A New Concept in Public Relations: A Systematic Review on "Corporate Social Advocacy"
Year 2025,
Volume: 20 Issue: 1, 125 - 142
Beris Artan Özoran
,
Aycan Ulusan
Abstract
The increasing public demand for brands to contribute to the creation of a ‘more livable world’ has played a critical role in shaping the transformation of corporate strategies centered around corporate social advocacy. This shift has also necessitated further academic inquiry into the subject. In this context, this study aims to offer both a conceptual evaluation of corporate social advocacy and a systematic review of academic research conducted in this field. The findings suggest that corporate social advocacy is gaining substantial prominence in both corporate and academic contexts. However, the review also identifies notable methodological gaps within the existing body of literature. Furthermore, an important observation is that the majority of studies focus predominantly on U.S. corporations and societal issues, leading to a body of literature that is largely constrained to the U.S. context.
References
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- Calder, B. J., & Burnkrant, R. E. (1977). Interpersonal influence on consumer behavior: An attribution theory approach. Journal of Consumer Research, 4(1), 29-38.
- Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business horizons, 34(4), 39-48.
- CNN US. (2012, Temmuz 27). Chick-fil-A wades into a fast-food fight over same-sex marriage rights. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/27/us/chick-fil-a-controversy/index.html
- Coombs, T. W., & Holladay, S. J. (2013). The pseudo‐panopticon: The illusion created by CSR‐related transparency and the internet. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 18(2), 212-227.
- Davis, J. (2016, Eylül 29). Why corporations have begun taking a stand on divisive social issues in recent years. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/why-corporations-have-begun-taking-a-stand-on-divisive-social-issues-in-recent-years-2016-9
- Demirtaş, H. A. (2003). Sosyal kimlik kuramı, temel kavram ve varsayımlar. İletişim Araştırmaları, 1(1), 123-144.
- DiRusso, C., Buckley, C., Diddi, P., Dardis, F. E., Vafeiadis, M., & Eng, N. (2022). Designing effective corporate social advocacy campaigns using valence, arousal, and issue salience. Public Relations Review, 48(3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102207
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- Dodd, M. D., & Supa, D. W. (2015). Testing the viability of corporate social advocacy as a predictor of purchase intention. Communication research reports, 32(4) (2015): 287-293. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2015.1089853.
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- Folkes, V. S. (1988). Recent attribution research in consumer behavior: A review and new directions. Journal of consumer research, 14(4), 548-565.
- Fröhlich, R., & Knobloch, A. S. (2021). “Are they allowed to do that?” Content and typology of corporate socio-political positioning on TWITTER. Public Relations Review, 47(5), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102113
- Gaither, B. M., & Austin, L. (2022). Corporate social advocacy. The Routledge Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility Communication, 177-190.
- Hayes, A. F., & Krippendorff, K. (2007). Answering the call for a standard reliability measure for coding data. Communication methods and measures, 1(1), 77-89.
- Hong, C., & Li, C. (2020). To support or to boycott: a public segmentation model in corporate social advocacy. Journal of Public Relations Research, 32(5-6), 160-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2020.1848841
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- Hydock, C., Paharia, N., & Blair, S. (2020). Should your brand pick a side? How market share determines the impact of corporate political advocacy. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(6), 1135-1151.
- Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational researcher, 33(7), 14-26.
- Kim, J. K., Overton, H., Alharbi, K., Carter, J., & Bhalla, N. (2023). Examining the determinants of consumer support for corporate social advocacy. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 28(3), 451-468.
- Kim, J. K., Moon, W. K., & Lee, J. (2024). The role of corporate social advocacy forms in shaping young adults’ responses. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 24, 653-669
- Lee, S. Y., & Chung, S. (2023). Publics’ views of corporate social advocacy initiatives: Exploring prior issue stance, attitude toward a company, and news credibility. Management Communication Quarterly, 37(2), 281-309. https://doi.org/10.1177/08933189221105808
- Lee, J. S., & Young, C. (2021). Effects of issue ownership, perceived fit, and authenticity in corporate social advocacy on corporate reputation. Public Relations Review 47, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102071.
- Lim, H. S., Moon, W. K., & Ciszek, E. (2024). Advertising for brands and society: The role of perceived authenticity in corporate transgender advocacy advertising campaigns. Journal of homosexuality, 71(10), 2449-2477.
- Logan, N. (2021). A theory of corporate responsibility to race (CRR): Communication and racial justice in public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 33 (1), 6-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2021.1881898
- Overton, H., Minhee Choi, J., Weatherred L., & Zhang N. (2020). Testing the viability of emotions and issue involvement as predictors of CSA response behaviors. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 48(6), 695-713. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2020.1824074
- Overton, H., Kim, J. K., Zhang, N., & Huang, S. (2021). Examining consumer attitudes toward CSR and CSA messages. Public Relations Review, 47(4), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102095
- Parcha, J. M. (2022). Perceptions of corporate communication on debated social issues. Business and society review, 127(4), 915-937. https://doi.org/10.1111/basr.12293
- Parcha, J. M., & Westerman, C. K. (2020). How corporate social advocacy affects attitude change toward controversial social issues. Management communication quarterly, 34 (3), 350-383. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318920912196
- Park, K. (2022). The mediating role of skepticism: How corporate social advocacy builds quality relationships with publics. Journal of Marketing Communications, 28(8), 821-839.
- Rim, H., Haejung K., Cho, M., & De Moya, M. (2024). Leading to social impact communication: Understanding Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA) from industry professional perspectives. Journal of Public Relations Research, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2024.2371879
- Rim, H., Lee, Y., & Yoo, S. (2020). Polarized public opinion responding to corporate social advocacy: Social network analysis of boycotters and advocators. Public relations review, 46(2), 101869.
- Rim, H., Xu, H., & Dong, C. (2022). Triadic public-company-issue relationships and publics’ reactions to corporate social advocacy (CSA): An application of balance theory. Journal of Public Relations Research, 34(3-4), 109-134.
- Song, B., & Lan, X. (2022). Meeting consumers’ expectations: Exploring corporate social advocacy communication in China. Sustainability, 14(4), 1-18.
- Sprout Social (2019). Brands Creating Change in the Conscious Consumer Era. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/brands-creating-change/#taking-a-stand-is-the-new-normal
- Starbucks. (2015). Starbucks applauds Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality. Starbucks Stories. https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/starbucks-applauds-supreme-courts-ruling-on-marriage-equality/
- The Hill. (2018, Aralık 2). Why is Airbnb focused on open borders advocacy? The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/373073-why-is-airbnb-focused-on-open-borders-advocacy/
- Turner, C. J. (1987). Rediscovering The Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
- Vasquez, R. (2022). CSR, CSA, or CPA? Examining corporate climate change communication strategies, motives, and effects on consumer outcomes. Sustainability 14 (6).
- Verčič, A. T., Verčič, D., Čož, S., & Špoljarić, A. (2024). A systematic review of digital internal communication. Public Relations Review, 50(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102400
- Weiner, B. (1995). Attribution theory in organizational behavior: A relationship of mutual benefit. M. J. Martinko (ed.), Attribution Theory. Routledge.
- Wettstein, F., & Baur, D. (2016). “Why should we care about marriage equality?”: Political advocacy as a part of corporate responsibility. Journal of business ethics, 138, 199-213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2631-3
- Xiao, A., & Overton, H. K. (2022). Motivations for supporting corporate social advocacy: Applying the SIMCA model. Journal of Communication Management, 26(4), 373-385.
- Xu, H., Lee, E., & Rim, H. (2022). Should businesses take a stand? Effects of perceived psychological distance on consumers’ expectation and evaluation of corporate social advocacy. Journal of Marketing Communications, 28(8), 840-863.
- Xu, S., & Xiong, Y. (2020). Setting socially mediated engagement parameters: A topic modeling and text analytic approach to examining polarized discourses on Gillette’s campaign. Public Relations Review, 46(5), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101959
- Zhou, Z., & Dong, C. (2022). Matching words with actions: Understanding the effects of CSA stance-action consistency on negative consumer responses. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 27 (1), 167-187.
Halkla İlişkilerde Yeni Bir Kavram: “Kurumsal Sosyal Sosyal Savunuculuk” Üzerine Sistematik Derleme
Year 2025,
Volume: 20 Issue: 1, 125 - 142
Beris Artan Özoran
,
Aycan Ulusan
Abstract
Görece yeni bir kavram olan kurumsal sosyal savunuculuk bireylerin markalara yönelik dönüşen beklentileriyle birlikte önemli bir araştırma ve tartışma alanı yaratmıştır. Toplumun ‘daha yaşanılabilir bir dünya’ için markalardan beklentileri, hem şirketlerin kurumsal sosyal savunuculuk eksenli dönüşümünde belirleyici bir rol üstlenmiş hem de alana yönelik akademik araştırmaları zorunlu hale getirmiştir. Buradan hareketle bu çalışma, bir yandan kurumsal sosyal savunuculuğa ilişkin kavramsal bir değerlendirme ortaya koymayı amaçlarken; diğer yandan akademik alana yönelik araştırmalar üzerine gerçekleştirilen sistematik analiz yoluyla hem akademisyenler hem de şirketlere konuya yönelik bir çerçeve sunmayı hedeflemektedir. Bu amaçla yapılan analiz sonucunda kurumsal sosyal savunuculuğun giderek hem kurumsal yapılar hem de akademik çalışmalar bağlamında önem kazandığı görülmekle beraber, akademik alanda konuya yönelik gerçekleştirilen araştırmalarda yöntemsel eksiklikler tespit edilmiştir. Çalışmanın bir diğer önemli bulgusu, araştırmaların büyük oranda ABD toplumu ve şirketleri üzerine gerçekleştirilmesi dolayısıyla alanın ABD’ye ilişkin literatürle sınırlı kalmış olmasıdır
References
- Akçay, E. (2023). Halkla ilişkilerin sosyal bilimlerde yeniden konumlanışı: Kurumsal sosyal sorumluluktan kurumsal sosyal savunuculuğa. H. Yazıt ve N. Köktürk (ed.), Sosyal Bilimler Üzerine Araştırmalar-VIII, Gaziantep: Özgür Yayınları.
- Austin, L., Gaither, B., & Gaither, K. (2019). Corporate social advocacy as public interest communications: Exploring perceptions of corporate involvement in controversial social-political issues. The Journal of Public Interest Communications, 3(2), 3-31. https://doi.org/10.32473/jpic.v3.i2.p3.
- Bateman, D. (1973). Corporate communications of advocacy: Practical perspectives and procedures. The Journal of Business Communication, 13(1),3-11.
- Calder, B. J., & Burnkrant, R. E. (1977). Interpersonal influence on consumer behavior: An attribution theory approach. Journal of Consumer Research, 4(1), 29-38.
- Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business horizons, 34(4), 39-48.
- CNN US. (2012, Temmuz 27). Chick-fil-A wades into a fast-food fight over same-sex marriage rights. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/27/us/chick-fil-a-controversy/index.html
- Coombs, T. W., & Holladay, S. J. (2013). The pseudo‐panopticon: The illusion created by CSR‐related transparency and the internet. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 18(2), 212-227.
- Davis, J. (2016, Eylül 29). Why corporations have begun taking a stand on divisive social issues in recent years. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/why-corporations-have-begun-taking-a-stand-on-divisive-social-issues-in-recent-years-2016-9
- Demirtaş, H. A. (2003). Sosyal kimlik kuramı, temel kavram ve varsayımlar. İletişim Araştırmaları, 1(1), 123-144.
- DiRusso, C., Buckley, C., Diddi, P., Dardis, F. E., Vafeiadis, M., & Eng, N. (2022). Designing effective corporate social advocacy campaigns using valence, arousal, and issue salience. Public Relations Review, 48(3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102207
- Dodd, M. D., & Supa, D. W. (2014). Conceptualizing and measuring “corporate social advocacy” communication: Examining the impact on corporate financial performance. Public Relations Journal, 8, 2-23.
- Dodd, M. D., & Supa, D. W. (2015). Testing the viability of corporate social advocacy as a predictor of purchase intention. Communication research reports, 32(4) (2015): 287-293. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2015.1089853.
- Edelman. (2017). Earned Brand. https://www.edelman.com/research/earned-brand-2017
- Edelman. (2018). Earned Brand. https://www.edelman.com/earned-brand
- Edelman. (2020). Trust Barometer. https://www.edelman.com/trust/2020-trust-barometer
- Edelman. (2024). Trust Barometer. https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2024-06/2024%20Edelman%20Trust%20Barometer%20Special%20Report%20Brands%20and%20Politics%20Final.pdf
- Edgett, R. (2002). Toward an ethical framework for advocacy in public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 14 (1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532754XJPRR1401_1
- Ekmekçi, Z., & Akdağ, M. (2024). Halkla ilişkiler rollerinde anahtar bir kavram olarak kurumsal sosyal savunuculuk. Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, (53), 186-197.
- Folkes, V. S. (1988). Recent attribution research in consumer behavior: A review and new directions. Journal of consumer research, 14(4), 548-565.
- Fröhlich, R., & Knobloch, A. S. (2021). “Are they allowed to do that?” Content and typology of corporate socio-political positioning on TWITTER. Public Relations Review, 47(5), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102113
- Gaither, B. M., & Austin, L. (2022). Corporate social advocacy. The Routledge Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility Communication, 177-190.
- Hayes, A. F., & Krippendorff, K. (2007). Answering the call for a standard reliability measure for coding data. Communication methods and measures, 1(1), 77-89.
- Hong, C., & Li, C. (2020). To support or to boycott: a public segmentation model in corporate social advocacy. Journal of Public Relations Research, 32(5-6), 160-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2020.1848841
- Huffpost. (2009, Ekim 17). Hubby Hubby: Ben & Jerry's Shows Gay Marriage Support with New Flavor. Huffpost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hubby-hubby-ben-jerrys-sh_n_273872
- Hydock, C., Paharia, N., & Blair, S. (2020). Should your brand pick a side? How market share determines the impact of corporate political advocacy. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(6), 1135-1151.
- Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational researcher, 33(7), 14-26.
- Kim, J. K., Overton, H., Alharbi, K., Carter, J., & Bhalla, N. (2023). Examining the determinants of consumer support for corporate social advocacy. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 28(3), 451-468.
- Kim, J. K., Moon, W. K., & Lee, J. (2024). The role of corporate social advocacy forms in shaping young adults’ responses. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 24, 653-669
- Lee, S. Y., & Chung, S. (2023). Publics’ views of corporate social advocacy initiatives: Exploring prior issue stance, attitude toward a company, and news credibility. Management Communication Quarterly, 37(2), 281-309. https://doi.org/10.1177/08933189221105808
- Lee, J. S., & Young, C. (2021). Effects of issue ownership, perceived fit, and authenticity in corporate social advocacy on corporate reputation. Public Relations Review 47, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102071.
- Lim, H. S., Moon, W. K., & Ciszek, E. (2024). Advertising for brands and society: The role of perceived authenticity in corporate transgender advocacy advertising campaigns. Journal of homosexuality, 71(10), 2449-2477.
- Logan, N. (2021). A theory of corporate responsibility to race (CRR): Communication and racial justice in public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 33 (1), 6-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2021.1881898
- Overton, H., Minhee Choi, J., Weatherred L., & Zhang N. (2020). Testing the viability of emotions and issue involvement as predictors of CSA response behaviors. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 48(6), 695-713. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2020.1824074
- Overton, H., Kim, J. K., Zhang, N., & Huang, S. (2021). Examining consumer attitudes toward CSR and CSA messages. Public Relations Review, 47(4), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102095
- Parcha, J. M. (2022). Perceptions of corporate communication on debated social issues. Business and society review, 127(4), 915-937. https://doi.org/10.1111/basr.12293
- Parcha, J. M., & Westerman, C. K. (2020). How corporate social advocacy affects attitude change toward controversial social issues. Management communication quarterly, 34 (3), 350-383. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318920912196
- Park, K. (2022). The mediating role of skepticism: How corporate social advocacy builds quality relationships with publics. Journal of Marketing Communications, 28(8), 821-839.
- Rim, H., Haejung K., Cho, M., & De Moya, M. (2024). Leading to social impact communication: Understanding Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA) from industry professional perspectives. Journal of Public Relations Research, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2024.2371879
- Rim, H., Lee, Y., & Yoo, S. (2020). Polarized public opinion responding to corporate social advocacy: Social network analysis of boycotters and advocators. Public relations review, 46(2), 101869.
- Rim, H., Xu, H., & Dong, C. (2022). Triadic public-company-issue relationships and publics’ reactions to corporate social advocacy (CSA): An application of balance theory. Journal of Public Relations Research, 34(3-4), 109-134.
- Song, B., & Lan, X. (2022). Meeting consumers’ expectations: Exploring corporate social advocacy communication in China. Sustainability, 14(4), 1-18.
- Sprout Social (2019). Brands Creating Change in the Conscious Consumer Era. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/brands-creating-change/#taking-a-stand-is-the-new-normal
- Starbucks. (2015). Starbucks applauds Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality. Starbucks Stories. https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/starbucks-applauds-supreme-courts-ruling-on-marriage-equality/
- The Hill. (2018, Aralık 2). Why is Airbnb focused on open borders advocacy? The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/373073-why-is-airbnb-focused-on-open-borders-advocacy/
- Turner, C. J. (1987). Rediscovering The Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
- Vasquez, R. (2022). CSR, CSA, or CPA? Examining corporate climate change communication strategies, motives, and effects on consumer outcomes. Sustainability 14 (6).
- Verčič, A. T., Verčič, D., Čož, S., & Špoljarić, A. (2024). A systematic review of digital internal communication. Public Relations Review, 50(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102400
- Weiner, B. (1995). Attribution theory in organizational behavior: A relationship of mutual benefit. M. J. Martinko (ed.), Attribution Theory. Routledge.
- Wettstein, F., & Baur, D. (2016). “Why should we care about marriage equality?”: Political advocacy as a part of corporate responsibility. Journal of business ethics, 138, 199-213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2631-3
- Xiao, A., & Overton, H. K. (2022). Motivations for supporting corporate social advocacy: Applying the SIMCA model. Journal of Communication Management, 26(4), 373-385.
- Xu, H., Lee, E., & Rim, H. (2022). Should businesses take a stand? Effects of perceived psychological distance on consumers’ expectation and evaluation of corporate social advocacy. Journal of Marketing Communications, 28(8), 840-863.
- Xu, S., & Xiong, Y. (2020). Setting socially mediated engagement parameters: A topic modeling and text analytic approach to examining polarized discourses on Gillette’s campaign. Public Relations Review, 46(5), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101959
- Zhou, Z., & Dong, C. (2022). Matching words with actions: Understanding the effects of CSA stance-action consistency on negative consumer responses. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 27 (1), 167-187.