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1
Q

Communication science

A

Communication Science studies the production, content and reception (incl. consequences and effects) of communicative messages, using theories such as (but not limited to) Cultivation theory, agenda setting theory, framing, uses & gratifications, spiral of silence, information processing theory…

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2
Q

Corporate communication

A

Studies the communication of and about organizations (for profit, not for profit, public, all of them), especially the production, content and consequences of this communication.

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3
Q

Univeler Case

A

check the slides

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4
Q

Sustainable Living Plan (2010)

A
  • CEO Paul Polman 2009-2019
  • 248 pages

3 missions:
Improving health and wellbeing
Reducing environmental impact
Enhancing livelihoods

  • No vague promises, but detailed measures to reach these goals
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5
Q

Risks for Unilever’s SLP

A

check slides

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6
Q

What does the Unilever case tell us about Com. Sus.?

A
  • Disclaimer: there is lot of business strategy and negotiation going on behind close doors.
    However:
  • Big issues, big(ger) players = lots of media attention
  • Struggle between interests (shareholders,
    Unilever, SMOs etc) also takes place in public communication: new media, social media, owned media;
  • Involves strategic communication: what, how, where, when to communicate;
  • The public gets involved too (in communication as well as behavioural
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7
Q

Classic corporate communication theory

A

model on slides

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8
Q

Functionalist theory

A

Instrumental
Aim is to help PR practitioners
Also applies to the other three models

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9
Q

Normative theory

A

Mutual understanding and cooperation instead of persuasion

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10
Q

The issue life cycle

A
  1. Enforcement:
    The cycle begins with the identification of a need for rules or standards to govern a particular domain or system.
    Enforcement actions generate feedback on the effectiveness of rules. Issues and violations uncovered during enforcement become input for potential adjustments.
    **
  2. Emergence:
    As rules are enforced and systems operate, interactions among components lead to emergent properties or patterns.
    Insights from emergent properties may lead to adjustments in rules, strategies, or system design.
  3. Codification:
    Lessons learned from enforcement and emergent phenomena are documented.
    The codified knowledge is disseminated and implemented to guide future actions and decision-making.
  4. Debate:
    Periodically, the effectiveness of rules and codified knowledge is reviewed.
    Debate is initiated to discuss the need for adjustments, improvements, or changes to rules and standards.
    Through debate, decisions are made regarding modifications to enforcement strategies, revisions to codified knowledge, or updates to existing rules.
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11
Q

Basics of issue arena theory

A
  • Issue = central
  • Multiple issue arenas at once
  • No organizational control
  • Active-passive participation (on stage/off stage)
  • Involves complex and dynamic environment
  • Wider context
  • Multiple arenas
  • “Co-create shared social meanings”
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12
Q

Key research elements

A

Who are the actors involved?
Actor’s interests
Actor’s level of involvement in the debate (timing, intensity, coalitions)
Framing* of the issue
On whose terms does codification take place
Who benefits, who doesn’t?

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13
Q

Two ways to look at a corporation

A
  • economic actor
  • social actor
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14
Q

Economic actor

A
  • On a market
  • With the aim to maximize profit
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15
Q

Social actor

A
  • Relations ships, network
  • Chain of interdependencies
  • Corporate citizen
  • Multiple responsibilities:
    Economic (market)
    Political (society)
    Social (society, organizational)
    Environmental (society)
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16
Q

Agenda Setting Theory basics

A

Media don’t decide what people think, but influence what people think about.
1st level of agenda setting: issues
2nd level of agenda setting: attributes
- Substantial attributes
- Evaluative attributes

The more salient an issue (or actor) and/or certain attributes are in the new media, the more likely they are also on top of people’s minds

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17
Q

Extending Agenda Theory

A

on slides

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18
Q

Social Movement Strategies

A
  • Lobbying
  • Street protests
  • Advertising
  • Disruption
  • Revealing unethical corporate behaviour
  • Legal:
    –Try to prevent permits for discharge of waste
    – Litigate against a company for illegal
    behaviour
    – Litigate against the state
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19
Q

Diagnostic Frames:

A

Identify a problematic situation
Identify the cause of the problem
Identify the consequence of the problem
Identify responsible actors

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20
Q

Prognostic Frames:

A

Propose a solution
Including specific actions
Including reference to responsible actors (who should enact the solution)

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21
Q

Orders of Worth

A

Normative principles associated with specific institutional environments which are employed by actors in public controversies to justify their viewpoints

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22
Q

Why was the Urgenda case more successful than the Milieudifensie’s case?

A

Preliminary conclusions:
Wider range of diagnostic frames (from multiple domains) addresses a wider range of actors.
Smaller and abstract range of prognostic frames provides better ground for agreement between actors from different domains/OoW.

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23
Q

Journalists’ role perceptions found
in research 1960-2023:

Study These Flashcards
A

Gatekeeper
Broker ‘neutral information-
transmitter’
Advocate
Watchdog
Lapdog

24
Q

What role journalists can take
depends on…

Study These Flashcards
A

Type of news outlet
Resources available to the journalist
Type of beat (social context of field under investigation)
Complexity of issue
Type of audience

25
Media hypes
- News media hypes - Anatomy: First peak, follow up peas Trigger event Source use News causing news
26
News media hypes
Every news media hype, now also is a social media hype
27
Social media hypes - patterns
Series of short peaks; 1 high peak, followed by series of short peaks; Mulitple high peaks, followed by a series of short peaks; Sometimes lasting 2 years (recurrent) Some last a few weeks (or shorter?)
28
Who started the hype?
Actor-generated Genuine event Media generated
29
Three types of social media hypes related to sustainability issues:
1. Activism against unsustainable industry 2. Scandals 3. Conflict between industry actors and activists
30
Constructivism
- Social media enable the construction of information through continuous interaction between individuals on online networks. - These individuals include journalists, PR-professionals, farmers, campaigners, politicians, citizens & consumers.
31
Do Greenfluencers stimulate activism engagement?
Activism can be online as well as offline Low-effort High-effort
32
Hypothese of greenfluencers
H 1Engagement with green influencers relates to participation in environmental activism H2 Engagement with green influencers positively relates to formation of parasocial relationship H3 Parasocial Relationships relate to engagement with environmental activism Does the level of env. knowledge of followers impact the relationship between PSR and engagement? (H4/5)
33
FIndings on greenfluencers
Young adults that engage with greenfluencers are more likely to engage with low/high effort activism This is (partly) explained by their Parasocial Relationships For followers with high levels of environmental knowledge the direct relationship with hig effort activsm is stronger, while it weakens the PSR- High activism relationship
34
Greenwashing definition(s)
- Greenwashing refers to use of exaggerated, deceptive, and unsubstantiated claims of environmental benefits to improve corporate image (Sailer et al., 2022). - ‘Greenwashing is a PR tactic used to make a company or product appear environmentally friendly, without meaningfully reducing its environmental impact’ (Das, 2022) - Making sustainability claims that are not (fully) substantiated, or (partly) untrue.
35
Effects of (perceived) greenwashing on the Social License to operate:
- Greenwashing concerns “unacceptable behaviour” - Could therefore damage SLO - Focus on SLO would prevent organizations to greenwash.
36
Social License to Operate
Corporations need to meet and engage with expectations of society and avoid activities that are deemed unacceptable in the eyes of societies. Accordingly, SLO can be considered a form of ‘soft’ regulation enforced through the beliefs and behaviors of relevant stakeholders in society (Van der Meer & Jonkman, 2021)
37
Effects of greenwashing
Negative effect on corporate image Negative effect on profit Does ethical harm Ecological conscious consumers are increasingly skeptical
38
Types of greenwashers
- ‘Evil greeners’: intentional false green claims - ‘Unintentional greenwashers’: may fall victim to false claims by their middle agents - The ‘falsely accused’
39
Risks and opportunities of GW:
Many green consumers = market Risk: damage to your SLO due to skepticism fed by greenwashing image if the industry. - Consumers worry about climate change increasingly - Business is trusted less than NGOs and - Governments in terms of their efforts to fight climate change. - Fashion amongst the least trusted industries. - CEOs least trusted as spokespersons to advocate sustainability
40
What if we add skepticism caused by industry wide greenwashing?
graph on slides
41
How should you communicate as a ‘sustainable fashion brand’?
Transparency Third party certification Be accountable Communicate with stakeholders/be active in the issue arena
42
Causes & Effects of GW
- Appeal to ‘green markets’ - Brush up image & reputation - Regain Social License to Operate - Perceived greenwashing effects - Damage to reputation - Damage to SLO - Consumers switch to other brands
43
Talk action dynamic perspective
- Talk Action dynamics and the four modalities allow - Speaking out ambitions - Where – in good circumstances – talk may actually become action (in the sense of organizational change, or increased engagement of employees for example) - Despite, but also because, audiences are critical/skeptical and voice their doubts.
44
What is new about the TAlk Action dynamic?
- Greenwashing is a perception, usually from external stakeholders. - It asumes a ‘final condition’ - Promise made, but broken - Damage to reputation and SLO
45
Contemporary society characterised by:
Hypermodernity High level of complexity Even more so because of digitalization => grand issue of sustainability
46
Complex adaptive systems paradigm
Environments are constantly changing; Grand challenges: uncertain non-liniair patterns, Do not have an end Often solutions are part of a new problem (deep sea mining, nuclear power, raising taxes on profits)
47
Complex adaptive systems paradigm pt. 2
- Complex system paradigm for PR and sustainability: - Starts at the macro level - Considers the relations between actors as strategic communication at the meso level - Assumes that, at the micro level, actors follow rules that guide these relationships
48
Ten properties of complex systems communication
1. Emergence & evolution 2. Adaptivity 3. Heterogeneity 4. Nonlinearity 5. Feedback & recursion 6. Self-organization 7. Phase transitions 8. Networks 9. Scaling 10. Cooperation & co-intelligence
49
How to engage employees in sustainability talk (and goals)
- Employee communication - Leadership & change communication - CEO advocacy: effects of external sustainability communication on employees’ sense of belonging Personal factors Communication factors - Employees as sustainability ambassadors - What makes employees to communicate the sustainability vision of the organization? - - Cause-Org fit - - Cause-Personal fit - - Value congruence (CEO-Empl) - - Message credibility - - Org. Identification
50
Grand Challenges
Collective Behaviour: - Collective Action “Action taken together by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their condition and achieve a common objective” (Van Zoomeren et al., 2008) - Drivers of change: “What motivates individuals to change their behaviours for the common good?” - Two types: Drivers for change Drivers for priming
51
Drivers of change
- Perceived thread Personal Close others Vulnerable others - Participative efficacy beliefs - Injunctive social norms - Descriptive social norms - Perceptions of government policy
52
Narrative persuasion by corporate sustainability messages
Corporate sustainability messages understood differently by different stakeholders
53
The black box of narrative richness
- Character identification Emotionally Cognitively ➔ salient, detailed protagonist - Transportation Enables mental and emotional engagement with the message (story) - Message credibility H6: more narrative richness ➔ less credible message
54
What works and why?
Messages with more narrative richness have a more positive effect on behavioural intentions (Coca Cola reputation & employer reputation & word of mouth), because of: - Character identification - Transportation No difference was found for message credibility
55
Why does narrative richness work so well?
- Morality is a key component of - Corporate Sustainable Responsibility - As well as in rich narratives
56
Sustainable Responsible Investing
- SRI is growing But a huge gap exists between now and the UN SDGs How can we stimulate investors to participate in SRI? - Financial advisors! Lack SRI expertise
57
Strategic communication of financial advisors
model on slides

Communicating Sustainability (1 decks)

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