of the organisation, rather than their perception of the products and
services it offers. Their reputation as a company was based on dimensions such as
citizenship, governance, and workplace. These three dimensions fall into the CSR
category. Smith (2012) emphasised how CSR practices widely shaped the respondents’
perspective of the company.
If you think about it, CSR practices reveal what the company is about, what the
company supports, and even how the company is doing its business. Sustainable business
systems are not anymore based on cost reduction strategies, but also widely on revealing
their humanitarian practices. Basu and Palazzo (2008, p.124) defined CSR as:
• The process by which managers within an organisation think about and discuss
relationships with stakeholders as well as their roles in relation to the common good,
along with their behavioural disposition with respect to the fulfilment and
achievement of these roles and relationships.
CSR can be seen as the corporation’s commitment to behave in an ethical manner and to
contribute to the quality of life of the members of their organisation, the community they
belong to and society at large. In this regard, CSR is at the heart of PR. We will see this
in a higher degree in Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ (CIPR) definition of PR:

3. 304 M. Komodromos
• PR is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say
about you. PR is the discipline, which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning
understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned
and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding
between an organisation and its publics.
The old PR practices, such as those that were used in the eighties, included participation
in drafting mission statements and organisational objectives, which were mostly centred
on the company, rather than the communities they catered to and existed in (Arrow, 2009;
Nicoli and Komodromos, 2013). Thus, business practices are set out to achieve these one-
sided goals and missions without considering the customers. During that time, dialogue
with the customer was scarce, if not very expensive on the part of the company,
especially on the PR department. However, in the age of the internet, companies, most
especially their PR practitioners can no longer disregard the voice of the customer.
According to Heath and Ni (2008), there is an increase in how CSR progressed from
responsiveness to responsibility and integrity. CSR reflects how the businesses
acknowledge their interdependence with society (Heath and Ni, 2008).
2 Relationship of CSR to PR
If we critically evaluate CSR as a PR practice, the question we ask is what is the
relationship of CSR practices with the company’s business objectives or needs? Do the
companies really generate more revenues through CSR? What communication activities
increase the impact of CSR performance, and how PR practitioners can convince
management for these communication activities? CSR is described as the transparent
business practices that are based on ethical values, compliance with legal requirements,
and respect for people, communities, and the environment (Chandler, 2002). More than
making profits, companies are responsible for the total impact of their business on the
people and the planet. The role of PR is to keep people informed of the initiatives done
through CSR (Arrow, 2009). A company that pays only lip service to CSR or
implementing it in a less than transparent method can destroy the publics’ trust toward
the company. PR practitioners work so that the publics do not misinterpret CSR as a
marketing strategy, rather as a genuine commitment to respond to concerns and to
demonstrate actions to make a positive difference in society (Bivins, 2008).
3 How PR professionals view CSR practices
Heath and Ni (2008) presented the views of PR practitioners when it comes to CSR
practices. CSR advocates balance their efforts and loyalty between the goals of
generating profits for their organisations and serving the community by which they are
generated. Gone are the days wherein the business’ role in society is simply to generate
jobs, offer products and services, and pay taxes. In this reputation economy, businesses
need to support employees, empower customers, and even relate to the needs of the local
and international communities that they are in (Heath and Ni, 2008). Arthur Page
stressed, “All business in a democratic country begins with the public’s permission and

4. A critical analysis of corporate social responsibility 305
exists by public approval” [as quoted in Clark, (2000), p.364]. If the public does not
support a company, what will become of it?
According to Jones and Barlett (2009), PR practitioners see the value of CSR in
relationship management. The value of the CSR function to a corporation is to aid in its
PR, but at a level that is linked to corporate strategy, rather than communication output.
In this regard, CSR facilitates relationship management and builds support for
organisation networks. CSR is not just a set of activities that grows the legitimacy of the
organisation in the community, through the management of perceptions.
Wilcox and Glen (2006) revealed that CSR is viewed by the corporation for
practicing good business. PR practitioners then must view CSR for improving and
developing the corporations’ relations with the stakeholders, not just for publicity
purposes. However, as a part of building your company’s identity, you will need to
develop a campaign that lets the public know about who you are and what you stand for.
This is where PR and CSR can work hand-in-hand for the benefit of the company.
In some cases, PR practitioners are the ones tasked in communicating to their board
members and corporate leaders the right business decisions to make to move in alignment
with CSR principles. For example, Jack Bergen, the Senior Vice President of marketing
and communications for Siemens Corporation told PR Week:
• We are the eyes and ears of an organisation. The best way to be socially responsible
is to have your eyes and ears trained on all the stakeholders, to know what they want
and need from the company. These are classic public affairs issues and the idea that
they should be handled by anyone else would show a lack of understanding [cited in
Wilcox and Glen, (2006), p.451].
4 A general picture of CSR practices in Cyprus and Greece
In Cyprus, the Bank of Cyprus (BOC) implements a CSR strategy that is based on four
pillars, which included health, education, culture and environment (Bank of Cyprus,
2011). In 2011, BOC reported to have made the largest donation ever made in Cyprus
with the intention to close the large gap in the cancer sector. The BOC founded the Bank
of Cyprus Oncology Centre, contributing to date a significant amount of €40 million. In
Greece, the J&P-Avex group of companies is described as one of the strongest
construction groups. This company reported to place emphasis on the protection of the
environment and the careful management of natural resources. It founded Volterra SA,
along with Sorgenia, an Italian group. This is a company that is primarily engaged in
producing and trading energy from renewable sources. The company adopted CSR
programmes aimed at sustainable development and the social welfare of its people,
clientele, and shareholders. It is also a member of the Greek Network for CSR Hellas.
This company was reported to hold responsibility towards human resources by making
sure the work environment of their employees are protected, social provisions, such as
insurance plans and supporting weak social groups were also in place.
The Coca Cola System in both Greece and Cyprus focus on environmental
management, such as water stewardship. There is a water scarcity issue in Cyprus that is
getting worse yearly. The Lanitis Bros, one of the biggest non-alcoholic beverage
companies in the country, is focused on improving water efficiency by reducing the

5. 306 M. Komodromos
amount of water needed to produce their products. They also work in partnerships to
protect the local watershed. Most PR practitioners see the value of CSR, not only in the
success of a PR campaign, but also in the actual contribution it provides for the local and
national communities by which these CSR principles serve. To know that your efforts
achieve more than financial success and image improvement for the company by which
you are working for gives meaning to the profession of PR.
A number of researchers suggest that PR practitioner must have a full grasp of
what CSR is. If some practitioners have a misconception of the practice of PR in
CSR, the general public also seems to be lost in translation as some sees CSR efforts to
be a PR ‘trick’ and that it lacks impact. It has to be authentic. The credibility and trust of
the public is at stake here and the company cannot risk in authenticity to destroy its
reputation to the public. Many may doubt but at the end of the day, the public will
know who is genuine or not; who is sincerely helping the people or who’s just
putting up a show. PR strategies, therefore, need to be in place to convince the
doubters and make them believe what the company believes in. In my case, CSR is yet to
be a part of my company’s DNA. Much training and application is required for this to
occur.
One cannot deny that CSR practices help build the nation. It is very evident
in the case studies given on CSR efforts done in Cyprus and Greece. CSR is very crucial
in nation building that even their own governments urge them to participate in it.
It may not be the absolute solution to all the needs and demands of the people, but it can
initiate gradual changes. The University of Nicosia and the Cyprus Telecommunication
Authority (CYTA), for example, annually sponsors the ‘Technology in Education’
competition. As a product, ten scholarships are given to non-CYTA employees to
study at the University of Nicosia for a Diploma in Telecommunications and
Information technology. This effort may not eradicate issues on education but
it definitely makes a difference in the lives of ten different students each year.
It makes a difference in their families and soon, will help them make a difference in the
nation.
5 Methods
A qualitative methodology was used for the purpose of this study. A qualitative approach
was chosen given that the aims of this study were primarily related to questions of how,
and secondarily to the extent of use. Another reason for the qualitative focus was the
dearth of qualitative research in this area. The qualitative study took place in September
2014. In-depth interviews were conducted in Cyprus and Greece with a number of
working PR and Communication practitioners to further explore their practices and their
perceptions on contributions and progress of CSR practices in Cyprus and Greece, and
understand better the thematic areas of CSR currently taking place in both countries. A
sample of 36 senior PR and Communication practitioners was purposively selected, from
different sectors in Cyprus and Greece, using a qualitative methodology. Twenty-nine
were invited to participate from five business sectors (telecommunications, tourism,
pharmaceuticals, food and tobacco processing, and beverages, (and seven from the large
consultancies sector) to gain a range of perspectives reflecting the field of CSR practice:
large consultancies, corporations, and government.

6. A critical analysis of corporate social responsibility 307
6 Research results
A total of 36 senior PR and Communication practitioners were interviewed in order to
explore their practices and their perceptions on contributions and progress of CSR
practices in Cyprus and Greece. Twenty-nine were invited to participate from five
business sectors (telecommunications, tourism, pharmaceuticals, food and tobacco
processing, and beverages, (and seven from the large consultancies sector) to gain a range
of perspectives reflecting the field of CSR practice: large consultancies, corporations, and
government. Twenty-one were women (age range: 26–57) and 15 were men (age range:
31–49). All respondents indicated that they have been practicing PR for an average of
6–17 years, and they all hold a Master’s degree.
7 Research questions
7.1 RQ1: What are the contributions and progress of CSR practices from
organisations in Cyprus and Greece?
PR and Communication practitioners were asked to present and analyse their perceptions
on the contributions and progress of the CSR practices of their organisations in Cyprus
and Greece. Twenty-eight of them reported that in Cyprus and Greece, the government
cannot carry the burden alone, which is why the publics look to organisations to address
some of the major problems, such as poverty, environmental pollution, as well as
unemployment. Eighteen of them said that organisations in Cyprus mostly contribute in
education, livelihood and healthcare. Seventeen of the respondents noted that
organisations in Greece prefer to contribute mostly in healthcare, the environment, and
unemployment. Metaxas and Tsavadridou (2012) analysed companies from the energy
production sector and how they applied CSR practices in their business strategy. Metaxas
and Tsavadridou (2012) pointed out how CSR was a tool companies use to help the
country address the economic crisis it is in.
Filho et al. (2011) presented an overview of CSR in Greece in the context of the
developments and barriers that needed to be overcome, and how PR practitioners
promote it to the market. Thirty-one of the respondents reported that there is a need to
promote more responsible CSR behaviour both in Cyprus and Greece. Tsakaretsou (n.d.,
p.5) presented CSR in Greece to be more of a political attitude, rather than a business
strategy and called CSR a “political commitment undertaken by corporations towards the
global society and local and international stakeholders”. Studies made by Aravossis and
Panayiotou (2008) of CSR reports of companies in Greece during the 2nd International
Conference on Environmental Economics and Investment Assessment in Cadiz, Spain
concluded that the penetration of CSR in Greece is small evident through the small
number of published CSR reports and the small number of companies participating in it.
On the other hand, six of the respondents suggested that when CSR activities and
initiatives have gained steady momentum in Europe in 2007, the European Union (EU)
leaders, through the European Commission, made a special appeal to companies. One of
the respondents noted, “CSR’s focus then was to implement partnership for growth and
jobs, making Europe a pole of excellence. The Commission thus, proposed actions to
promote the uptake of CSR practices to achieve this goal”. In the context of Cypriot CSR,
the Planning Bureau, under the Minister of Finances, was appointed as the National

7. 308 M. Komodromos
Contact Point for the CSR initiative in Cyprus. The role of this entity was to promote the
CSR concept in Cyprus. Thirteen of the respondents noted that the concept of CSR
thrived significantly in Cyprus, and different measures were already implemented even if
the committee for CSR is relatively new. Twenty-seven of the respondents reported that
biggest challenged faced by CSR is the dominance of small size enterprises, in both
countries, Cyprus and Greece. According to the European Commission (2007), most
enterprises in Cyprus (92.7%) were micro (with a staff of up to nine persons), 6.23%
were small (with a staff of 10–49 employees), 0.94% were medium sized (with a staff of
50–249 employees) and only 0.13% were large (with a staff of 250+ employees).
Needless to say, these micro and small companies need additional help in setting up CSR
practices in their businesses.
Thirty-two of the respondents reported that the Cyprus commission for CSR, with the
leadership of the government and employee associations, was noted to raise awareness
for the value of CSR in relation to the PR practice. Among these groups were the Cyprus
Employers and Industrialists Federation (CEIF). CEIF promoted equal opportunities by
raising awareness on the subject of equality, as well as by participating in the
programmes of the ‘equal’ initiative, dealing with the matters of work-life balance and
gender equality. Moreover, an exhibition called Save Energy was also held annually to
promote energy-saving solutions for businesses, as well as individuals. Some of the
respondents suggested some examples to show the contributions and progress of CSR in
Cyprus, and they reported that the Banks of Cyprus, meanwhile, led the Association of
Cyprus Commercial Banks (ACCB) to develop codes and guidelines between banks and
small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) (European Commission, 2007). The respondents
added that, this code, which referred to the safeguarding of equal treatment and
non-discrimination of the SMEs as well as the avoidance of unnecessary delays, was
described to be innovative, which awarded the organisation a best practice honour.
“In order to address the renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy, the Council
of Ministers tasked the Environment Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environment to coordinate the effort, in order for Cyprus to develop its
National Sustainable Development Strategy by July 2007” six of the respondents strongly
emphasised. The Cypriot Government also emphasised on the need for a regulatory
climate that welcomed investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship among women, the
young, as well as the employment of disabled people and other vulnerable groups
(European Commission, 2007). Eighteen of the respondents suggested that other CSR
activities in Cyprus focused on environmental management, the utilisation of renewable
energy source, management of risk at work, and improving the status of women at work.
Krambia-Kapardis and Pavlou (2012) conducted a study that identified the areas
wherein SMEs in Cyprus concentrated their CSR contribution, the barriers, as well as the
enablers that made Seven of the respondents replied that CSR possible in an attempt to
understand CSR trends in Cyprus and make CSR more competitive in the country.
Krambia-Kapardis and Pavlou (2012) also learned that the objectives in the
implementation of CSR actions and policies in Cyprus were mostly centred on economic
performances, improvement to the environment and opportunities to support the youth.
The companies were most concerned on community-related CSR. In another study,
authors discovered that the major barriers to implementing competitive CSR strategies, if
they implement any at all, were not only the lack of resources but the lack of knowhow
(Krambia-Kapardis and Pavlou, 2012). This is because the owners of the companies

8. A critical analysis of corporate social responsibility 309
themselves were the major enablers for CSR efforts. The government, therefore, is
making every effort to assist them in this endeavour.
7.2 RQ2: What are the reasons, in your opinion, that CSR and Communication
practitioners must promote and embrace CSR for their organisations?
Overall, respondents reported that, CSR helps organisations to create favourable images
of their companies, which can be done just through CSR activities. Thirty-one of the
respondents noted that CSR has an ability to build a strong corporate image and
reputation, and thus effectively improve a firm’s performance. Seventeen of them
mentioned that one of the easiest places for their organisations to start engaging in CSR
activities is to use it as a way to cut costs. Following, 27 of the respondents reported that
CSR strongly reduces the risk of the business default, supporting that this relationship is
stronger in dynamically developing environments like Cyprus and Greece. Nicoli and
Komodromos (2013) also support that the importance of presentation of CSR activities
on company performance is also proved by a lot of organisations. Fourteen of the
respondents reported that most companies in Cyprus and Greece have an internal
management position that carries out CSR programmes mostly oriented towards society,
environment and employees, believing that CSR activities offer a number of benefits to
their organisations and image.
Twenty-nine of the respondents strongly supported that CSR and Communication
practitioners must promote CSR activities for their organisations because of the positive
impact of CSR on motivation, loyalty, and employee’s performance. Twelve of them
stated that both the corporate culture and its capability to become the source of the
competitive advantage as well as the employee’s perception of CSR activities play an
important role in the loyalty of their organisations as well as in the increase in corporate
performance. This was also proved by empirical findings (Lee et al., 2013). Nineteen of
the respondents stated that CSR has a positive impact on organisational financial
performance, especially among smaller organisations, and nine of the respondents feel
that CSR programmes are strengthening relationships with stakeholders, and offer
additional motivation to internal employees.
Six of the respondents reported that CSR programmes offer stakeholder engagement
and this is the reason why a lot of organisations engaged in CSR are revisiting their
strategies at least once a year, expanding their operations to reap enhanced benefits and
contribute to inclusivity in growth. Twenty-seven respondents noted that when
organisations have CSR initiatives, internal employees are more proud of and committed
to the organisation, and this is because their personal identities are partly tied up in the
companies that they work for. Eight respondents added that internal employees feel that
their organisations ‘are saving the world’ with these CSR programmes and that their
organisations reflect positively on them and makes them feel good about the work they
do for their organisations. Three of the respondents suggested that employees perceptions
of their organisations; concern for community and environment is linked to their level of
organisational commitment and are more loyal and productive to their organisations.
Organisational commitment has been linked to favourable outcomes for companies
including increased job satisfaction, reduced intentions to turnover, and increased job
involvement (Bivins, 2008).

9. 310 M. Komodromos
7.3 RQ3: What are the current CSR activities and practices currently
undertaken by firms operating in Cyprus and Greece?
Generally, PR and Communication professionals reported that CSR activities in Cyprus
and Greece can be categorised under the headings; environment, customers, employees
and community. Twenty-nine respondents stated that in relation to the environment, the
most common activities in both countries include waste reduction and recycling. Energy
conservation is also quite common. Thirteen of the respondents suggested that to a lesser
extent, reduction in water consumption, air pollution and packaging are also considered
by some organisations, and to even lesser extent, sustainable transport.
Sixteen respondents added that the most common CSR activity toward customers is
commitment to providing value to customers, and for internal employees is a
commitment to the health and safety of employees and ensuring adequate steps against
racism and discrimination. Following, eight of them noted that their organisations also
engage in programmes to encourage their employees to develop skills and long-term
career paths and work/life balance. Twenty-two respondents reported that in relation to
the community, the most common activity involved donating to charity and other
philanthropic institutions.
8 Conclusions
The findings of this study suggest that any business, big or small, is sustained through
integrity and smart business decisions that recognise the impact and influence of CSR on
all the stakeholders. CSR is about business sustainability and integrity, as much as it is
about social programmes (Rochte, 2009). Those who think otherwise, limit CSR to a
marketing problem, rather than a relationship management cause. According to study’s
results CSR must be an integrated, sustainable, as well as systematic practice to business
(Rochte, 2009). It is a core competence in the PR practice. Moreover, it is a significant
force to the image and well-being of the organisation. In Greece and Cyprus, CSR is
slowly gaining ground. However, much is to be learned and to be accomplished in terms
of implementing CSR on a collective standpoint, in comparison to the CSR practices that
the other European counterparts are able to implement. Our responsibility as PR
practitioners is to promote sustainable development in Cyprus and Greece, not only
because it drives our corporate strategy, but also the commitment in this area has to
continue to be supported on a daily basis by the organisations where we work for through
tangible actions from every employee. PR and communication professionals, are always
trying to show leadership by being active listener and being able to understand the needs
of others (clients/managers/staff and different other publics) trying to connect on a deeper
level, being more social which is leading to higher rates of effective collaboration and
creativity within my business environment, and also be effective in group settings in
order to communicate easier with our publics. In addition, PR professionals have to be
comfortable in an uncomfortable environment. Part of their professional role in the PR
practice, is that they always try to guide social media discourse on issues important to
internal and external clients, and acquiring analytic skills to determine which
conversations are important to weigh in on, and which are not, since social media is part
of our everyday life with a very important role for PR practice.
One of the challenges, however, for every PR practitioner who is implementing a
CSR-related campaign is to keep the authenticity of the company’s CSR efforts.

10. A critical analysis of corporate social responsibility 311
Especially in the cases of Greece and Cyprus where the government would initiate or
encourage CSR, people who will be asked to participate may be skeptic of the company’s
intentions. Thus, every PR practitioner must carefully plan out a communication mix that
will send out the message to the public as genuine as possible. Authenticity is the key.
The public must believe that the company is genuinely fighting for a cause. In this way,
they will also genuinely and actively support the CSR because they share the same
advocacies as the company. But PR, however, is only tasked to communicate. The CSR
team will be the ones responsible to give PR something worth communicating. Study’s
results revealed that PR professionals in Cyprus and Greece should work at it at its core.
Companies must not implement CSR strategies just because the government said so. The
goal of CSR is to advocate certain causes. The company is there to provide service
for the people. Efforts must go beyond following government initiatives for CSR
implementation.
If sending the message across using popular mass media is already difficult, PR
practitioners face a bigger challenge now in handling CSR in the digital age. The
landscape of PR in relation to CSR is changing as we speak. Companies’ reputations are
at higher risk with the speed of information sharing through popular social networking
sites. On a PR perspective, it’s a crisis waiting to happen as companies are more
vulnerable to attacks and the already questioned CSR efforts may be further go through
public scrutiny. This online trend, however, can be turned around and be used to the
company’s advantage. How? It’s by knowing the medium very well. There is a science
behind social media – how people get information, how they react to it, what engages
them, etc. It is not just some digital hemisphere where people can voice out their thoughts
and feelings. PR practitioners may learn how citizens behave so that they will know how
to respond. Like any other medium, listening is very important. If the company finds it
hard to listen online, they can get the services of third-party groups that offer social
media listening tools. Through this system of public perception and sentiments online, the
PR practitioner will be guided on how to better handle an attack. Keep in mind that not
all tweets or Facebook statuses must be reacted to. There are various considerations like
content of the message and its reach. Thus, PR practitioners must constantly know how
citizens behave and think of ways to utilise the online medium for the advancement of the
companies, goals and interests.
CSR has become part of PR that can be used to further relationships in the company’s
sphere of influence. Practitioners need to develop new strategies to add new dimensions
to the CSR used, especially in the face of New Media. More than becoming the eyes,
ears, and voice of the company in their relationship with their publics, the PR
practitioners need to become value-setters. The role of PR practitioners as value-setters,
through CSR efforts, should be further examined and pursued for best PR practices,
especially within the Greek and Cypriot setting in the face of New Media.
Further research on CSR programmes is recommended on employee levels in Cyprus
and Greece, and examines the relationship between CSR and job satisfaction or
productivity. Following, an examination of the relationship between corporate social
performance (CSP) and long-term financial performance by using accounting or financial
measures of profitability is recommended. In addition, further research is recommended
to assess the relationship between CSR and financial performance in Cyprus and Greece.
Following, research is required to determine an operational meaning of the term CSR in
the Cypriot and Greek context, differentiating between small and large firms.

11. 312 M. Komodromos
References
Aravossis, K. and Panayiotou, K. (2008) ‘A study on the corporate social responsibility reports of
Greek companies and the use of alternative evaluation methodologies’, Proceedings of the 2nd
International Conference on Environmental Economics and Investment Assessment,
pp.255–262, Cadiz, Spain.
Arrow, C. (2009) The Future Practitioner, CIPR Chartered Practitioner Submission – Stage II,
London, UK.
Bank Of Cyprus (2011) Annual Report [online]
http://www.bankofcyprus.com/Documents/Investor%20Relations/Annual%20Reports/English/
ANNUAL%20REPORT%202011%20Eng.pdf (accessed 1 July 2014).
Basu, K. and Palazzo, G. (2008) ‘Corporate social responsibility: a process model of sensemaking’,
Academy of Management Review, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp.122–136.
Bivins, T. (2008) ‘Corporate social responsibility (CSR)’, The Ethics of Strategic Communication,
Vol. 3, No. 6, pp.1–5.
Chandler, G. (2002) ‘Defining Corporate Social Responsibility’, Ethical Performance Best
Practice, cited in “What is Corporate Social Responsibility?” Catalyst Corporation and U.
Agency for International Development (USAID) [online]
http://www.rhcatalyst.org/site/DocServer/CSRQ_A.pdf?docID=103 (accessed 4 July 2014).
Clark, C. (2000) ‘Differences between public relations and corporate social responsibility: an
analysis’, Public Relations Review, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp.363–380.
European Commission (2007) [online] http://ec.europa.eu/research/reports/2007/index_en.html
(accessed 13 August 2014).
Filho, W., Evangelinos, K., Nikolaou, I. and Skouloudis, A. (2011) ‘An overview of corporate
social responsibility in Greece: Perceptions, developments and barriers to overcome’, Business
Ethics: A European Review, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp.205–226.
Heath, R.L. and Ni, L. (2008) Corporate social responsibility. The Science Beneath the Art of
Public Relations [online] http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/corporate-social-responsibility/
(accessed 1 July 2014).
Jones, K. and Barlett, J.L. (2009) ‘The strategic value of corporate social responsibility: a
relationship management framework for public relations practice’, Prism, Vol. 6, p.1 [online]
http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/Praxis/Files/Journal_Files/Jones_Bartlett.pdf (accessed
1 July 2014).
Krambia-Kapardis, M. and Pavlou, I. (2012) ‘Competitiveness of CSR actions: learning from the
Cypriot experience’, International Journal of Business and Social Research, Vol. 2, No. 5,
p.2.
Lee, E.M., Park, S.Y. and Lee, H.J. (2013) ‘Employee perception of CSR activities: its antecedents
and consequences’, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 66, No. 10, pp.1716–1724.
Metaxas, T. and Tsavadridou, M. (2012) ‘Corporate social responsibility in Greece: a comparative
analysis of the three major energy companies’, Management, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp.119–140.
Nicoli, N. and Komodromos, M. (2013) Principles of Public Relations, University of Nicosia Press,
Nicosia.
Rochte, M. (2009) ‘PR vs. CSR’, Opportunity Sustainability [online]
http://www.opportunitysustainability.com/?p=323 (accessed 26 November 2014).
Smith, J. (2012) ‘The companies with the best CSR reputations’, Forbesm, 25 June 2014 [online]
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/12/10/the-companies-with-the-best-csr-
reputations/3/ (accessed 29 June 2014).
Tsakaretsou, B. (n.d.) Corporate Social Responsibility in Greece, Hellenic Network for Corporate
Social Responsibility [online]
http://www.csrhellas.org/csr_last2/portal/images/stories/files/DiktioAggliko.pdf (accessed 1
July 2014).
Wilcox, L. and Glen, C. (2006) PR Strategies and Tactics, 8th ed., Pearson Education Inc, USA.