Organizational History and CSR Communication

The intersections of organizational history and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are important research areas that have received scant attention within organizational communication scholarship. This chapter focuses on the linkages between CSR communication and organizational histories. The literature review identifies two lines of research: (a) functionalist approaches that emphasize the communication of organizational history as a strategic resource for CSR and crisis communication, and (b) constructivist approaches that center organizational histories as contested narratives and responsibilities. It proceeds by identifying three core tensions that arise from the duality of corporate history as a strategic resource on the one hand and a responsibility on the other hand; namely, remembering and forgetting positive versus negative corporate histories, ontological questions about the boundaries and control of corporate histories, and the positioning of negative corporate histories as threats to the organization versus a matter of reconciliation. Finally, the chapter embraces these tensions as a fruitful base to discuss future directions and challenges for research at the intersections of corporate history and CSR communication.