Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility in the Ghanaian Banking Industry. A Case of Barclays Bank Ghana Limited

Abstract

Business corporations worldwide have been encouraged to behave ethically towards the community, environment and society in which they operate. This ethical behaviour is referred to as corporate social responsibility (CSR). Sethi (1975), indicates that CSR points toward bringing corporate behaviour up to a stance similar to existing societal norms, values, and expectations of performance. The responsibility implied on these business corporations brings to bear on their operations some other dimensions which are worth studying. Included in the dimensions of behaving socially responsible is how businesses communicate it. CSR activities by organisations to an extent provide opportunities for them to partake in public dialogue, define their rights, roles, and responsibilities in society (Bostdorff & Vibbert, 1994). Studying the communication dimension of CSR in the context of businesses in Ghana, this study adopted a qualitative method using Barclays Bank Ghana Limited as a sample case from the population of banks in Ghana. Interviews were used in gathering data, while descriptive narrative approach was used in analysing the data gathered. The study reported that, communication in Barclays Bank Ghana Limited involved transmission of information either through internal or external channels which could take forms of oral or written. It was also observed that, the audience group at any point in time also determined the type of communication tool that the bank employed. Concerning CSR activity frequency and communication means; it was reported that, the bank at all times communicated its CSR activities to the world through means which primarily depended on factors such as location of the activity, size of beneficiaries as well as amount invested in the activity. Recommendations for future studies into the subject area by this study includes; a general comparative case study among several banks in the country. It also recommends an impact analysis of the CSR activity that is being communicated as well as message content analysis of CSR communications by banks within the Ghanaian banking industry.