The politicization of CSR communication: Navigating an increasingly complex landscape of responsibilities

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Introduction

This Special Issue examines how the politicisation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication shapes organisational practice and the notion of CSR communication itself. Politicisation refers to the process through which issues become publicly contested and open to competing interpretations (Palonen, 2003). While CSR communication has traditionally been associated with consensus building around sustainability and responsible governance, supported by frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and high-level corporate commitments, many CSR topics have increasingly become subjects of political partisanship (Gualtieri & Lurati, 2024). As a result, organisations communicate sustainability in environments marked by conflict, scrutiny and divergent interpretations.

Climate action, human rights and diversity are now frequently framed in partisan terms. Regulatory debates, such as those surrounding the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive in Europe, demonstrate how contested CSR has become. In the United States, political and legal challenges to ESG and diversity initiatives show how organisations operate under heightened political attention (Ng et al., 2025). Research also indicates that politicisation and polarisation surrounding climate change and social justice shape public interpretations of corporate messages (Bolsen & Druckman, 2025), while scientific assessments continue to warn of accelerating sustainability risks (IPCC, 2023). Together, these developments show that CSR communication unfolds in politically charged settings that influence how organisations claim legitimacy and engage stakeholders.

This Special Issue aims to clarify how politicisation affects CSR communication, to document organisational responses to political pressures and to analyse communicative strategies that support legitimacy and accountability in contested settings. It seeks contributions with conceptual and empirical insights from diverse regions and disciplines that illuminate the mechanisms through which politicisation influences communication about sustainability and CSR.

Research on political CSR has shown how corporate responsibilities increasingly take on a political dimension in global governance (Scherer & Palazzo, 2007; Palazzo & Scherer, 2008; Scherer & Palazzo, 2011), prompting important debates about power and conceptual clarity (Whelan, 2012; Wickert & van Witteloostuijn, 2023). CSR communication research has long emphasised legitimacy and stakeholder engagement (Morsing & Schultz, 2006; Castelló et al., 2013; Castelló et al., 2016), yet only recently begun to address polarisation (Schoeneborn et al., 2024) and the explicit role of politics (Winkler & Hoffjann, 2025). Parallel work on corporate social advocacy examines how organisations engage with contentious issues in polarised public spheres (Marschlich & Bernet, 2024; Parcha, 2024), while studies on investor behaviour show that partisan contexts shape support for environmental and social proposals (Kempf & Tsoutsoura, 2024). Communication research similarly documents rising politicisation in climate news coverage (Chinn et al., 2020). Together, these strands reveal politicisation as a structural condition for CSR communication, yet research remains fragmented: political CSR focuses on governance, CSR communication seldom links polarisation to broader theories of politicisation, and corporate social advocacy studies often analyse individual issues without situating them in wider societal transformations. The aim of this Special Issue is to integrate these perspectives and advance politicisation as a key concept for understanding how organisations articulate responsibility.

For organisations, CSR communication has become politically exposed and increasingly open to contestation. For scholars, these dynamics underscore the need to place politicisation at the centre of CSR communication research. This Special Issue provides a platform for addressing these developments and for advancing understanding of how organisations communicate responsibility in contested and polarised public spheres.

List of Topic Areas

Theme 1: How politicisation reshapes theories and concepts in CSR communication
Focus on implications for legitimacy, stakeholder engagement, corporate responsibility, political CSR and communication theory.

Theme 2: How organisations manage politicisation in the daily practice of CSR communication
Exploration of framing strategies, narrative work, internal communication, managerial sensemaking and risk management.

Theme 3: Opportunities and limits of counteracting politicisation through CSR communication
Reflection on communicative strategies that may reduce polarisation, build trust or foster constructive public dialogue.

Theme 4: Political, regulatory and institutional drivers of politicisation
Analyses of how national politics, regulatory debates, international agreements and governance structures shape communication environments.

Theme 5: Stakeholder perceptions and audience reactions in contested CSR arenas
Studies of how different publics interpret politicised CSR messages, with attention to identity, ideology, trust and media use.

Theme 6: Corporate social advocacy and communication on contentious issues
Examination of when, why and how organisations take public positions on divisive topics and how such stances influence legitimacy.

Theme 7: Mediated environments and the role of news media and digital platforms
Research on how media logics, digital activism, influencers and algorithmic dynamics amplify or transform politicisation.

Theme 8: Interactions between politicisation, ESG expectations and accountability practices
Insights into how politicised ESG debates shape reporting, transparency, due diligence communication and investor relations.

Theme 9: Comparative and cross sectoral perspectives on politicised CSR communication
Contributions that explore differences across political systems, industries, organisational types and cultural contexts.

Guest Editors 

Klement Podnar, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, klement.podnar@fdv.uni-lj.si

Laura Olkkonen, LUT University, Finland,  Laura.Olkkonen@lut.fi  

Visa Penttilä, LUT University, Finland,  Visa.Penttila@lut.fi  

Urša Golob, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, ursa.golob@fdv.uni-lj.si

Submissions Information

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Author Guidelines

Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”. Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key Deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 30th November 2026

Closing date for manuscripts submission: 30th March 2027