Exploring Effects of CSR Initiatives in Strategic Postcrisis Communication Among Millennials in China and South Korea

ABSTRACT

This study explored what types of postcrisis CSR activities can make corporate crisis management effective and why. Eighty-one in-depth interviews with Chinese and South Korean millennials showed that they perceived postcrisis CSR positively even when they perceived an underlying self-serving motive. The interview data also revealed that postcrisis CSR initiatives relevant to the company’s business (CSR fit) and to the crisis at hand were more effective in both countries than the other CSR initiatives. Millennials in both countries valued CSR’s impact (benefiting the society as a whole), continuity (being long-term planned and sustainable), uniqueness (with few precedents), and transparency (fully disclosing detailed information) when evaluating various postcrisis CSR initiatives. Controllability (CSR being under full control of a company) was a significant criterion for South Korean millennials only. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.