Communicating Environmental and Ethical Performance: A Longitudinal Analysis of Annual Reports from 1998–2009

Authors

  • Thomas Kilian Institute for Management University of Koblenz-Landau Universitätsstrasse 1 56070 Koblenz
  • Nadine Hennigs Institute for Marketing and Management Leibniz University Hannover Königsworther Platz 1 30167 Hannover

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/hjlcb.v25i49.97735

Abstract

Along with the publics’ increased demand for businesses to operate responsibly, more and more companies proactively publish their CSR-related principles and activities. A growing body of research is dedicated to the analysis of patterns in self-reported CSR performances; these studies use annual reports as a proxy for the social or environmental activities of the companies. Integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches, the aims of this paper are twofold: First, on the basis of content analysis, we examine categories of CSR-related communication that are in a second step used in a longitudinal perspective spanning twelve years, to compare how CSR motives and activities have changed over time.

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Published

2012-11-01

How to Cite

Kilian, T., & Hennigs, N. (2012). Communicating Environmental and Ethical Performance: A Longitudinal Analysis of Annual Reports from 1998–2009. HERMES - Journal of Language and Communication in Business, 25(49), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.7146/hjlcb.v25i49.97735

Issue

No. 49 (2012)

Section

THEMATIC SECTION: CSR Communication

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