PR practitioners’ conceptualisation of the role of stakeholder engagement in corporate social responsibility planning and implementation

Abstract

Over the years, practitioners and stakeholders have regarded the practice of stakeholder engagement as a non-essential part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The only standard corporate practice was to invest in developing CSR and sustainability programmes with minimal involvement of those they materially affect, also known as their stakeholders (Heismann, 2014). Heismann further argues that the cause of this was organisations not communicating effectively and actively with their stakeholders to the point that stakeholders were not aware of the development of many CSR programmes. Engaging with stakeholders is no longer optional; it is an expected necessity. In theory, Holmström’s (1996) reflective paradigm of public relations emphasises the need for organisations to meet stakeholder and societal expectations, values, norms, and standards by conducting themselves in a socially responsible manner towards the environment stakeholders and the society at large. Against this background, this study evaluated PR practitioners’ conceptualisation of the role of stakeholder engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility planning and implementation. The purpose is to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on CSR and stakeholder engagement within South African and developing countries. The theoretical framework of the study is the Public Relations reflective paradigm conceptualised by Susanne Holmström (1996); the stakeholder approach to CSR formulated by Freeman (1984). The Triple Bottom Line approach also supports the study, a critical approach used to analyse CSR activities by Elkington (1994). The study’s research methodology was qualitative and employed an explorative design to congregate data through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings of this study revealed that stakeholder inclusivity and engagement vary for each organisation. However, in many organisations’ corporate social responsibility strategies, the most common goal is to engage and put all their stakeholders at the forefront. Compared to the past, PR practitioners performing the CSR role have shown significant progress in considering all stakeholders as an essential part of CSR. The findings also revealed that stakeholders now play a pivotal role in an organisation’s success and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Stakeholders also play significant roles in the relationship between the organisation and its surrounding communities based on its commitment to the partnership and the shared belief that the organisation and the host communities should be good neighbours. The engagement with stakeholders should be viewed as any other organisational planning process, given sufficient analysis, preparation, implementation, reporting, evaluation and follow up.