Corporate Social Responsibility website representations: A longitudinal study of internal and external self‐presentations

This research undertakes a longitudinal study to assess the representation of CSR activities on Canadian companies' websites. A systematic sample of the websites of 159 companies from Canada's top 1000 was assessed in 2003 and 2006. Results reveal that only 27% expressed some form of CSR activity in 2003, compared to 67% in 2006. Based on a frame from Weaver, Trevino, and Cochran (1999a Weaver, G. R., Trevino, L. K. and Cochran, P. L. 1999a. Integrated and decoupled corporate social performance: Management commitments, external pressures, and corporate ethics practices.. Academy of Management Journal, 42(5): 539–52. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), CSR activities are categorized as external or internal. A strong increase in internal CSR activities is evident. Companies that are more successful indicate more CSR activity on their websites; this effect is driven primarily by internal CSR. Implications are discussed.