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Abstract
As multinational corporations expand and their power in the international system grows, they increasingly face consumer expectations and pressures to expand their corporate social responsibility platforms. This mixed methods research combines a textual analysis, in-depth interviews, and a global experiment to address the complex issue of multinational corporate responsibility communication. Drawing on Representation Theory and Organization-Public Relationship Theory, this research addresses the cross-cultural communication from the corporate message-creation and consumer message-response angles. A textual analysis of corporate sustainability documents from The Coca-Cola Company, UPS, and The Walt Disney Company identified particular brand-related representations and varying levels of stakeholder engagement. Interviews with communicators in The Coca-Cola Company and UPS suggested extensive collaboration within and between multinational corporations on issues of sustainability but a lack of strategic consumer engagement or branding efforts. Finally, an experiment with a global consumer sample found significant differences in expectations of corporate responsibility and response to organization-public relationships based on consumers region of residence, specifically Asia, Latin America, United States and Western Europe.The conclusions speak to the complex process of corporate development and consumer response to sustainability messages and have practical and theoretical implications. Practically, these findings can guide corporate development and targeted messaging to specific global regions. Theoretically, the results expand Representation and Organization-Public Relationship Theories and suggest the development of Corporate Sustainability Relationship Management (CSRM) Theory, a niche theory for organization-public relationships specifically applicable to corporate responsibility or sustainability programs. This perspective evaluates sustainability-based relationships on dimensions of community, exchange relationship, and self-interest.