Corporate Social Responsibility on Wild Public Networks: Communicating to Disparate and Multivocal Stakeholders

Abstract

On December 4, 2017, Patagonia launched its “The President Stole Your Land” initiative on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. In so doing, the longtime corporate social responsibility (CSR) leader entered social media in a deliberately inflammatory and political manner. This initiative defies the principles of CSR often touted in the literature and provides for an intriguing case study. We engage in a close textual reading of initiative materials and identify discursive traces to gain insight into the paradoxical workings of CSR in the context of a hypermediated environment. Through analysis of how Patagonia harnesses wide-ranging and contradictory public input, we identify a strategy of communicating CSR to stakeholders with disparate interests. By exploring the intersection of organizational communication, rhetorical studies, and media theory, this article examines the discursive strategies afforded and precluded by wild public networks. We offer three wild public provocations as new discursive tactics for CSR practitioners.