CSR COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES: A MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVE

The many corporate scandals have questioned companies’ responsibility towards multiple stakeholders. This has given rise to the burgeoning CSR communication literature. The research employs a constructivist grounded theory approach as methodology because CSR communication literature is at an embryonic stage. The research questions examine the types of CSR communication strategies implemented by companies in Malaysia and understands how external stakeholders such as NGOs, media firms and government agencies view CSR communication strategies implemented by companies. Overall findings suggest that companies ought to understand how these different external stakeholders construct meaning to form differing perceptions based on companies’ CSR communication strategies as these perceptions can extend to external stakeholder opinions about companies’ CSR image that may not reflect companies’ desired CSR image or intended CSR identity.