Critical approaches to discourse use have informed this research. I was interested in understanding how the language of CSR can be mobilised to produce particular representations of the relationship between business and society, and more specifically between corporations and workers. These representations can shape attitudes towards corporations, including those of consumers, employees, and those who could or do regulate them. They can also be resisted. In focusing on mobilisations of CSR in campaigns for workers’ rights, it is recognised that ‘discourse is an inherent part of society and partakes in all societies’ injustices, as well as in the struggle against them’ (Dijk, 1996: 23). To facilitate a study of CSR language, documents and interviews and observations were the main sources of data collection. This section focuses on the first.
Discourse takes the form of ‘texts’ to be ‘read’. A ‘text’ can refer to all products of written or spoken language, and in fact, to all the forms of representation we see (Ali, 1998: 266), such as logos, buildings, paintings, and combinations of images and words. I employed a method of qualitative thematic analysis (Seale, 2004: 314), involving reflection on how the emerging issues related to existing literature and the thesis aims (Bryman, 2004). This could be tailored to the needs of the research, and allowed study of a large and diverse corpus of material over time.
Documentary sources can be approached systematically, allowing for comparison of the different records that actors have created from their use of language (Scott, 1990). The documents analysed for this research mainly included texts and also some of the images accompanying them, utilising what Rose (2001: 15-16) termed a ‘critical visual
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methodology’.41
Social practices are involved in creating particular forms of texts and maintaining their version of a social issue or context and their relationship to alternative versions. As in the approach of Foucault (1972), discourses are seen to define and organise the very categories of the things they intend to describe (Tonkiss, 2004: 373). They are not neutral, but can support institutions, reproduce inequalities and have ideological connotations, and studying the processes involved can be both interpretative and explanatory (Richardson, 2007: 27). In relation to this thesis, uncovering the ‘ideological workings of discourses’ (Brookes, 1995: 462) can contribute to an understanding of how and why companies invest in CSR and why notions of socially responsible employment are so contested.
Research process
A graduated approach to sampling was employed (Flick, 1998: 65-70). Texts were selected on the basis of their relevance to the research questions and case studies, possibilities of access, and the variety they would contribute to the corpus in terms of format and origin.42 The goal was to identify and analyse the dynamic range of definitions and representations of CSR, focusing on how they relate to responsibilities to workers. This involved reflection on how the emerging issues related to existing literature and the thesis aims (Bryman, 2004). Data were gathered from the CSR and labour related groups I signed up to and followed throughout the research, the early work on Fortune 500 companies and anti-corporate websites, the literature review of CSR publications, and study of the campaign cases. Please note that details of the exact sources are given in each substantive chapter, but the types of materials included company reports and policies, web and blog content, e-list and social media, management and industry publications, media articles and campaign materials.
Each piece of discourse was made ready for analysis by producing a hardcopy of original and electronic documents. The guiding aim was to identify key words, phrases, and images representing CSR, related themes, and associated practices, with a particular
41 For example, see Sklair’s analysis of the 1998 report from Shell on ‘Profits and principles – does there
have to be a choice?’ which utilises beautiful imagery, reader invitations, particular typefaces and other visuals, to guide the reader’s questioning and to deliver the company’s own message (2001: 185-191).
42
Unfortunately mainly samples in English are included, but some of these originated in other languages and most were written for transnational audiences.
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focus on the relationship to work. This required initial readings of the material, in what Gill (2000: 178-179) describes as ‘the spirit of sceptical reading’ involving ‘the suspension of belief in the taken for granted’. I attempted to set aside assumptions to develop what Schenkein (1978) calls an ‘analytic mentality’. The analysis focused on patterns in the data, variability, similarities, and an interrogation of the function of language (Gill, 2000: 179-180). As discourses are historical and can only be understood in relation to their context (Richardson, 2007: 27), attention was paid to how documents had been prepared, by whom, for what purpose, who the intended audience was, and how it was to be communicated, using similar criteria to those outlined by Scott (1990).43 I was interested in the use of CSR by different actors for different audiences, and some analysis was possible of changes over time through comparing data from different years. Therefore as well as analysing discourse samples on an individual basis, cross-sample analysis facilitated an investigation of the commonalities, conflicts, and interconnections within the corpus (May, 1997: ch 8).
Ethical considerations
As with all methods, textual analysis has related drawbacks and ethical concerns (Cameron, 2001). There were three potential issues for this documentary research. The first relates to my joining membership-based groups with those working in or campaigning around CSR and labour issues, in order to access materials. However, these were mainly in the public domain and I was transparent about my research whenever I had direct contact with other members or organisers. Most had no restriction on membership, but I was able to join some of the professional and academic groups because of my base at London School of Economics, and I already had connections with some activist groups. Secondly, the documents studied can be categorised using the dimension of ‘access’ (Scott, 1990: 14-17). As explained in relevant chapters, the majority of data were from publicly available sources, but others were restricted access, including parliamentary papers gained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) application, and materials from the private archives of campaigns and individual campaigners. These sources were treated with care to ensure privacy and security. The final ethical consideration relates to an associated criticism of documentary research:
43
He sets out four main criteria for the quality of documentary evidence in social research – authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning (for detailed discussion of these, see: Scott, 1990: 6-8).
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reliance on the subjective interpretation of the researcher (Cameron, 2001: 137-140; Scott, 1990). Important decisions are made in the selection of samples and in the process of analysis, which can serve to present the results in a particular way. Therefore a range of related texts were always selected and in-depth interviews were used to interrogate and develop the findings.