Tensional Dynamics in Discussions of Social Responsibility: Voice Mobilization, Concern Negotiation, and Organizational Boundaries Co-creation

Emergent studies embracing arguments from the constitutive approach to communication view (corporate) social responsibility, (C)SR, as a dynamic and polyphonic phenomenon. However, so far scant analyses grounded in data have explored how the many voices of (C)SR unfold and are dealt with by organizations in (C)SR action planning. Mobilizing a ventriloquial perspective on communication to conceptualize the idea of “voice" and uncover what and how voices participate in (C)SR interactions, this chapter examines the intervention of multiple voices in everyday negotiations of (C)SR and looks at how discussing (C)SR affects the creation, negotiation, and redefinition of organizational boundaries. The analysis of excerpts from conversations between representatives of a co-operative network illustrates how the various voices that partake in the making of (C)SR may activate tensional dynamics that require debate, compromise, and search for balance between divergent standpoints and demands. The chapter highlights how (C)SR practitioners constantly navigate between calls to respond to manifold concerns and responsibilities and the need to implement a coherent, clear-cut (C)SR image. It also stresses that the unfolding of intersecting interests and preoccupations may generate theme-centred confrontations, which, converging at times as dichotomous vocal oppositions, contribute to the (re)negotiation of organizational boundaries.