No 12, Issue 1 
From Corporate Marketing Communications to Public Diplomacy: How Tech Brands Can Contribute to the National Reputation
Itzhak MASHIAH 
Pages: 5-29
Abstract.
This article delves into how factors within the high-tech industry can shape a nation’s image, exploring the intricate dynamics between tech corporate diplomacy and the public diplomacy of the state. It presents a strategic approach for tech companies to fortify their image, with a particular focus on highlighting the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) narratives. It discusses how such initiatives not only have the potential to enhance the reputation of tech companies on a micro level but also offer industrial and diplomatic advantages for the nation on a macro scale.
Keywords.
Tech Diplomacy; CSR; Tech Marketing; High-tech Industry
References
Adams, C., Zutshi, A., 2004. Corporate social responsibility: why business should act responsibly and be accountable. Australian Accounting Review, 14(34), 31-39.
Amoako, G.K., Dartey-Baah, K., 2020. Corporate social responsibility: strategy for boosting brand perception and competitive advantage, in: CSR and Socially Responsible Investing Strategies in Transitioning and Emerging Economies. IGI Global, pp. 65–78.
Asquer, A., 2012. What is Corporate Diplomacy?. Available at SSRN 2009812.
Avraham, E., Ketter, E., 2013. Marketing destinations with prolonged negative images: Towards a theoretical model. Tourism Geographies, 15(1), 145-164.
Barker, R.T., Gower, K., 2010. Strategic application of storytelling in organizations: Toward effective communication in a diverse world. The Journal of Business Communication, 47(3), 295-312.
Bauman, C.W., Skitka, L.J., 2012. Corporate social responsibility as a source of employee satisfaction. Research in Organizational Behavior, 32, 63-86.
Baumann-Pauly, D., Wickert, C., Spence, L.J., Scherer, A.G., 2013. Organizing corporate social responsibility in small and large firms: Size matters. Journal of Business Ethics 115, 693–705.
Bazillier, R., Vauday, J., 2009. The greenwashing machine: Is CSR More Than Communication?. Available at: https://hal.science/hal-00448861
Beise‐Zee, R., 2011. Corporate social responsibility or cause‐related marketing? The role of cause specificity of CSR. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28(1), 27-39.
Blowfield, M., Murray, A., 2014. Corporate responsibility. Oxford University Press, USA.
Boateng, S.L., 2019. Online relationship marketing and customer loyalty: a signaling theory perspective. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 37(1), 226-240.
Bojanic, V., 2023. The positioning of CEOs as advocates and activists for societal change: reflecting media, receptive and strategic cornerstones. Journal of Communication Management, 27(3), 398-413.
Bouten, L., Everaert, P., Liedekerke, L., Moor, L., Christiaens, J., 2011. Corporate social responsibility reporting: a comprehensive picture?. In Accounting forum (Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 187-204).
Boyce, M.E., 1996. Organizational story and storytelling: a critical review. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 9(5), 5-26.
Brown, J.S., Denning, S., Groh, K., Prusak, L., 2005. Storytelling in organizations: Why storytelling is transforming 21st-century organizations and management. Routledge.
Cambra‐Fierro, J.J., Flores‐Hernández, J.A., Pérez, L., Valera‐Blanes, G., 2020. CSR and branding in emerging economies: The effect of incomes and education. Corporate Social Responsibility And Environmental Management, 27(6), 2765-2776.
Cannon, T. (2005). Corporate responsibility: a textbook on business ethics, governance, environment: roles and responsibilities (Pearson Education print on demand). Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Carlini, J., Grace, D., 2021. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) internal branding model: Aligning employees’ CSR awareness, knowledge, and experience to deliver positive employee performance outcomes. Journal of Marketing Management, 37(7-8), 732-760.
Carroll, C.E., Einwiller, S.A., 2014. Disclosure alignment and transparency signaling in CSR reports. In Communication and language analysis in the corporate world (pp. 249-270). IGI Global.
Chang, C.P., 2009. The relationships among corporate social responsibility, corporate image and economic performance of high-tech industries in Taiwan. Quality and Quantity, 43, 417-429.
Chang, S.C., Lu, M.T., Chen, M.J., Huang, L.H., 2021. Evaluating the Application of CSR in the High-Tech Industry during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Mathematics, 9(15), 1715
Cheney, G., McMillan, J.J., 1990. Organizational rhetoric and the practice of criticism. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 18(2), 93-114.
Cho, M., Furey, L.D., Mohr, T., 2017. Communicating corporate social responsibility on social media: Strategies, stakeholders, and public engagement on corporate Facebook. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 80(1), 52-69.
Cho, S.J., Chung, C.Y., Young, J., 2019. Study on the Relationship between CSR and Financial Performance. Sustainability, 11(2), 343.
Christensen, C.M., 1997. The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Boston Harvard Business Review Press.
Christensen, L.T., Morsing, M., Thyssen, O., 2013. CSR as aspirational talk. Organization, 20(3), 372-393.
Colombo, M.G., Piva, E., Quas, A., Rossi-Lamastra, C., 2016. How high-tech entrepreneurial ventures cope with the global crisis: changes in product innovation and internationalization strategies. Industry and innovation, 23(7), 647-671.
Connelly, B.L., Certo, S.T., Ireland, R.D., Reutzel, C.R., 2011. Signaling theory: A review and assessment. Journal of Management, 37(1), 39-67.
Conte, F., Vollero, A., Covucci, C., Siano, A., 2020. Corporate social responsibility penetration, explicitness, and symbolic communication practices in Asia: A national business system exploration of leading firms in sustainability. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(3), 1425-1435.
Coombs, W.T., 2017. Revising situational crisis communication theory: The influences of social media on crisis communication theory and practice. In Social media and crisis communication (pp. 21-37). Routledge.
Coombs, W.T., 2007. Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 10, 163-176
Coombs, W.T., 2004. Impact of past crises on current crisis communication: Insights from situational crisis communication theory. The Journal of Business Communication, 41(3), 265-289.
Coombs, W.T., 1998. An analytic framework for crisis situations: Better responses from a better understanding of the situation. Journal of Public Relations Research, 10(3), 177-191.
Coombs, W.T., 1995. Choosing the right words: The development of guidelines for the selection of the “appropriate” crisis-response strategies. Management Communication Quarterly, 8(4), 447-476.
Coombs, W.T., Holladay, S.J., 2002. Helping crisis managers protect reputational assets: Initial tests of the situational crisis communication theory. Management Communication Quarterly, 16(2), 165-186.
Cormier, D., Magnan, M., 2015. The economic relevance of environmental disclosure and its impact on corporate legitimacy: An empirical investigation. Business Strategy and the Environment, 24(6), 431-450.
Currás‐Pérez, R., Dolz‐Dolz, C., Miquel‐Romero, M.J., Sánchez‐García, I., 2018. How social, environmental, and economic CSR affects consumer‐perceived value: Does perceived consumer effectiveness make a difference?. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 25(5), 733-747.
Danciu, V., 2014. Manipulative marketing: persuasion and manipulation of the consumer through advertising. Theoretical and Applied Economics, 21(2), 591.
Delmas, M.A., Burbano, V.C., 2011. The drivers of greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1), 64-87.
Dietrich, G., 2014. Spin sucks: Communication and reputation management in the digital age. Que Publishing.
Dunham, B., 2011. The role for signaling theory and receiver psychology in marketing, in: Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 225–256.
Ely, R.J., Thomas, D.A., 2001. Cultural diversity at work: The effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(2), 229-273.
Epstein, E.M., 2007. The good company: Rhetoric or reality-corporate social responsibility and business ethics redux. American Business Law Journal 44, 207.
Eriksson, M., Olsson, E.K., 2016. Facebook and Twitter in crisis communication: A comparative study of crisis communication professionals and citizens. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 24(4), 198-208.
Erzikova, E., Bowen, S.A., 2019. Missed opportunities to make PR great again: How public relations agencies responded to the Trump Presidency. Public Relations Review, 45(5), 101793.
Etter, M.A., Vestergaard, A., 2015. Facebook and the public framing of a corporate crisis. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 20(2), 163-177.
Ferdman, B.M., Deane, B., 2014. Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion. Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Brand.
Ferrat, Y., Daty, F., Burlacu, R., 2023. The role of size effects in moderating the benefits of sustainable investing. BRQ Business Research Quarterly
Godin, B., 2019. The invention of technological innovation: languages, discourses and ideology in historical perspective. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK.
Golob, U., Podnar, K., 2019. Researching CSR and brands in the here and now: An integrative perspective. Journal of Brand Management 26, 1–8.
Gong, N., Grundy, B.D., 2019. Can socially responsible firms survive competition? An analysis of corporate employee matching grant schemes. Review of Finance, 23(1), 199-243.
Hall, K.R., Harrison, D.E., Obilo, O.O., 2021. Building positive internal and external stakeholder perceptions through CSR storytelling. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 31(7), 1317-1338
Ham, C.D., Kim, J., 2019. The role of CSR in crises: Integration of situational crisis communication theory and the persuasion knowledge model. Journal of Business Ethics, 158, 353-372.
Harrison, V.S., 2021. Does your corporation “care”? Exploring an ethical standard for communicating CSR relationships online. Public Relations Inquiry, 10(3), 333-356
Hayes, J.L., Holiday, S., Park, H., 2022. Corporate social responsibility & the advertising strategic planning process: a literature review & research agenda. International Journal of Advertising, 41(2), 210-232.
Henisz, W.J., 2017. Corporate diplomacy: Building reputations and relationships with external stakeholders. Routledge.
Herbig, P.A., Milewicz, J., 1995. The impact of marketing signals on strategic decision‐making ability and profitability. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 13(7), 37-46
Huang, J.J., Tzeng, G.H., Ong, C.S., 2007. Marketing segmentation using support vector clustering. Expert systems with applications, 32(2), 313-317.
Jia, Y., Gao, X., Billings, B.A., 2022. Corporate social responsibility and technological innovation. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 34(1), 163-186.
Lawal, E., May, G., Stahl, B., 2017. The significance of corporate social disclosure for high‐tech manufacturing companies: Focus on employee and community aspects of sustainable development. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 24(4), 295-311.
Lee, S.Y., 2016. How can companies succeed in forming CSR reputation?. Corporate communications: An international journal, 21(4), 435-449.
Lee, S.Y., Chung, S., 2018. Effects of emotional visuals and company–cause fit on memory of CSR information. Public Relations Review, 44(3), 353-362.
Lee, S.Y., Zhang, W., Abitbol, A., 2019. What makes CSR communication lead to CSR participation? Testing the mediating effects of CSR associations, CSR credibility, and organization–public relationships. Journal of Business Ethics, 157, 413-429
Lii, Y.S., Wu, K.W., Ding, M.C., 2013. Doing good does good? Sustainable marketing of CSR and consumer evaluations. Corporate social responsibility and environmental management, 20(1), 15-28.
Lischka, J.A., 2019. Strategic communication as discursive institutional work: A critical discourse analysis of Mark Zuckerberg’s legitimacy talk at the European Parliament. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13(3), 197-213.
Ma, L., Zhan, M., 2016. Effects of attributed responsibility and response strategies on organizational reputation: A meta-analysis of situational crisis communication theory research. Journal of Public Relations Research, 28(2), 102-119.
Macnamara, J., Lwin, M., Adi, A., Zerfass, A., 2016. ‘PESO’media strategy shifts to ‘SOEP’: Opportunities and ethical dilemmas. Public Relations Review, 42(3), 377-385
Makri, M., Scandura, T.A., 2010. Exploring the effects of creative CEO leadership on innovation in high-technology firms. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(1), 75-88
Mashiah, I., 2021. “Come and join us”: How tech brands use source, message, and target audience strategies to attract employees. The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 32(2)
Mashiah, I., 2022. Communication and High-Tech: Journalism, Public Relations, and Media Culture. Orion-Books Publishing House.
Mashiah, I., 2023. Tech-Diplomacy: High-Tech Driven Rhetoric to Shape National Reputation. E-International Relations.
Mashiah, I., 2024. The Rhetoric of Innovation in Non-Tech Personal Branding: Utilizing Tech Buzzwords as a Strategy for Political Messaging. Political Studies Review.
Melissen, J., 2006. Public diplomacy between theory and practice. In The present and future of public diplomacy: A European perspective. The 2006 Madrid conference on public diplomacy. Madrid: Elcano.
Melo, T., Galan, J.I., 2011. Effects of corporate social responsibility on brand value. Journal of Brand Management, 18, 423-437.
Meyer, M., 2015. Positive business: Doing good and doing well. Business Ethics: A European Review, 24, S175-S197.
Michelon, G., Pilonato, S., Ricceri, F., 2015. CSR reporting practices and the quality of disclosure: An empirical analysis. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 33, 59-78.
Moir, L., 2001. What do we mean by corporate social responsibility?. Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, 1(2), 16-22.
Moliner, M.A., Tirado, D.M., Estrada-Guillén, M., 2019. CSR marketing outcomes and branch managers’ perceptions of CSR. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 38(1), 63-85.
Morgan, S., Dennehy, R.F., 1997. The power of organizational storytelling: a management development perspective. Journal of Management Development, 16(7), 494-501.
Morsing, M., Schultz, M., 2006. Corporate social responsibility communication: stakeholder information, response and involvement strategies. Business ethics: A European Review, 15(4), 323-338.
Moyano-Fuentes, J., Rodríguez-Martínez, A., Jiménez-Delgado, J.J., 2019. Territorial agglomerations and corporate social responsibility: the role of science and technology parks. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 23(2), 180-203.
Nielsen, A.E., Thomsen, C., 2007. Reporting CSR–what and how to say it?. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 12(1), 25-40.
Okafor, A., Adeleye, B.N., Adusei, M., 2021. Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: Evidence from US tech firms. Journal of cleaner production, 292, 126078.
Ordeix-Rigo, E., Duarte, J., 2009. From public diplomacy to corporate diplomacy: Increasing corporation’s legitimacy and influence. American Behavioral Scientist, 53(4), 549-564
Polonsky, M., Jevons, C., 2009. Global branding and strategic CSR: an overview of three types of complexity. International Marketing Review, 26(3), 327-347
Prasad, A., Holzinger, I., 2013. Seeing through smoke and mirrors: A critical analysis of marketing CSR. Journal of Business Research, 66(10), 1915-1921.
Pratihari, S.K., Uzma, S.H., 2018. CSR and corporate branding effect on brand loyalty: a study on Indian banking industry. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 27(1), 57-78
Puchakayala, N.V. V, Nallamalli, U.B., Narapareddi, V., 2023. Corporate social responsibility: a way of enhancing financial performance—evidence from select NSE listed companies. SN Business & Economics, 3(7), 118
Puncheva-Michelotti, P., Hudson, S., Jin, G., 2018. Employer branding and CSR communication in online recruitment advertising. Business Horizons, 61(4), 643-651.
Rajak, D., 2011. In good company: An anatomy of corporate social responsibility. Stanford University Press.
Rowe, J., 2006. Corporate social responsibility as business strategy. In Globalization, governmentality and global politics (pp. 122-160). Routledge.
Sai Manohar, S., Pandit, S.R., 2014. Core values and beliefs: A study of leading innovative organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 125, 667-680.
Samuel, Y., 1996. Organizations: Features, structures, processes. Zemora-Bitan and Haifa University [Hebrew], Or Yehuda.
Sanclemente-Téllez, J.C., 2017. Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Moving between broadening the concept of marketing and social factors as a marketing strategy. Spanish Journal of Marketing-ESIC, 21, 4-25
Schramm, L., 2017. Technological innovation: An introduction. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
Schultz, F., Wehmeier, S., 2010. Institutionalization of corporate social responsibility within corporate communications: Combining institutional, sensemaking and communication perspectives. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 15(1), 9-29.
Shang, Y., Liou, R.S., Rao-Nicholson, R., 2022. What to say and how to say it? Corporate strategic communication through social media during the pandemic. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 16(4), 633-648.
Shim, K., Chung, M., Kim, Y., 2017. Does ethical orientation matter? Determinants of public reaction to CSR communication. Public Relations Review, 43(4), 817-828.
Sole, D., Wilson, D.G., 2002. Storytelling in organizations: The power and traps of using stories to share knowledge in organizations. LILA, Harvard, Graduate School of Education, 9(1), 1-12.
Stanwick, P.A., Stanwick, S.D., 1998. The relationship between corporate social performance, and organizational size, financial performance, and environmental performance: An empirical examination. Journal of Business Ethics, 17(2), 195-204.
Sterbenk, Y.M., Ward, J., Luttrell, R., Shelton, S., 2022. Silence has no place: A framing analysis of corporate statements about racial inequity, immigration policy and LGBTQ rights. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 27(2), 404-421
Su, W., Peng, M.W., Tan, W., Cheung, Y.L., 2016. The signaling effect of corporate social responsibility in emerging economies. Journal of Business Ethics, 134, 479-491.
Szybillo, G.J., Heslin, R., 1973. Resistance to persuasion: Inoculation theory in a marketing context. Journal of Marketing Research, 10(4), 396-403.
Tangngisalu, J., Mappamiring, M., Andayani, W., Yusuf, M., Putra, A.H.P.K., 2020. CSR and firm reputation from employee perspective. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(10), 171-182.
Udayasankar, K., 2008. Corporate social responsibility and firm size. Journal of Business Ethics, 83(2), 167-175
Uyar, A., Karaman, A.S., Kilic, M., 2020. Is corporate social responsibility reporting a tool of signaling or greenwashing? Evidence from the worldwide logistics sector. Journal of Cleaner Production, 253, 119997.
Verk, N., Golob, U., Podnar, K., 2021. A dynamic review of the emergence of corporate social responsibility communication. Journal of Business Ethics, 168, 491-515
Vinsel, L., & Russell, A. L., 2020. The innovation delusion: How our obsession with the new has disrupted the work that matters most. Crown Currency
Vollero, A., Yin, J., Siano, A., 2022. Convergence or divergence? A comparative analysis of CSR communication by leading firms in Asia, Europe, and North America. Public Relations Review, 48(1), 102142
Wang, D.H.M., Chen, P.H., Yu, T.H.K., Hsiao, C.Y., 2015. The effects of corporate social responsibility on brand equity and firm performance. Journal of Business Research, 68(11), 2232-2236
Wang, R., Huang, Y., 2018. Communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR) on social media: How do message source and types of CSR messages influence stakeholders’ perceptions?. Corporate communications: An international journal, 23(3), 326-341.
Weiss-Blatt, N., 2021. The Techlash and Tech Crisis Communication. Emerald Group Publishing.
Wokutch, R.E., Singal, M., Poria, Y., Hong, M., 2013. Crisis situations and role of strategic CSR in decision-making. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2013, No. 1, p. 16136). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management
Xie, Q., Neill, M.S., Schauster, E., 2018. Paid, earned, shared and owned media from the perspective of advertising and public relations agencies: Comparing China and the United States. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 12(2), 160-179.
Zadek, S., 2007. The path to corporate responsibility. In Corporate ethics and corporate governance (pp. 159-172). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Zairi, M., Peters, J., 2002. The impact of social responsibility on business performance. Managerial Auditing Journal, 17(4), 174-178.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.