Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-2018

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Communication and Information

Major Professor

John Eric Haley

Committee Members

Sally J. McMillan, Ronald E. Taylor

Abstract

This paper analyzes the term of “caring” referring to the Caring Theory and analyzes a corporate CSR communication evaluating to what extent communication about a different level of corporate involvement in social issue may enhance the trustworthiness of the message, consumers’ positive attitude toward the brand, and purchase intention. The article emphasizes that large organizations such as social services, schools, and national corporations cannot provide actual caring as it describes in the theory; however, these organizations can act ethically providing and supporting conditions under which caring relations can prosper. The study describes a possible Caring model for CSR communications offering companies to incorporate elements of caring theory in their communication about efforts in CSR. It argues that if the company wants to be sure that its CSR commitment sounds sincere, it can follow the communication model based on Nodding’s stages of caring, which offers three stages of corporate communication about CSR: “engrossment,” “displacement,” and “recognition.”The study revealed that perception of caring can significantly enhance the efficiency of CSR messages. Incorporating even a few elements of caring exposed a significant impact on the effectiveness of communication. Although people may perceive caring differently, the elements of caring can help enhance the believability of CSR messages. The results showed that Caring Theory can be used as a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of CSR communication. A high level of perception of caring significantly mediates attitudes toward the message, toward the brand, and, as a result, purchase intention. Thus, the study supported the recommendation from previous scholar research to focus on the content of CSR communication in order to build trust and loyalty in consumers’ minds. (Kim & Lee, 2012).

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