The role of media in corporate social responsibility for sustainable development

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perception of young people in Hong Kong on the role of media in corporate social responsibility (CSR). After reviewing relevant literature, a survey has been used to collect data from 2010 to 2013 with 147 questionnaires collected via an international non-governmental organization (NGO) in Hong Kong. Ninety-nine point three percent (99.3%) respondents agreed that CSR is important. The regression analysis result reflects that the media needs to be responsible to the community and they are complementary to three dimensions of ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on social responsibility — community involvement, consumer issues, and corporate governance. The survey results support the qualitative interview results of a selected media organization in Hong Kong. Accountable performance of the media industry relies on a professional manner, news from different perspectives, and having no interferences from powers. This is managerially relevant to the media industry as the results echo the findings of Chu and Chen (2019) that consumers’ CSR-related activities in social media significantly enhance identification with the brand and positive brand attitude. However, more questionnaires from local and overseas media organizations are required to derive a holistic view of factors for responsible media-related organizations.