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BAMMC Thesis

Monika Peteva Gergova 287838

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Author: Monika Peteva Gergova – 287838

Supervisor: Irene Quist Mortensen

Characters: 51,248 (no spaces)

Date: May 5th

2011

BA in Marketing and Management Communication

Aarhus School of Business

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Summary

Title: Corporate Social Responsibility - A discussion of the CSR concept and CSR communication.

With analytical focus on The Coca-Cola Company

Author: Monika Peteva Gergova

Aarhus School of Business, May 2011

The purpose of this thesis is to discuss relevant CSR theories and strategies and to investigate how

companies could successfully communicate their CSR engagements to the stakeholders. To illustrate the

presented discussions, the thesis also includes an analysis of The Coca-Cola Company‟s corporate

website and 2009/2010 Sustainability Report as an illustrative case study.

The first part of the thesis presents a discussion of the CSR concept and includes a brief description of

the evolution of CSR through the years. Carroll‟s CSR Pyramid and Elkington‟s Triple Bottom Line are

discussed with the main purpose of clarifying that today organizations have other responsibilities than

just the financial responsibilities to the shareholders. The thesis also presents Dahlsrud‟s investigation of

the similarities between the different CSR definitions and the five dimensions identified by him are later

used in the analytical part of the thesis.

Additionally, the thesis includes an elaboration on three CSR communication strategies that companies

could incorporate and clarifies which strategy is beneficial for both the company and the stakeholders.

In the analytical part there is a discussion of which strategy is The Coca-Cola Company applying and

how.

The main focus of the thesis is CSR communication; therefore it also presents and discusses two of the

most widespread CSR communication vehicles that companies are using today. However, successful

communication depends not only on the communication vehicles but also on the different persuasive

tools that are used. For this reason, the thesis includes an elaboration on Aristotle‟s three appeals: ethos

pathos and logos. Afterwards The Coca-Company‟s communication efforts are analyzed based on the

choice of communication vehicles and persuasive tools.

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Contents Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 2

1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 5

1.1 Motivation .................................................................................................................................... 6

1.1 Problem Statement ....................................................................................................................... 6

1.2 Structure ....................................................................................................................................... 6

1.3 Delimitation .................................................................................................................................. 7

2. Theory and Method ........................................................................................................................... 8

2.1 Scientific Approach ...................................................................................................................... 8

2.2 Method ......................................................................................................................................... 9

2.3 Delimitation .................................................................................................................................. 9

3. Corporate Social Responsibility ....................................................................................................... 9

3.1 The CSR History ........................................................................................................................ 10

3.2 Defining CSR ............................................................................................................................. 11

3.2.1 Carroll‟s CSR Pyramid ....................................................................................................... 11

3.2.2 Triple Bottom Line ............................................................................................................. 13

3.3 Preliminary Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 14

4. Communicating CSR ....................................................................................................................... 14

4.1 Communication Vehicles ................................................................................................................ 15

4.1.1 Non-financial reports ................................................................................................................ 15

4.1.2 Corporate Website .................................................................................................................... 15

4.2 Stakeholder Communication ........................................................................................................... 16

4.2.1 Stakeholder Information Strategy ............................................................................................. 17

4.2.2 Stakeholder Response Strategy ................................................................................................ 17

4.2.3 Stakeholder Response Strategy ................................................................................................ 18

4.3 Preliminary Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 18

5. Persuasion......................................................................................................................................... 19

5.1 Rhetorical Proof .............................................................................................................................. 19

5.1.1 Ethos ................................................................................................................................... 19

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5.1.2 Pathos .................................................................................................................................. 20

5.1.3 Logos................................................................................................................................... 20


6. The Coca-Cola Company ................................................................................................................ 21

6.1 History of The Coca-Cola Company .......................................................................................... 21

6.2 The Coca-Cola Company‟s CSR................................................................................................ 22

6.3 The Coca-Cola Company‟s communication .............................................................................. 24


7. Rhetorical analysis of the selected materials from The Coca-Cola Company ........................... 26

7.1 Ethos ........................................................................................................................................... 26

7.2 Pathos ......................................................................................................................................... 27

7.3 Logos .......................................................................................................................................... 28


8. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 29

9. References ......................................................................................................................................... 30

10. Appendices ........................................................................................................................................ 33

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1. Introduction

One of the criteria for successful business is to take the customer‟s desires and needs into account. In

previous years, the success of a product depended mostly on its tangible characteristics, such as the

quality and the design of the product and its price. Today, factors like corporate social responsibility

(CSR) strongly affect the consumer‟s decision making process. The expectations of the society are

drastically changing and the public in general demands for ethical behavior in businesses (Virginia Acha

and Leo Martin, 2005). Consequently, company‟s reputation and success are influenced by their CSR

engagements and activities.

Even with the variety of literature concerning CSR, the concept of it is very broad and complex and is

continuously evolving (Sweeney, Lorraine and Coughlan, Joseph, 2008). According to Carroll (1999),

CSR and the other terms related to it, namely, Corporate Citizenship, Business Ethics and Sustainability

are practices that are used by organizations in order to manage their relationships with the key

stakeholders (Carroll, 1999). This is only one example of how CSR is defined, but there is a common

understanding that companies have different responsibilities towards the society and the environment in

general (Podnar, 2008).

However, engaging in CSR is not merely enough. The company‟s stakeholders and the society in

general expect to be informed about those engagements. Therefore, in recent years, it has become a

common practice for companies to provide the stakeholders with corporate literature in order to inform

them about the company‟s CSR efforts and initiatives.

There are many different ways in which a company can successfully communicate its CSR activities.

Most of the companies use their company‟s website as a tool to communicate the CSR engagements and

other companies even provide the stakeholders with a separate CSR annual report. This thesis will focus

on analyzing the communication efforts of The Coca-Cola Company and how the company is using their

corporate website and their annual sustainability report to communicate their CSR engagements to their

stakeholders.

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1.1 Motivation

The Coca-Cola Company is the world‟s leading beverage company and it engages in numerous CSR

activities. In 2010 the company‟s CEO, Muhtar Kent was named “Responsible CEO of the Year” by the

Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine, the company also has rewards for innovation and diversity

and in the beginning of 2011 it was ranked number six in FORTUNE‟s List of World‟s Most Admired

Companies (see App. 9).

In addition, the company‟s website includes a separate section with relevant information on the different

CSR activities and goals and since 2007, the company is providing its stakeholders with an annual

sustainability report which includes detailed information on what they have accomplished during the last

year; and elaboration on their extensive involvement in CSR activities. Consequently, it is motivating to

analyze how a leading company as The Coca-Cola Company understands CSR and what communication

strategies it applies.

1.1 Problem Statement

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate relevant CSR theories and strategies and to discuss the

importance of CSR communication. The selected theories will be used to analyze the communication

efforts of The Coca-Cola Company and to investigate how the company is communicating their CSR

initiatives through the company‟s website and the annual sustainability report.

1.2 Structure

This thesis is divided into seven chapters and each of them is divided into subcategories.

The first two chapters of the thesis include the introduction, the problem statement and the theory and

method part of the thesis. It also provides the structure, which gives an overview of the different sections

of the thesis.

The third chapter of the thesis will discuss the concept of CSR. First, there will be a brief introduction to

the history of CSR in order to understand if it is a new phenomenon or there are examples from the

distant past and how the concept matured over the years. Second, it will provide a brief discussion on the

CSR definitions and how they differ. Third, Archie B. Carroll‟s CSR Pyramid and John Elkington‟s

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concept of the Triple Bottom Line will be discussed in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the

numerous responsibilities that the organizations have along with their responsibility for financial gain.

The fourth chapter is devoted to CSR communication. More specifically, it will center on the

communication vehicles that companies are using today. This chapter will also provide a discussion of

Mette Morsing and Majken Schultz‟s three CSR communication strategies, which will help to define

how The Coca-Cola Company communicates its CSR initiatives to their stakeholders.

In the following chapter, named Persuasion the focus will be on Aristotle‟s rhetorical proofs: ethos,

pathos and logos which combined correctly could enhance the sender‟s credibility and trustworthiness.

The sixth chapter is devoted to The Coca-Cola Company. It will include a brief introduction to the

company and its CSR activities. The chapter will also reflect on the company‟s communication

strategies based on the discussion in chapter three.

The seventh chapter will analyze selected materials from The Coca-Cola Company‟s 2009/2010

Sustainability Review. This chapter is focused on the company‟s efforts to communicate their CSR

activities. The chosen materials will be analyzed based on the rhetorical proofs discussed in chapter

four.

The last chapter will conclude the thesis. The conclusion will include a summary of the main discussions

and findings and will answer the question if the communication efforts of The Coca-Cola Companies are

successful or not.

1.3 Delimitation

Since the field of CSR is very broad and has been investigated for decades from different angles, this

thesis will only have a limited overview of the concept of CSR and the CSR communication strategies,

which will lead to the delimitation of others.

As the focus of this thesis is The Coca-Cola Company and their use of the corporate website and non-

financial reports to communicate their CSR activities, this thesis will not investigate the use of other

communication channels.

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Furthermore, I recognize the fact, that culture has a major role in communicating CSR, more precisely in

the way CSR is perceived by the stakeholders and the way in which multinational organizations adapt

their messages. However, because of the limited space I will not include a discussion on this topic, even

though the analysis is focused on the international website of the company and their English version of

the annual report.

Finally, there are various CSR activities that The Coca-Cola Company is engaging in, but in this thesis

there will not be elaboration on all of them since the report focuses on the communication process.

However, some examples will be given with the main purpose of understanding what the company‟s

perception of CSR is.

2. Theory and Method

2.1 Scientific Approach

The focus of this thesis is on analyzing and understanding the concept of CSR and CSR communication

and how The Coca-Cola Company is communicating its CSR activities through their corporate website

and through their annual sustainability report. Consequently, this thesis is based on hermeneutics, a

humanistic approach, which main concerns are the agendas of meaning and purpose (Sherratt, 2005).

Analyzing the corporate website of The Coca-Cola Company and their annual sustainability report, this

thesis will seek to reveal the meaning and gain an in-depth understanding of the texts provided.

According to Gadamer (1975) people cannot objectively interpret a text, since people‟s mind is not

tabula rasa and the meaning they derive is based on their personal background and prejudices. Similarly

to Gadamer, Palmer argues that: “Understanding is a basically referential operation; we understand

something by comparing it to something we already know” (Palmer, 1969).

Palmer (1969) also reflects on the concept that understanding a text can be done by the means of the

hermeneutic circle. The hermeneutic circle suggests that there is a strong relation between the single

parts of a text and the text as a whole. It refers to the idea that with this continuous interpretation of the

individual parts and the whole, the interpreter will gain an in-depth and full understanding of the

meaning of the text. Therefore, this thesis includes parts from different areas of the CSR theoretical

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field. Discussing the concept of CSR and the CSR communication strategies individually, and then

relating them to the chosen materials from The Coca-Cola Company and analyzing those as a whole will

lead to comprehensive understanding of both the theories and The Coca-Cola Company‟s texts which

will result in the fulfillment of the purpose of this thesis.

2.2 Method

In order to examine how a company can communicate its CSR activities this thesis will take a

qualitative rather than quantitative approach. The main goal is to answer the problem statement, which

will be done by analyzing different CSR theories and using The Coca-Cola Company as an illustrative

case study. For the analysis of The Coca-Cola Company‟s communication efforts, I have chosen to

focus on separate pages from their corporate website and their annual sustainability report. The analysis

is entirely based on the theories and strategies discussed in the previous chapters of the thesis.

2.3 Delimitation

As mentioned previously, the hermeneutic approach is mainly concerned with interpretation of texts and

the interpretation process is a “referential operation” (Palmer, 1969). Therefore, the conclusions

presented afterwards will be influenced by the paradigm in which I, as the interpreter, understand the

texts. I acknowledge the fact that it is possible for the conclusions to be different if the analysis was

made by another person within a different paradigm.

Additionally, the analysis of The Coca-Cola Company‟s communication efforts is based on the chosen

pages from the corporate website and the annual sustainability report. For that reason, it is possible that

if other pages were included, the conclusions might be different.

3. Corporate Social Responsibility

In the last decades, CSR has been a regular topic of discussion as well as the other terms related to it,

such as Corporate Citizenship, Business Ethics and Sustainability. As a result, the stakeholders, being

consumers, governments, employees or even investors have become even more interested in the way

companies are doing their businesses. People have come to the point where they rank companies based

on their CSR performance, and not being socially responsible may lead to bad publicity and

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consequently to harming the company‟s reputation. According to Du et al. (2010) the stakeholders of a

company “are increasingly likely to take actions to reward good corporate citizens and punish bad

ones.” (Du et al., 2010).

Therefore, this part of the thesis will discuss the concept of CSR and will briefly investigate the

evolution of it through the years. Then, it will include a discussion of Archie B. Carroll‟s CSR Pyramid

and John Elkington‟s concept of the Triple Bottom Line in order to gain an in-depth understanding of

the different responsibilities that an organization may have, except for making profits.

3.1 The CSR History

Even though the concept of CSR has been a hot topic in the past few years, CSR is not a new

phenomenon. Researches show that the history of CSR is as old as the business itself (BRASS Centre,

2007). There is evidence of CSR activities even 5000 years ago. One example is Ancient Mesopotamia,

around 1700 BC, where King Hammurabi introduced a code, in which people were to be punished if

they even unconsciously caused inconvenience to other local citizens (BRASS Centre, 2007).

There are other examples of CSR activities before the twentieth century but it could be argued that the

twentieth century is the modern era of CSR. However, the 50s are considered to be the earliest years

when the first CSR definitions were formulated.

Later, in the 1960s and 1970s, the definitions expanded and the first CSR models emerged (Kakabadse,

2005). In the 1970s Milton Friedman (1973) introduced his profit-maximization theory and Archie B.

Carroll (1979) presented his CSR definition, which includes the legal, ethical and discretionary

responsibilities of an organization.

In the 1980s the main focus was on Corporate Social Performance research and on stakeholder

management models (Kakabadse, 2005). Consequently, Edward R. Freeman (1984) introduced his

theory regarding the internal and external stakeholders of an organization.

It was in the 1990s when CSR matured and evolved into a leading practice among organizations, build

on achievement indicators and social, environmental and economic sustainability practices (Crawford,

2005).

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3.2 Defining CSR

As stated above, there is still no strict definition of the concept of CSR. For decades, theorists and even

businesspeople have tried to develop a clear definition, but this has resulted in abundance of definitions.

Therefore, Dahlsrud (2008) has tried not to present a new definition, but to compare and study the

similarities and differences in between the already available definitions. In his study, Dahlsrud

categorizes the different definitions into five dimensions - environmental, social, economic, stakeholder

and voluntariness dimension and is using a frequency count to investigate how regular those dimensions

were referred to (Dahlsrud, 2008). One of the definitions that include all five dimensions is Van

Marrewijk‟s definition from 2001. According to him, “in general, corporate sustainability and CSR

refer to company activities – voluntary by definition – demonstrating the inclusion of social and

environmental concerns in business operations and in interactions with stakeholders” (Van Marrewijk,

2003). It is important to mention that if a company is relying on a definition that includes all five

dimensions, then it will have even more responsibilities to deal with.

In order to further clarify the concept of CSR, this thesis will include an elaboration onCarroll‟s CSR

Pyramid and Elkington‟s Triple Bottom Line.

3.2.1 Carroll’s CSR Pyramid

For years it was considered that the core responsibility of a company is to provide its shareholders with

financial returns. However, times have changed and in 1979, Carroll argued that organizations have

other types of obligations towards the society. Carroll‟s definition of CSR is more than thirty years old,

but it is still one of the most quoted and up to date definitions. According to him “the social

responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that

society has of organizations at a given point in time” (Carroll, 1979). The essential part of his definition

of CSR is that an organization has four major responsibilities: to be profitable, to obey the law, to be

ethical and to engage in discretionary activities. In 1991 Carroll created his four-level pyramid of CSR

relying on those four responsibilities and argued that the total CSR of an organization must include all of

them. At the bottom line he positioned the economic responsibilities, since for an organization to be

running successfully it has to have a financial return. On the second level are the legal responsibilities

which in order to be fulfilled companies must “pursue their economic missions within the framework of

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the law” (Carroll, 1991). Placing the economic and legal responsibilities in the bottom of the pyramid

seems without doubt reasonable, since those two are fundamental for a business to survive and be

successful. The ethical responsibilities are placed on the third level of the pyramid and suggest that

organizations must conduct their businesses in fair and appropriate way and must protect the

stakeholder‟s moral rights (Carroll, 1991). The difference between the legal and the ethical

responsibilities is that in the former the norms are written and clearly stated but in order to comply with

the ethical obligations, organizations must rely on the society‟s norms about what is moral or not, even

though those norms are not systemized into laws. The philanthropic responsibilities refer to being a good

corporate citizen and contributing to the welfare of the society and the environment. Carroll (1991)

emphasizes the difference between the philanthropic and the ethical responsibilities, which is that the

former are more voluntary in nature. Therefore an organization should not be seen as an unethical

because it does not engage in philanthropic initiatives. However, today people perceive the upper two

levels of the pyramid as the kernel of CSR and question if the bottom two levels are even part of the

concept. According to Buhmann CSR is voluntarily and is about “doing more than what is required by

law” (Buhmann, 2006). Another example of CSR being perceived as a voluntary practice is the

definition of the Commission of the European Communities (EU Commission) (2001) which states that

“corporate social responsibility is essentially a concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to

contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment” (Matten & Moon, 2005).

In his definition of CSR, which ends with the words “at a given time”, Carroll recognizes the fact that

the expectations of the society are constantly changing and the organizations must adapt their businesses

accordingly. This is a contemporary idea, since taking into consideration the stakeholders‟ demand has

an important role in doing business. In today‟s competitive business world it is fundamental to know

your stakeholders and to have a two-way communication with them.

However, the continuously changing demands from the society can become a problem for the

organizations. Chandler and Werther‟s (2006) reflection on social expectations, that “what is socially

expected of organizations typically migrates from discretionary to ethical to mandatory (legal and

economic)” indicates that philanthropic initiatives that were previously considered as optional for the

organization can easily evolve into regulations because of the public demands and pressure.

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In conclusion, even that Carroll‟s pyramid is more than thirty years old it still exposes the most

widespread perception of the CSR concept. In addition, it is a useful tool for organizations because it

suggests that they must look beyond their own interests and should start focusing on the society and the

environment.

3.2.2 Triple Bottom Line

The term Triple Bottom Line (TBL) was first introduced by the economist John Elkington in 1997.

Similarly to Carroll‟s CSR Pyramid, TBL refers to organizations‟ responsibilities that go beyond their

financial returns. In order to make it easier to understand, Elkington also came up with the 3P

categorization which refers to People, Planet and Profit (Elkington, 1997). In other words, TBL or 3P

includes the social, environmental and economic performance of an organization. Elkington argues that

“Society depends on the economy – and the economy depends on the global ecosystem, whose health

represents the ultimate bottom line” (Elkington, 1997). This means that organization‟s success is

dependent and should be measured not only by the financial returns but by the social and environmental

performance of the business; hence the three bottom lines are interdependent and should be given equal

weight in the economic reporting practices.

There are critics of the TBL concept, like Wayne Norman and Chris MacDonald (2003), who argue that

the TBL model is a “good old-fashioned Single Bottom Line plus Vague Commitments to Social and

Environmental Concerns” (Norman & MacDonald, 2003). According to Norman and MacDonald, the

concept of TBL is misleading; hence organizations can not measure their social and environmental

performances as easy as their financial performance. However, they are not disagreeing with the idea of

conducting businesses in a responsible way, but they disagree with the idea that it is measurable. This

seems reasonable, since when talking about financial performance, money is the measure that people use

to add up the profits and then subtract from them the expenses which then gives the total profit of a

business. Whereas, talking about social and environmental performance, things are different. It is quite

impossible, for example to take violation of human rights and subtract it from the charitable initiatives

that a company has performed. Being a good corporate citizen and dealing with social and

environmental issues can be accomplished in different ways, but there is still no formula on how to

calculate it (Norman & MacDonald, 2003).

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All in all, even that there are many critics of the TBL model, there is a common agreement on the fact

that organizations must look beyond their financial responsibilities to their shareholders and start

focusing on the other responsibilities they have.

3.3 Preliminary Conclusion

Despite the numerous attempts to introduce a clear definition of CSR, there is still confusion of what

CSR is and how exactly to define it (Dahlsrud, 2006). However, there is a common agreement that

organizations have other responsibilities than just the financial responsibilities to the shareholders.

Stakeholders have increasing demands for organizations to behave in responsible way and due to those

increasing demands it is vital for the companies to communicate their CSR activities effectively. In

order to get the message through, companies could rely on various communication vehicles and

strategies, which will be discussed in the next chapter.

4. Communicating CSR

“Implementing CSR isn‟t enough – it‟s vital to communicate those activities to stakeholders”

(Coope, 2004)

Communicating CSR is a whole new challenge for companies since it could either strengthen or break

the relationship with the stakeholders. Each company has its own reasons for engaging in CSR activities

but the communication vehicles and strategies must be cautiously considered. According to Pollach

(2005) “too much communication may be counterproductive” especially when “words do not match

deeds” (Pollach, 2005). For that reason, in order not to misguide the stakeholders and harm the

reputation of the company, companies should thoughtfully choose the communication vehicles and

produce the texts so they can meet the stakeholders‟ expectations and avoid skepticism.

Therefore, in the first part of this chapter I will discuss and elaborate on two different communication

vehicles that a company could use to communicate its CSR engagements. And in the second part, I will

present three CSR communication strategies, developed by Morsing and Schultz (2006), which stress

the importance of engaging the stakeholders in the communication process and having a dialogue with

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them. Afterwards, in the last chapters of the report, I will discuss which vehicles and strategies did The

Coca-Cola Company use.

4.1 Communication Vehicles

CSR is a comprehensive area that various stakeholder groups are interested in. Therefore, it is crucial for

companies to find appropriate communication channels that will help them reach broader audience.

There are numerous and different communication channels that a company could use – TV commercials,

press releases, billboard advertisement etc. However, today most companies are publishing separate

non-financial reports dedicated to CSR and are including a whole new section for CSR in the company‟s

website.

4.1.1 Non-financial reports

Using non-financial reports for reporting the CSR initiatives is a good way to communicate the

organization‟s attitude towards those activities. The separate reports could help to build the corporate

image of the company and to demonstrate the organization‟s commitment to being socially and

environmentally responsible. Furthermore, the company itself is deciding what information to include

and hence it has the control over the content. However, having the control over the content could be a

disadvantage as well. People are becoming more concern about the trustworthiness and credibility of the

reports and might perceive them as another business strategy used to improve the corporate image of the

company. Therefore, according to Du et al. (2009) in order to increase the trustworthiness of the reports,

“a company should adhere to leading reporting standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative and

AccountAbility‟s reporting standard AA100”. Using third-party evidence to back up the information in

the reports will increase the reliability of the message and will decrease the skeptic reactions.

4.1.2 Corporate Website

Another way to communicate CSR engagements is to report those engagements on the company‟s

website. The previously mentioned non-financial reports are often published in the corporate website of

the company. Using corporate websites gives organizations the opportunity to share unlimited amount of

information to a broader audience. In this case the organization again has the control over the content

and decides what and where to include, but if the website is very complicated the reader might get lost in

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the flow of information. For this reason, the websites should be organized in a more readable way and as

Pollach (2005) suggests, companies should try to somehow guide the readers through the website and to

lure them into the sections that include and describe the CSR activities of the company.

In addition, Newsom and Haynes (2008) argue that there are several requirements that must be fulfilled

in order to communicate efficiently through a website (Newsom and Haynes, 2008). One of the

important things is to know about the reading behavior of the visitors. According to Newsom and

Haynes only 10 percent of the readers actually read everything (Newsom and Haynes, 2008). Therefore,

the information provided should be organized in small chunk boxes in order to make it easier for the

readers to find the information needed. The design of the website is also of great importance, since it

represents the company. Having a website that is not well structured and overloaded with information

could be irritating for the readers and in the worst case it could ruin the positive image of the company.

Furthermore, if the website is properly developed it could provide the audience with the opportunity to

share comments and be a part of a dialogue that could help the organization to better understand

people‟s needs and concerns.

4.2 Stakeholder Communication

Morsing and Schultz (2006) have developed their three CSR communication strategies based on Grunig

and Hunt‟s communication model but applied them into CSR context. The three strategies: the

Stakeholder Information Strategy, the Stakeholder Response Strategy and the Stakeholder Involvement

Strategy will be discussed below. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the three strategies, it is

important to first explore the sensemaking and sensegiving aspects of the strategies. According to Weick

(1995) sensemaking is primarily a social process through which people “make sense of things in

organizations while in conversation with others, while reading communications from others, while

exchanging ideas with others” (Morsing and Schultz, 2006). Simply put when people are presented with

information they interpret it in their own way and create their own meaning of it.

The concept of sensegiving is introduced by Gioia and Chittipeddi in 1991 who suggest that with

sensegiving, corporate management tries “to influence the way another party understands or makes

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sense” (Morsing and Schultz, 2006). This means that the employees‟ way of understanding and making

sense of different information is influenced by the management.

In addition, Morsing and Schultz have added an external focus on sensemaking and sensegiving

processes and in their strategies they involve all stakeholders of an organization, which is opposite to

Gioia and Chittipeddi‟s internal focus on both processes.

4.2.1 Stakeholder Information Strategy

In the Stakeholder Information Strategy, which is similar to Grunig and Hunt‟s public information

model, the communication process is always from the organization to its stakeholders, that is to say one-

way communication (Morsing and Schultz, 2006). The strategy suggests that the stakeholders can

influence the company in two ways. The stakeholders can either influence the company in a positive

way by showing their loyalty and by their purchasing habits, or in a negative way by negative word-of-

mouth and possible strikes against the company. In order to avoid the latter situation the company has to

regularly inform the stakeholders about the organization‟s activities and good intentions. Therefore, this

strategy includes only the sensegiving concept. The organization is providing its stakeholders with

appealing information about the CSR activities they have undertaken as objectively as possible and do

not receive a feedback from the stakeholders.

4.2.2 Stakeholder Response Strategy

The Stakeholder Response Strategy is considered to be a two-way communication strategy in which

communications flows from the organization to the stakeholders and vice versa. In contrast with the

Stakeholder Information Strategy, the Stakeholder Response Strategy gives the stakeholders an

opportunity to give feedback to the company. Therefore this strategy incorporates both sensemaking and

sensegiving. After communicating their CSR activities to the stakeholders, the organization is preparing

opinion polls and market surveys in order to understand how the stakeholders have interpreted the

communication materials. However, the feedback that is received is not used to change the

organization‟s actions, but rather to understand how to improve the communication materials in order to

make them more appealing to the stakeholders. If the results from the feedback are not satisfying then

the company is using the feedback to find a way to change the public‟s attitudes and behavior (Morsing

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and Schultz, 2006). This is why Morsing and Schultz (2006) stress out that the Stakeholder Response

Strategy is for the most part a one-sided approach. According to them “the company has the sole

intention of convincing its stakeholders of its attractiveness” (Morsing and Schultz, 2006).

4.2.3 Stakeholder Response Strategy

The last strategy, introduced by Morsing and Schultz, is the Stakeholder Involvement Strategy, which is

also a two-way communication between the organization and its stakeholders. This strategy is similar to

the Stakeholder Response Strategy in a way that it also suggests that the stakeholders can influence the

company in either positive or negative way. However, in contrast, the Stakeholder Involvement Strategy

emphasizes that the company should frequently engage in a dialogue with its stakeholders so both sides

can benefit (Morsing and Schultz, 2006). Furthermore, this strategy recognizes the importance of having

a strong relationship with the stakeholders. Having a dialogue with the organization‟s stakeholders will

help to better understand their expectations. According to Morsing and Schultz (2006) “ideally, the

company as well as its stakeholders will change as a result of engaging in a symmetric communication

model, i.e. progressive iterations of sensemaking and sensegiving processes” (Morsing and Schultz,

2006). Simply put, it is not enough only to communicate the company‟s CSR engagements and then

receive feedback. The best thing to do is to engage the stakeholders in a continuous dialogue where both

sides are willing to make changes.


In order to communicate effectively their CSR activities, organizations must appropriately choose their

communication vehicles and their communication strategy. Involving the stakeholders is an important

part of the communication process. It is fundamental for organizations to know what their stakeholders

are expecting. Therefore informing the stakeholders and taking their feedback seriously is the key to

successful communication. Organizations should adapt their CSR efforts accordingly to the stakeholder

demands in order to reach a win-win situation. Part of the successful communication is choosing the

right communication vehicles. As discussed in the chapter, two of the most widespread vehicles for

communication CSR are the corporate website and the separate non-financial report. Regardless the

communication vehicles, there are different means of persuasion that organizations use, in order to make

the message more credible and trustworthy.

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5. Persuasion

In order to get a positive return from the stakeholders, organizations must communicate their CSR

activities successfully. It is not only about the channel that is used or the communication strategy. What

is essential is the message itself. Therefore, in this chapter I have chosen to focus on the means of

persuasion, more specifically on Aristotle‟s concepts ethos, pathos and logos. The discussion of those

rhetorical proofs will be later used in order to analyze The Coca-Cola Company‟s communication of

CSR.

5.1 Rhetorical Proof

In his book “Rhetoric”, Aristotle divided the means of persuasion in three categories: ethos, pathos and

logos, which are also known as rhetorical proof. Aristotle‟s main focus is on public speaking but the

theories presented could also be applied to written communication. Even though that Aristotle wrote his

book more than 2,300 years ago his three concepts remain relevant and have proven to be a useful guide

into creating persuasive messages.

5.1.1 Ethos

The first of Aristotle‟s three appeals is ethos. According to him, ethos refers to the credibility and the

trustworthiness of the author of the message (Aristotle c.350 BC, „Rhetoric‟). Ethos is considered to be

an effective persuasive strategy, because it suggests that if we trust the sender of the message or we

believe that he has the same values and beliefs as we do, than we are more likely to listen/read his

message. Aristotle argues that the author can establish credibility by demonstrating three main

characteristics – intelligence, virtue and goodwill (Aristotle c.350 BC, „Rhetoric‟). Intelligence could be

established by demonstrating knowledge of the question at hand. It is important for the audience to

know that the author of the message has deep understanding of the subject and is also familiar with the

other viewpoints.

The other two characteristics that will help the author to build trustworthiness are virtue and goodwill.

Both could be established by authors when sharing their personal values and beliefs in advance (Kies

Daniel, 2010). The audience will feel more comfortable and will be more open to ideas from a person

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that matches their own beliefs and values. In order to gain the audience‟s respect, the author has to be

sincere and must show that he/she has the audience‟s interests at heart.

5.1.2 Pathos

The second appeal is pathos and when using it, the author of a message is trying to persuade the

audience by appealing to their emotions (Aristotle c. 350 BC, „Rhetoric‟). Messages that are appealing

to pathos will often be built upon descriptive and vivid language; it is common to use metaphors and

even storytelling. According to Jørgensen (1999) pathos differentiates from ethos in the fact that pathos

appeals to spontaneous emotions, whereas ethos appeals to the long-term credibility. Relying on pathos

is very delicate, since the reaction of the audience could not be predicted and it also could be seen as

unethical to rely only on emotional appeals without any rational arguments. For example, according to

Gass and Seiter (2007), relying on emotional appeals could result in psychological distress in some of

the receivers; and could be perceived as external stimulus for action in others. Therefore, using pathos,

especially in business context should be balanced. Combining pathos with ethos is an effective strategy

because it will strengthen the credibility and the message will be seen as more trustworthy.

5.1.3 Logos

The last of Aristotle‟s three appeals is logos. According to Covino and Jolliffe (1995) when using logos

the author is trying to persuade the audience through the power of reasoning. In order to be more

persuasive, the author will provide the audience with logical arguments, statistics and data. In this way

the information provided will be seen as reliable and objective. However, using too much logos could

result in negative response from the audience, more specifically, it could be perceived that the author is

leaving some information behind or is hiding behind the data and the text itself will be tedious and

difficult to understand. Covino and Jolliffe (1995) clarify that logos meant “thought plus action” and

not just the reasoning itself (Covino and Jolliffe, 1995). According to them “thought” are the ideas in

the message, and “action” is the way in which those ideas are presented (Covino and Jolliffe, 1995).

Therefore, it is also important the technique that is used to present the message. The evidences and the

statistics used in the text must be accurate and verified; and the message should be delivered accordingly

to the audience‟s level of intelligence.

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Even though that the three appeals are presented separately, it is important to point out that they are also

interrelated. For a message to be persuasive and to evoke action in the audience, the three appeals should

be balanced and combined correctly. Later on in the thesis I will use the discussion of ethos, pathos and

logos in order to analyze how The Coca-Cola Company is using Aristotle‟s appeals in their texts when

communicating the CSR activities through their annual sustainability report.

6. The Coca-Cola Company

In this chapter I will focus on The Coca-Cola Company. In the first part of the chapter, I will present in

brief the history of the company, based on their 125 Years of Sharing Happiness booklet, which is

included as Appendix 1.

In the second part I will briefly introduce some of the CSR initiatives that the company is engaging in.

For this purpose, I will analyze selected pages from the corporate website and the 2009/1010

Sustainability Review and will discuss them accordingly to the CSR concepts discussed previously in

this report. Finally, in the last part of this chapter, I will focus on the communication strategies of the

company. Again, I will focus on selected pages from the corporate website and will discuss them in

order to reveal what CSR communication strategy is the company applying.

The analysis centered on the rhetorical proofs will be based on the 2009/2010 Sustainability Review,

which could be downloaded from the corporate website of the company and is included in this report as

Appendix 6. The remaining texts are from The Coca-Cola Company‟s corporate website (www.thecoca-

colacompany.com Appendix 8) and from the “Sustainability” heading, respectively the main

“Sustainability” page (Appendix 2), “Live Positively News” (Appendix 3) ”Reporting and Policies”

(Appendix 4), “Water Stewardship” (Appendix 5), “Stakeholders” (Appendix 7) and from the Press

Center heading “Awards and Recognition” (Appendix 9).

6.1 History of The Coca-Cola Company

Today The Coca-Cola Company is a global business that operates in more than 200 countries and

markets more than 3500 beverages, but it was in 1886 when the pharmacist John Pemberton stirred up

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/


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the liquid mixture that laid the foundation of the Coca-Cola brand. Unfortunately John Pemberton died

in 1888 without realizing how successful his mixture would become. After his death, Asa Griggs

Candler secured the rights for the Coca-Cola mixture and became the first president of the company. In

the beginning the beverage was served only in glasses from a soda fountain, but after Candler‟s strategic

advertisement in 1894, the demand for the beverage grew and Coca-Cola was finally put into bottles.

Because of the huge success of the new drink, in 1916 a new recognizable bottle was introduced so it

could be differentiated from the competition.

In 1914 Candler made a donation of $1 million to Atlanta‟s University and thus began the Company‟s

heritage of supporting local communities. In 1917 the company also established a strong relationship

with the Red Cross as the World War I began.

Despite the huge success of the company, Asa Candler resigned and became the mayor of Atlanta. He

sold the company to Ernerst Woodruff and in 1923 hi son, Robert Woodruff became the company‟s

president. He had a major impact on the company, since he was the one that led the expansion of the

company overseas.

In 1981, Robert C. Gouizeta became the chairman of The Board of Directors and CEO of The Coca-

Company. He introduced a new strategy, that he called “intelligent risk taking”. Gouizeta presented the

new diet Coke and also organized all bottling operations into new public company, Coca-Cola

Enterprises Inc.

Despite the changes that Gouizeta introduced, the company continued its long-standing association with

different athletic events, like the Olympic Games and even started supporting the FIFA World Cup and

other sports organizations. In addition the organization engaged in numerous and different initiatives

like its Project Hope in China for giving four-year grants to nearly 700 students. And it was in 1991

when the company introduced its first recycling bottles.

6.2 The Coca-Cola Company’s CSR

In the 125 Years of Sharing Happiness booklet (see App 1), where the history of the company is

summarized, are given examples of corporate philanthropic initiatives and other CSR engagements since

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1914. From the information provided in the booklet it could be concluded that the company is acting in a

socially responsible way for almost hundred years. Today, The Coca-Cola Company has established a

“systemwide sustainability framework” (App 6, p. 2) called Live Positively which includes seven key

areas within the field of sustainable business. As it can be seen also from Appendix 2, the company is

focusing on beverage benefits, active healthy living, community, energy efficiency and climate

protection, sustainable packaging, water stewardship and the workplace.

With the discussion of CSR in the second chapter it became evident that companies should switch their

focus from the financial responsibilities to the other responsibilities they have. As discussed previously,

Dahlsrud (2006) investigated the differences and similarities among the definitions of CSR and

categorized the definitions into five dimensions: environmental, social, economic, stakeholder and

voluntariness dimension. He also analyzed how many dimensions were included in how many

definitions, and he concluded that there were only eight definitions that incorporated all five dimensions.

Despite the fact that The Coca-Cola Company does not provide its stakeholders with a clear definition of

CSR, it is evident from the company‟s CSR engagements that it is incorporating all five dimensions

described by Dahlsrud. For example, from the environmental dimension, the company is focusing on

water, recycling and carbon emission management. Since the year 2005 the company has more than 320

community water partnerships in more than 80 countries. The goal of The Coca-Cola Company is to

”replenish (balance) the water used in our finished beverages by participating in locally relevant

projects that supports communities and nature” (App. 5). The Coca-Cola Company is also engaging in

different initiatives to improve the quality of life in the communities where the company operates. The

company is providing the local communities with in-kind donations, volunteer service and financial

contributions. In the 2009/2010 Sustainability Review, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the

company, Muhtar Kent, explains that he always linked the success of the company with the strength of

the communities in which the company operates. In addition, the company‟s vision of sustainable

communities includes “stable, growing economies; access to water and energy; strong education

systems; arts and culture; and opportunities for recreation and physical activity” (App 6, p. 17).

Therefore the company and its global philanthropic arm, The Coca-Cola Foundation (which is funded by

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The Coca-Cola Company) work together with local organizations, governments and NGOs and are

supporting various projects that are related to the community needs.

The economic and voluntary dimensions are also incorporated in the CSR activities of The Coca-Cola

Company, since the company is integrating the Live Positively framework within its entire business

operations and all their engagements are on voluntary basis (App 6, p. 3).

As for the stakeholder dimension, which concerns the relationship between the company and its

stakeholders, it could be argued that this dimension is fulfilled as well. The company has implemented

Workplace Rights Policy and Human Rights Statement which concern forced labor, child labor, work

hours, health and safety, discrimination etc. In addition to this, the company provides its employees and

associates with education and training programs to ensure that everybody is familiar with the Code and

is not afraid to report any violations (App 6, p 36-39 and App.7)). The stakeholder dimension also

includes the communication process between the company and its stakeholders, but this topic will be

discussed in the following section.

6.3 The Coca-Cola Company’s communication

The Coca-Cola Company‟s main vehicles of CSR communication are the corporate website

(www.thecoca-colacompany.com) and their annual sustainability report.

The website is well structured and the colors used are in consistence with the Coca-Cola brand.

Furthermore the site looks playful and dynamic but in the same time simple and organized. The

navigation of the website is easy and the information included is divided in different headings, which are

logically structured and enable the different stakeholder groups to find the information without

difficulties.

The company is regularly updating the information and also has devoted a separate part of the website to

provide the stakeholders with the latest CSR news (See app. 3). There is also part of the website that

includes details about the company‟s policies and ensures people that the company is truly concerned

about the society and the environment (See App.4).


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At the main page (see App. 8), right under the More News heading, there is a link Conversations blog

that directly forwards the visitors to the original Coca-Cola blog where everybody can share information

and leave comments for the company to read (See Appendix 8). The Conversation Blog is created with

the main purpose of encouraging stakeholders to engage in dialogue with the company and other

stakeholders as well. The advantage of the blog is that it gives the opportunity to directly connect with

the company, without sending e-mails or search for contact info.

The establishment of this Conversation Blog indicates that The Coca-Cola Company has adopted a

stakeholder involvement strategy in its communication of CSR activities. When discussing Morsing and

Schultz‟s (2006) three CSR communication strategies it became clear that when adopting the

stakeholder involvement strategy the organization is taking its stakeholders seriously and is trying to use

the feedback in order to improve its communication efforts.

The Coca-Cola Company certainly takes its stakeholders seriously and this is also evident from the

2009/2011 Sustainability Review where the company states: “we value an open and honest dialogue

with our stakeholders, and we are continually advancing the information we share with our

stakeholders” (see App. 6, p. 5). From the 2009/2010 Sustainability Review it is also apparent that the

company is using the stakeholder‟s feedback in order to improve its communication efforts: “Since

publishing our most recent Sustainability Review in November 2009, we have received feedback from

internal and external stakeholders on what content should be added to or expanded in this year‟s

report…We have used their feedback to help shape this report, including our level of transparency, and

the variety of topics and issues we address” (see App. 6, p.5).

Another important aspect of the stakeholder involvement strategy is that it incorporates an iterative

sensemaking and sensegiving process (Morsing and Schultz, 2006). Within The Coca-Cola Company

this process also takes place, since the company repeatedly emphasizes that it understands the shifting

demands of the stakeholders. In the Sustainability Review, the company states: “In an effort to meet

consumer‟s evolving needs, we study trends, survey consumers, assess individual markets, share best

practices across the Coca-Cola system, search for new ingredients and package options, and then we

innovate accordingly” (See App. 6, p. 7)

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From the brief history of The Coca-Cola Company it is evident that the company started its CSR

initiatives back in 1914. Since then the company has engaged in numerous different activities and couple

of years ago it created its Live Positively systemwide framework that is incorporated within the entire

company‟s business. The purpose of this framework is to improve the structure and visibility of all

sustainable programs that the company is engaging in; and to provide the stakeholders with relevant

information about those engagements.

7. Rhetorical analysis of the selected materials from The Coca-Cola Company

In this chapter I will focus on how The Coca-Cola Company is using the rhetorical proofs in order to

create a more persuasive message. The examples that I will use are from the 2009/2010 Sustainability

Review (Appendix 6) since it provides more detailed information about the CSR initiatives of the

company. The use of ethos, pathos and logos will be discussed one at a time and in the conclusion part I

will discuss if the company has combined them successfully or not.

7.1 Ethos

When reading the 2009/2010 Sustainability Review it is apparent that the company is relying mostly on

ethos to build the credibility of the message.

The most obvious use of ethos in the text is the personal message from the CEO of the company, Muhtar

Kent (p.3).The title CEO itself creates an association with authority and thus adds more credibility to the

whole message. Additionally, throughout the report, the author is speaking on behalf of the company

and therefore uses the „we‟-form. However, the CEO, Muhtar Kent is adding a personal touch at the end

of his message by saying: “I see maintaining our social license to operate as a responsibility of every

associate in the Coca-Cola system, and it starts with me” (p.3). With this statement Muhtar Kent assures

the reader that he realizes the responsibilities which he has as the CEO of the company and is taking

them seriously. He acknowledges the fact that being CEO is serious and responsible job and stating it

directly makes him more reliable and trustworthy. Furthermore, in the beginning of every chapter in the

report, the company is acknowledging the society‟s personal interests about water preservation, climate

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protection and other essential social challenges. Addressing the audience‟s concerns additionally builds

up the credibility of the company and makes the message more sincere.

In order to establish a good relationship with the audience and make it believe that the company is

reliable, it is important to emphasize the matching values and beliefs. The Coca-Cola Company is

successfully implementing this strategy by constantly stating their priority to make a positive change in

the world by means of more sustainable business practices.

Another example for the use of ethos is the numerous references to the company‟s partners. In the report

the company is elaborating on the relationships with international and well-known organizations like the

World Wildlife Fund (WWF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), The

Danish Institute for Human Rights, Ocean Conservancy, Greenpeace, United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) and others. Due to the provided examples of CSR engagements in collaboration

with organizations like the above mentioned, the company is building up its credibility and

trustworthiness even more. In addition to this, the company has structured the report based on the Global

Reporting Initiative standards, which again adds up to the credibility of the information provided.

All in all, it could be argued that the company is successfully balancing the use of ethos appeals. There

are numerous examples that are interrelated and thus increase the believability of the message and

predispose the audience to accept the company as being honest and reliable.

7.2 Pathos

The pathos appeals are least used in the text of the 2009/2010 Sustainability Review provided by The

Coca-Cola Company. As mentioned in chapter four, using emotional appeals is tricky and could result in

unpredicted negative outcomes. Probably this is the reason why The Coca-Cola Company is keeping the

use of pathos to the minimum.

The first noticeable use of pathos is the design of the report. The colors and images used are dynamic

and playful which softens most people and evokes friendly feelings.

Another example for emotional appeal is the use of the „we‟-form throughout the whole report. This is a

strategic move in order to arouse in the reader a feeling of unity and create an association of a family.

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Moreover the company is referring to the stakeholders as “our stakeholders” and not just

“stakeholders” in general. Using the attributive adjective „our‟ evokes feeling of being part of the

company‟s family.

Additionally, the well-balanced use of formal language and the personal message from the CEO, Muhtar

Kent, are employed in order to establish a closer connection with the audience. This also adds up to the

positive image of the company.

A final example of the use of pathos is the company‟s slogan “Our commitment to making a positive

difference in the world”. With this sentence the company leaves the impression of being benevolent and

truly wants to make a positive change in the world. Furthermore the use of the verb “make” in present

continuous tense shows that the company is indeed committed to act responsibly and engage in

sustainable business practices.

7.3 Logos

The use of logos appeals is also evident in the 2009/2010 Sustainability Review. In the report there is a

chapter named Goals and Performance Highlights which is entirely based on logos.

However, there are examples of logos throughout the whole report. The main reason for that is the fact

that the company is using this annual review to show to its stakeholders the progress made on the main

CSR engagements. In addition, in the report there is specific information about the financial investments

of the company, which is another example of being a responsible company.

The statement “the health of our business is dependent upon the health of the people, communities and

ecosystems where we operate” also is based on logos (p.29). With this sentence the logical relationship

between the company‟s success and the stakeholders and environment is revealed. Acknowledging the

fact that the company is dependent on the people and the environment gives a logical reason for the

engagement in CSR activities and thus makes the message more believable and reliable.

Overall, the use of logos is further strengthening the credibility of the company. Including statistical data

and logical arguments in the texts is helping to prove the sincerity of the message as well as persuade the

reader to believe that The Coca-Cola Company is a responsible company.

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Taking into consideration all examples of ethos, pathos and logos, and keeping in mind that there are

many others, it could be argued that the company is successfully combining the three appeals. The Coca-

Cola Company is a multinational company and is also well-respected, but through the use of ethos it

strengthens even more its credibility and trustworthiness. There are only few examples of pathos

appeal, which is considered to be a good thing, and it is mainly used to create positive connotations with

the company. The logos appeal is also evident from the text and it is used in order to prove the intentions

of the company and to reinforce the ethos and pathos appeals. The combination of the three rhetorical

proofs has helped the company to create a well structured and convincing text. The report provides the

reader with relevant information about its CSR engagements, it is easy to read and very explanatory.

8. Conclusion

The Coca-Cola Company has been in the beverage business for 125 years and is operating in more than

200 countries. The company is the world‟s leading beverage company and as such it is one of the most

powerful companies that are known worldwide.

The main purpose of this thesis was to understand the CSR concept and CSR communication and to

determine how a leading company as The Coca-Cola Company is communicating its CSR engagements

through the corporate website and the annual sustainability report. In order to do that, I have discussed

different CSR concepts, communication strategies and persuasive tools.

Carroll‟s CSR Pyramid and Elkington‟s Triple Bottom Line were discussed with the main purpose of

understanding the different responsibilities that companies have today. In the analysis of The Coca-Cola

Company‟s CSR I have also discussed Dahlsrud‟s five dimensions of CSR. It was evident from the Live

Positively framework that the company has wide variety of examples from each dimension which

reveals the company‟s determination of acting in a responsible way.

In order to understand what communication strategy the company is applying, I have included a

discussion of Morsing and Schultz‟s three CSR strategies. From the analysis of The Coca-Cola

Company it became clear that the company is incorporating a Stakeholder Involvement Strategy, which

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is considered to be the most successful from all three. The company is using its corporate website and a

separate sustainability report to provide its stakeholders with relevant information about its CSR

initiatives. Through those two communication vehicles The Coca-Cola Company is trying to involve its

stakeholders in a dialogue and is constantly adapting its CSR communication efforts so they can meet

the stakeholders‟ expectations.

With the intention of communicating successfully its CSR engagements, the company is also making

use of Aristotle‟s three appeals: ethos, pathos and logos. The Coca-Cola Company is successfully

balancing the three rhetorical proofs and hence the message is more persuasive and reliable.

It is important to notice that the outcome of the analysis is dependent on the theories that are applied.

The Coca-Cola Company is almost certainly implementing other communication strategies in order to

improve their communication process. Even based only on the theories included in this report, it could

be concluded that their communication efforts are well organized and seem reliable.

Taking everything into account, it could be concluded that the best strategy to successful communication

of CSR is to understand the CSR concept and to apply the most appropriate communication strategy. It

is also important to correctly combine the rhetorical appeals in order to make the message more reliable.

Generally, The Coca-Cola Company is being very professional in the communication of its CSR

engagements. Both the website and the 2009/2010 Sustainability Review are providing the stakeholders

with relevant information and the designs are consistent with the company‟s image. The company is also

engaging its stakeholders in a dialogue and is continuously trying to improve its communication efforts.

The stakeholders‟ expectations and needs are taken seriously and this is another reason for the overall

success of the company‟s communication. By successfully balancing the rhetorical proofs in the

company‟s 2009/2010 Sustainability Review The Coca-Cola Company is once again indicating its

professionalism and longstanding experience.

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10. Appendices




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