This study examines public expectations regarding Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA) using the framework of strategic issue management (SIM). A 14-item, single-factor scale was developed to measure CSA expectations, which was validated through four surveys. The CSA expectancy scale will assist businesses in effectively navigating CSA initiatives, preventing stakeholder support withdrawal, and thus bolstering organizational sustainability and social impact.
AfifiW. A.BurgoonJ. K. (2000). The impact of violations on uncertainty and the consequences for attractiveness. Human Communication Research, 26(2), 203–233.
2.
AlexiouK.WigginsJ. (2019). Measuring individual legitimacy perceptions: Scale development and validation. Strategic Organization, 17(4), 470–496.
3.
AliM. A. (2018). Proactive stakeholder practices: A modified reactive, defensive, accommodative, and proactive (RDAP) scale. Journal of Managerial Issues, 30(4), 405–402.
4.
Ashby-KingD. T. (2023). Corporate social advocacy or social issues management? Examining state flagship universities’ responses to the killing of George Floyd. Public Relations Review, 49(3), 102327.
BaumanC. W.SkitkaL. J. (2012). Corporate social responsibility as a source of employee satisfaction. Research in Organizational Behavior, 32, 63–86.
7.
BennettC. M.KimH.LokenB. (2013). Corporate sponsorships may hurt nonprofits: Understanding their effects on charitable giving. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 23(3), 288–300.
8.
BhagwatY.WarrenN. L.BeckJ. T.WatsonG. F.IV. (2020). Corporate sociopolitical activism and firm value. Journal of Marketing, 84(5), 1–21.
9.
BhattacharyaC. B.SenS. (2003). Consumer–company identification: A framework for understanding consumers’ relationships with companies. Journal of Marketing, 67(2), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.67.2.76.18609
10.
BortreeD. S. (2014). The state of CSR communication research: A summary and future direction. Public Relations Journal, 8(3), 1–8.
11.
BoutilierR. G.ThomsonI. (2011). Modelling and measuring the social license to operate: Fruits of a dialogue between theory and practice. Social License, 1, 1–10.
12.
BrownT. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
13.
BrowningN.LeeE.ParkY. E.KimT.CollinsR. (2020). Muting or meddling? advocacy as a relational communication strategy affecting Organization–Public relationships and stakeholder response. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 97(4), 1026–1053. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699020916810
14.
BurgoonJ. K. (1978). A communication model of personal space violations: Explication and an initial test. Human Communication Research, 4(2), 129–142. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.1978.tb00603.x
15.
BurgoonJ. K. (1993). Interpersonal expectations, expectancy violations, and emotional communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 12(1–2), 30–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927x93121003
16.
BurgoonJ. K.HubbardA. E. (2005). Cross-cultural and intercultural applications of expectancy violations theory and interaction adaptation theory. In GudykunstW. B. (Ed.), Theorizing about Intercultural Communication (pp. 149–171). Sage.
17.
CarrollA. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34(4), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/0007-6813(91)90005-g
18.
CarrollA. B. (2016). Carroll’s pyramid of CSR: Taking another look. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 1(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40991-016-0004-6
19.
ChengK.WeiF.LinY. (2019). The trickle-down effect of responsible leadership on unethical pro-organizational behavior: The moderating role of leader-follower value congruence. Journal of Business Research, 102, 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.04.044
20.
ChoM.ParkS. Y.KimS. (2021). When an organization violates public expectations: A comparative analysis of sustainability communication for corporate and nonprofit organizations. Public Relations Review, 47(1), 101928. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101928
21.
ClarksonM. B. E. (1995). A stakeholder framework for analyzing and evaluating corporate social performance. Academy of Management Review, 20(1), 92–117. https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442673496-013
22.
CoombsW. T.HolladayS. J. (2011). Managing corporate social responsibility: A communication approach. John Wiley.
23.
CoombsW. T.HolladayS. J. (2018). Social issue qua wicked problems: The role of strategic communication in social issues management. Journal of Communication Management, 22(1), 79–95. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-11-2016-0093
24.
CoyeR. W. (2004). Managing customer expectations in the service encounter. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15(1), 54–71. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564230410523330
25.
DiRussoC.BuckleyC.DiddiP.DardisF. E.VafeiadisM.EngN. (2022). Designing effective corporate social advocacy campaigns using valence, arousal, and issue salience. Public Relations Review, 48(3), 102207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102207
26.
DoddM. (2018). Globalization, pluralization, and erosion: The impact of shifting societal expectations for advocacy and public good. The Journal of Public Interest Communications, 2(2), 221–221. https://doi.org/10.32473/jpic.v2.i2.p221
27.
DoddM. D.SupaD. W. (2015). Testing the viability of corporate social advocacy as a predictor of purchase intention. Communication Research Reports, 32(4), 287–293.
28.
DoddM. D.SupaD. W. (2014). Conceptualizing and measuring “corporate social advocacy” communication: Examining the impact on corporate financial performance. Public Relations Journal, 8(3), 2–23. http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/PRJournal/Vol8/No3/
FreemanE. R. (2010). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge University Press.
31.
GoretzkoD.SiemundK.SternerP. (2023). Evaluating model fit of measurement models in confirmatory factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 84(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316442311638
32.
GreenbaumR. L.QuadeM. J.BonnerJ. (2015). Why do leaders practice amoral management? A conceptual investigation of the impediments to ethical leadership. Organizational Psychology Review, 5(1), 26–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/2041386614533587
33.
GrunwaldG.HempelmannB. (2010). Impacts of reputation for quality on perceptions of company responsibility and product-related dangers in times of product-recall and public complaints crises: Results from an empirical investigation. Corporate Reputation Review, 13(4), 264–283. https://doi.org/10.1057/crr.2010.23
34.
GuèvremontA. (2019). Brand hypocrisy from a consumer perspective: Scale development and validation. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 28(5), 598–613. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-06-2017-1504
35.
HairJ. F.BlackW. C.BabinB. J.AndersonR. E. (2014). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Pearson.
36.
HairJ. F.Jr.MatthewsL. M.MatthewsR. L.SarstedtM. (2017). PLS-SEM or CB-SEM: Updated guidelines on which method to use. International Journal of Multivariate Data Analysis, 1(2), 107–123.
37.
HallahanK. (2001). The dynamics of issues activation and response: An issues processes model. Journal of Public Relations Research, 13(1), 27–59. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532754XJPRR1301_3
38.
HarrisonD. E.FerrellO. C.FerrellL.HairJ. F.Jr. (2020). Corporate social responsibility and business ethics: Conceptualization, scale development and validation. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 29(4), 431–439.
39.
HeathR. L.PalencharM. J. (2008). Strategic issues management: Organizations and public policy challenges. Sage Publications.
40.
HeathR. L.PalencharM. J. (2011). Corporate (social) responsibility and issues management: Motive and rationale for issue discourse and organizational change. In Ø. Ihlen, J. Bartlett, MayS. (Eds.), The handbook of communication and corporate social responsibility (pp. 315–337). John Wiley.
41.
HeffronE. R.DoddM. D. (2021). The impact of corporate social advocacy on stakeholders’ issue awareness, attitudes, and voting behaviors. Public Relations Journal, 12(4), 1.
42.
HenselerJ.RingleC. M.SarstedtM. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43, 115–135.
43.
HinkinT. R. (1998). A brief tutorial on the development of measures for use in survey questionnaires. Organizational Research Methods, 1(1), 104–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/109442819800100106
44.
HongC.LiC. (2020). To support or to boycott: A public segmentation model in corporate social advocacy. Journal of Public Relations Research, 32(5–6), 160–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2020.1848841
45.
HouserM. L. (2006). Expectancy violations of instructor communication as predictors of motivation and learning: A comparison of traditional and nontraditional students. Communication Quarterly, 54(3), 331–349.
46.
HuL. T.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
47.
HydockC.PahariaN.WeberT. J. (2019). The consumer response to corporate political advocacy: A review and future directions. Customer Needs and Solutions, 6, 76–83.
48.
JohnstonK. A.TaylorM. (Eds.). (2018). The handbook of communication engagement. John Wiley.
49.
KimJ. K.OvertonH.BhallaN.LiJ. Y. (2020). Nike, Colin Kaepernick, and the politicization of sports: Examining perceived organizational motives and public responses. Public Relations Review, 46(2), 101856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.101856
50.
KimK. H.XuH.RimH. (2023). “We care about how you dialogue with your employees”: The effects of bottom-up CSR through the lens of dialogic communication. Journal of Public Relations Research, 36, 258–282.
51.
KimS. (2014). The role of prior expectancies and relational satisfaction in crisis. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 91(1), 139–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699013514413
52.
KimS.KrishnaA.DhaneshG. (2019). Economics or ethics? Exploring the role of CSR expectations in explaining consumers’ perceptions, motivations, and active communication behaviors about corporate misconduct. Public Relations Review, 45(1), 76–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2018.10.011
53.
KlineR. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
54.
LeeE. M.ParkS. Y.LeeH. J. (2013). Employee perception of CSR activities: Its antecedents and consequences. Journal of Business Research, 66(10), 1716–1724.
55.
LiJ. Y.KimJ. K.AlharbiK. (2022). Exploring the role of issue involvement and brand attachment in shaping consumer response toward corporate social advocacy (CSA) initiatives: The case of Nike’s Colin Kaepernick campaign. International Journal of Advertising, 41(2), 233–257. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2020.1857111
56.
LievonenM.Luoma-AhoV.BowdenJ. (2018). Negative engagement. In JohnstonK.TaylorM. (Eds.), The handbook of communication engagement (pp. 531–548). Wiley.
57.
LimJ. S.YoungC. (2021). Effects of issue ownership, perceived fit, and authenticity in corporate social advocacy on corporate reputation. Public Relations Review, 47(4), 102071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102071
58.
MacKenzieS. B.LutzR. J. (1989). An empirical examination of the structural antecedents of attitude toward the ad in an advertising pretesting context. Journal of Marketing, 53(2), 48–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298905300204
59.
MaignanI. (2001). Consumers’ perceptions of corporate social responsibilities: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Business Ethics, 30(1), 57–72. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006433928640
60.
MarshH. W.MorinA. J. S.ParkerP. D.KaurG. (2014). Exploratory structural equation modeling: An integration of the best features of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 10, 85–110. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032813-153700
61.
MasonC.SimmonsJ. (2012). Are they being served? Linking consumer expectation, evaluation and commitment. Journal of Services Marketing, 26(4), 227–237. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876041211237532
62.
McKeeverB. W.McKeeverR.ChoiM.HuangS. (2023). From advocacy to activism: A multi-dimensional scale of communicative, collective, and combative behaviors. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 100(3), 569–594.
63.
McMahonJ. M.HarveyR. J. (2006). An analysis of the factor structure of Jones’ moral intensity construct. Journal of Business Ethics, 64, 381–404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-0006-5
64.
MeirovichG.JeonM. M.ColemanL. J. (2020). Interaction of normative and predictive expectations in customer satisfaction and emotions. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 8(2), 69–84. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41270-020-00078-4
MeyerJ. W.RowanB. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83(2), 340–363.
67.
MillerJ. A. (1977). Studying satisfaction, modifying models, eliciting expectations, posing problems, and making meaningful measurements. In HuntH. K. (Ed.), Conceptualization and measurement of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (pp. 92–119). Marketing Science Institute.
68.
O’ConnorA.IhlenØ. (2018). Corporate social responsibility and rhetoric: Conceptualization, construction, and negotiation. In IhlenØ.HeathR. L. (Eds.), The handbook of organizational rhetoric and communication (pp. 401–416). Wiley-Blackwell.
OlkkonenL.Luoma-AhoV. L. (2014). Public relations as expectation management?Journal of Communication Management, 18(3), 222–239. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-02-2013-0012
71.
OlkkonenL.Luoma-AhoV. L. (2015). Broadening the concept of expectations in public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 27(1), 81–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2014.943761
OnkilaT.SarnaB. (2022). A systematic literature review on employee relations with CSR: State of art and future research agenda. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 29(2), 435–447.
74.
OvertonH.ChoiM.WeatherredJ. L.ZhangN. (2020). Testing the viability of emotions and issue involvement as predictors of CSA response behaviors. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 48(6), 695–713. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2020.1824074
75.
OvertonH.KimJ. K.ZhangN.HuangS. (2021). Examining consumer attitudes toward CSR and CSA messages. Public Relations Review, 47(4), 102095.
76.
OvertonH.XiaoA. (2022). Conscience-driven corporate social advocacy: Analyzing moral conviction and perceived motives as predictors of organization-public relationships. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 27(4), 641–653. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-12-2021-0138
77.
ParasuramanA.ZeithamlV. A.BerryL. L. (1994). Reassessment of expectations as a comparison standard in measuring service quality: Implications for further research. Journal of Marketing, 58(1), 111–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242994058001
78.
ParkK.JiangH. (2023). Signaling, verification, and identification: The way corporate social advocacy generates brand loyalty on social media. International Journal of Business Communication, 60(2), 439–463.
79.
PirschJ.GuptaS.GrauS. L. (2007). A framework for understanding corporate social responsibility programs as a continuum: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Ethics, 70(2), 125–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9100-y
80.
PodnarK.GolobU. (2007). CSR expectations: The focus of corporate marketing. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 12(4), 326–340. https://doi.org/10.1108/13563280710832498
81.
PodsakoffP. M.MacKenzieS. B.PodsakoffN. P. (2016). Recommendations for creating better concept definitions in the organizational, behavioral, and social sciences. Organizational Research Methods, 19(2), 159–203. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428115624965
82.
PrnoJ.SlocombeD. S. (2012). Exploring the origins of social license to operate in the mining sector: Perspectives from governance and sustainability theories. Resources Policy, 37(3), 346–357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2012.04.002
83.
ReichartJ. (2003). A theoretical exploration of expectational gaps in the corporate issue construct. Corporate Reputation Review, 6, 58–69. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.crr.1540190
84.
ReitzM.HigginsJ. (2022). Leading in an age of employee activism. MIT Sloan Management Review, 63(2), 1–7.
85.
RimH.XuH.DongC. (2022). Triadic public-company-issue relationships and publics’ reactions to corporate social advocacy (CSA): An application of balance theory. Journal of Public Relations Research, 34(3–4), 109–134.
86.
SenS.BhattacharyaC. B. (2001). Does doing good always lead to doing better? Consumer reactions to corporate social responsibility. Journal of Marketing Research, 38(2), 225–243.
87.
SethiS. P. (1975). Dimensions of corporate social performance: An analytical framework. California Management Review, 17, 358–364. https://doi.org/10.2307/41162149
88.
SolakN.TamirM.SümerN.JostJ. T.HalperinE. (2021). Expressive suppression as an obstacle to social change: Linking system justification, emotion regulation, and collective action. Motivation and Emotion, 45(5), 661–682. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-021-09883-5
SummersJ. O.GranboisD. H. (1977). Predictive and normative expectations in consumer dissatisfaction and complaining behavior. ACR North American Advances, 4, 155–158.
91.
SwansonD. L. (1999). Toward an integrative theory of business and society: A research strategy for corporate social performance. Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 506–521. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1999.2202134
92.
TsaiJ. Y.YuanS.ComanI. A. (2023). Theorizing issue-driven public attention and expectations in audience responses to corporate sociopolitical activism: A mixed-method analysis. Public Relations Review, 49(4), 102353.
93.
WaymerD.LoganN. (2021). Corporate social advocacy as engagement: Nike’s social justice communication. Public Relations Review, 47(1), 102005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.102005
XuH.LeeE.RimH. (2022). Should businesses take a stand? Effects of perceived psychological distance on consumers’ expectation and evaluation of corporate social advocacy. Journal of Marketing Communications, 28(8), 840–863. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2021.1969588
96.
YangS. U.KangM.KimY.LeeE. (2022). The effects of leadership in corporate social advocacy on positive employee outcomes. Journal of Public Relations Research, 34(6), 296–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2022.2123331
97.
YimM. C. (2021). Fake, faulty, and authentic stand-taking: What determines the legitimacy of corporate social advocacy?International Journal of Strategic Communication, 15(1), 60–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2020.1856853
98.
YimM. C. (2024). Bottom-up corporate social advocacy: Examining the impact of employees’ empowered engagement on advocacy willingness and mediating roles of value congruency and moral elevation. International Journal of Business Communication, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/23294884241242111
99.
YoonH. J. (2013). Understanding schema incongruity as a process in advertising: Review and future recommendations. Journal of Marketing Communications, 19(5), 360–376.
100.
ZeithamlV. A.BerryL. L.ParasuramanA. (1993). The nature and determinants of customer expectations of service. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21, 1–12.