Reputation & CSR: Learning from case-studies

1. CSR in banking
Can I trust your business with my
money or my skills?
Elisabeth Houe Thomsen 1

2. How my interest was sparked
• “Do what you're best at – that's what we do”
Danske Bank slogan until early June 2009
Source: http://www.information.dk/193317
• A lot of customers were very disappointed
with DB due to bad investments and bad
advice – in connection with the financial crisis.
Therefore DB thought it necessary to stop
using this slogan.
• Banks’ images suffered – bad advice or not
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3. How my interest was sparked
• “In the aftermath of the ‘corporate meltdown’ and
the financial crisis of 2008, it is not surprising to find
a widespread skepticism toward corporate messages
and intensified calls for corporate transparency and
consistency”
Christensen, Morsing and Thyssen mention in “The Polyphony of CSR” (2010) p. 469
• “Banks and financial institutions do not usually come
across as heroes of morality or CSR”
Jahdi & Acikdilli: “Marketing Communications and CSR: Marriage of Convenience or Shotgun
Wedding?” (2009) p. 109
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4. Image branding
• Most banks – or any business – have an
interest in appearing as responsible
businesses – whom you can trust. This interest
may be even bigger now due to recent bad
experiences.
• So how do banks do in the eyes of customers
and employees?
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5. How do banks communicate
responsibility?
• In the way they act – and through
correspondence between action and words
• In communication via text – (or other modes
that you can more easily document)
• On their websites – my focus so far
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6. What to look for?
• As there is no consensus as to the definition of
CSR the project will focus on environmental
issues and corporate citizenship when
comparing the CSR communication of various
banks – environmental issues may of course
be one aspect of corporate citizenship.
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7. Is CSR communication perceived as
CSR communication?
• Much research has focused on the sender
perspective
• But what about the receivers? How is CSR
communication perceived by customers and
employees?
• Using the term CSR vs responsibility
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8. Banks to look at
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9. Communication aspects to look at
• Multimodality – Kress & van Leeuwen
• Other relevant theories?
• Other approaches?
• Other suggestions?
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10. Methodology
1. Pilot among students
2. Interview with relevant person responsible for
website to identify intended CSR communication
3. Own analysis of websites
4. Focus group interviews with employees and
customers
5. Questionnaire to larger sample of employees and
customers based on findings from focus group
interviews
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11. On the downside
• Who are actually interested in websites?
• Do businesses just use the ”About …” part of
the website for washing their hands so to
speak – ”Now we have communicated, so let’s
get down to business”?
• When did you last read this part of your bank’s
website?
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12. Research questions
• What do stakeholders recognize as elements
of CSR communication?
• Do stakeholders make sense of CSR
communication the way various banks
intended them to?
• And does CSR communication influence
stakeholder action – as to e.g. choice of
bank, deciding on investments, etc.?
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