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This monograph contains abstracts from the 2005 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, 6‐7th September 2005

The translation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) values in customer awareness and engagement with the CSR values with the corporate brand is a key challenge for UK retailers. This chapter examines the incorporation of CSR in the core brand discourse of Marks & Spencer (M&S), focusing on the interrelationship between CSR reporting and brand heritage.

Using Fairclough’s (1989) method of critical discourse analysis, this chapter reports on the key discourses around CSR to emerge from annual reports of M&S in the period from the 1940s to 2010s.

Findings identify how messages relating to CSR are shaped and presented to stakeholders, noting the textual patterns that emerge in the M&S discourse. Patterns included a substantial reliance on relational values, the strategic adoption of expressive values toward specific groups (employees, suppliers), and textual cues such as metaphor and over-wording as a means to draw out links to M&S brand heritage.

The chapter highlights how we, as academics, need to consider both (a) the evolution of CSR reporting and how this reflects brand messages over time and (b) how CSR reporting is becoming integral in brand positioning for UK retailer brands.

In dealing with archival materials, it is necessary to be selective and this can limit the range of textual patterns that might be articulated in the discourse analysis.

Limited research to date has examined the integration of CSR and brand heritage in organizational discourses. This study offers an in-depth examination of how this integration of CSR messages in brand communication has evolved for M&S – one of the United Kingdom’s foremost retail brands.

The need for universities to connect with local communities and to make research relevant to the public has been highlighted over recent years through the debate about public engagement. At the same time, the internet and its applications have made it possible for universities and academics to engage with the public in an easier and more effective way. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that motivate academics to engage with the public online.

The decomposed theory of planned behaviour and uses and gratifications theory were used as a basis for the study’s research model. An online survey was conducted and 250 valid responses were used for the data analysis (structural equation modelling).

The results indicate that although academics seem to use online technologies for public engagement, this use takes the form of a one-way communication as the most influential factors of attitude when it comes to engaging with the public are image and information seeking rather than networking.

While there are some studies about the use of online technologies for teaching or for networking purposes within academia, little is known about academics’ intentions to engage with the public online. The study attempts to fill this gap and help universities understand their staff’s motivation and needs, which could be useful when it comes to launching successful public engagement campaigns.