Isabel KlebStakeholder-bezogene CSR-Kommunikation deutscher Banken

About this book deutschenglish

Disclosures of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the financial industry have gained increased levels of attention since the worldwide financial crisis in 2007. So the effective stakeholder communication presents significant challenges for financial institutions today. The present study provides a new perspective on the much-studied phenomenon of stakeholder management by examining the influence of organizational identity orientation on the stakeholder-oriented CSR communication of the 100 largest German banks between 2007 and 2016. It examines the effect of organizational identity orientation with its three basic forms of individualistic, relational and collectivistic organizational identities on the extent and the addressees of the CSR disclosures. In addition, the heterogeneity of the extent and the content of the CSR communication between banks with the same organizational identity orientation is analyzed.

It is hypothesized that banks with an individualistic orientation tend to disclose more extensive CSR communication which refers to a larger extent to primary stakeholders than their counterparts characterized by a relational or a collectivistic organizational identity. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that the heterogeneity of the CSR disclosures tends to be higher within the group of banks with an individualistic orientation compared to their counterparts characterized by a relational or a collectivistic organizational identity.

This study reveals that addressing stakeholders is implicit in the day-to-day activities of many German banks due to their historically evolved organizational identities. It shows that the business objectives of both cooperative and savings banks are compatible with the concept of CSR and associated stakeholder management. Therefore, in practice, corporate actions to address stakeholder needs and corresponding disclosures do not always stem from instrumental considerations but can instead be based on normative considerations. Another contribution of this study is the measuring instrument, which was designed specifically to collect stakeholder-oriented CSR communication within a computer-aided content analysis of annual reports. It captures CSR related activities referring to clients, employees, society and the natural environment and can be used for follow-up studies.

This book is aimed not only at scientists, who are interested in organizational identities and the factors that influence stakeholder management, but also at managers, who want to strengthen the organizational identity of their institution through effective stakeholder management and communication.

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