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TIM KITCHIN is founder of The Brand-Learning Co., a consultancy which specialises in improving the knowledge interface between organisational processes and fast-changing market environments. He advises both commercial and non-governmental organisations on the practicalities of developing and sustaining mutual learning relationships with all their stakeholders. In his early career, Tim held senior management positions within a number of the most prestigious public relations firms, including Ogilvy PR, where he was Director of Consulting. He is a co-author of ‘Managing Corporate Reputations’, published by Kogan Page in 2001.

Abstract Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has only recently risen to prominence as a serious discipline, and its future remains desperately uncertain. Too narrow in its aims to engage management attention, too broad and unquantifiable to be taken seriously by the financial community, and just woolly enough to be exploited by charlatans and opportunists. In this chaotic state, CSR’s heyday may yet prove to be exceedingly brief. Yet, is not the notion of a financially motivated organisation being responsible to all its dependent communities rather a powerful and enduring thought — if rather an obvious one? This paper will argue that CSR will only take hold if the language of CSR itself can be fine tuned to permit collaboration and clarity between companies and their beneficiary communities. To that end, this paper proposes a fresh taxonomy of CSR, which should help to create greater rationality and, in turn, lend greater credibility to CSR activities — both within companies and among their communities. It is undeniable that companies have responsibilities towards the communities that surround them. The most pressing need now is to start delineating the context and nature of those responsibilities, and to be able to align them more closely to each business’s core purpose. Achieving this clarity will require a recognition that responsibilities are primarily a function of relationships and, therefore, a function of brand. It is brands that mediate the promises of the organisation, and brands that contextualise relationships. If CSR is to have meaning it is brands that must learn to change. True CSR is ultimately a process of business and brand adaptation. With greater honesty about the aims and limitations of CSR, the corporate perception of CSR as extrinsic image management may yet be successfully shifted to CSR as an intrinsic brand-centric process of sustainability.

INTRODUCTION

Tim Kitchin 3 Oakdale Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 8DS, UK Tel: ⫹44 (0)1892 541 590 E-mail: [email protected]

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It is true — CSR is a confusing thing. One moment it seems to mean the engagement of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the next it is all about charitable donations, and five minutes later it seems to mean the ethical treatment of employees. One minute the NGOs are calling the shots,

the next the accountants are in on the act selling ‘reputation assurance’. The author believes that th