The Institutionalization of Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: An Intra-Industry Comparison of MNCs’ and SMEs’ CSR Reports

This study compared the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication of multinational corporations (MNCs) and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the petroleum industry operating in a defined geographic region. We analyzed the CSR reports of 33 petroleum refining companies (13 MNCs, 20 SMEs) to identify which CSR practices and people are institutionalized within the petroleum refining industrial field’s CSR communication and the differences of CSR communication between MNCs and SMEs. We found that CSR associated with environmental, health and safety, and philanthropy practices that benefit employees and communities were institutionalized across the field. However, MNCs and SMEs differed on the primacy given to particular practices and people. In addition, a small set of unique CSR practices and people were identified within each sector. We describe the implications of this research for CSR communication, institutional theory, and business sector research.