Conference Agenda

Purpose – This paper aims to determine a normative evaluation of companies’ web-based external CSR communication on halal products for ethnic-religious minorities.

Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis of companies’ websites, online shops, Facebook sites and CSR reports was applied to answer five specific research questions.

Findings – Findings reveal a reluctance of companies to communicate about halal offerings. Of the 61 companies analyzed, 18 percent (4 AUT, 7 GER) communicate publicly that they offer halal products. The analysis of the 11 cases that communicate about their halal offerings shows that only few live up to the criteria of transparency and accountability; open discourse with users on Facebook is almost non-existent as social media communication is mainly defensive and rarely proactive.

Research limitations/implications – More research is needed to discuss the role of dialogue, especially on social media. This research indicates that initiating controversial and possibly hateful debates may cause more harm than good.

Practical implications – As practical or social implications we can derive that if companies want to take their role as quasi-political actors seriously, they should be more transparent and accountable with respect to their halal offerings. Yet, whether dialogue should take place on social media, where polarization and harmful speech is prevalent, is debatable. Supporting the Muslim community by actions, that is by offering halal products and engaging with non-business stakeholders like NGOs to foster inclusion is central.

Originality/value – This paper contributes to the existing literature on a (political) CSR and moral legitimacy by examining ethical, strategic communication.

This article addresses the role of the corporate purpose in strategic financial communication from the perspective of investor relations professionals (IRPs) with particular reference to their sensemaking process. Strategic financial communication increasingly includes intangible assets that contribute to the value of the company. At the same time, more and more companies are publishing corporate purpose statements that are intended to express their relevance. The article acknowledges those trends and aims to assess how IRPs make sense of the corporate purpose and how they strategically use it in investor relations communication. Eleven qualitative in-depth interviews with IRPs from German DAX40 companies were conducted and analyzed with an abductive method. The results show that IRPs focus on cues when making sense of the corporate purpose, especially links to intangible assets and organizational values can be identified. The corporate purpose is only partially used in communication with the financial public.

Deepened reflection on the corporate purpose, fueled by discussions and cues, supports the sensemaking process of IRPs which can be guided by the organization. The role of the corporate purpose turned out to be complex with – although not always explored – the potential to be used as a descriptive and normative tool in strategic financial communication.