Reading of Corporate Social Responsibility: Is It Beneficial for Business Organizations?

How the public perceive firms' corporate social performance (CSP) is a great concern of public relations in these business organizations. Many firms issue corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports on regular basis to build a good relationship between the public and the firms. However, it is still unclear whether organizations benefit from promoting reading of their CSR reports, an important tool conveying CSP information to the public. In this study, we combine signaling theory and sensemaking theory to explain how readers' comprehension of an organization's CSR report can have a positive effect on their trust in the organization. From an organization's CSR report, readers receive signals on (1) how authentic the CSR report is, and (2) how good the organization's CSP is. Through the sensemaking process, readers then evaluate (1) value of the CSR report, and (2) value fit of the organization with themselves, and determine how much trust they will put in the organization. The better readers comprehend t...