Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Relations and Community Engagement Emerging Perspectives from South East Asia

Diverse in economic development, political and mass media systems, the countries in Southeast Asia cast a unique light on the parallels between development-cum-participative communication and corporate social responsibility. In our globalized environments, knowledge of power, culture and the colonial histories that influence and shape business and governance practices are increasingly important. Focusing on six countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—the book discusses how public relations (PR) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) discourse are constructed, interpreted, communicated and enacted in this diverse emerging region. By connecting the disparate disciplines of participatory and development communication with PR and CSR discourse, this innovative text explores the tensions between concepts of modernity and traditional values and their role in engendering creativity, compliance or resistance. This book will be of interest to researchers, educators and advanced students in the fields of public relations, communication, corporate social responsibility, corporate communications and Southeast Asia studies.

1. Introduction: Exploring the Connections.2. Beyond Nation Building: CSR and Sustainability in Indonesia.3. CSR/PR Discourse as Advocacy and Aspirational Talk in Malaysia.4. CSR as Social Development in Postcolonial Philippines.5. Singapore’s Strategic Social Enterprise and Inclusive CSR.6. Sustainable Community Development and Risk Mitigation in Thailand.7. Blurring CSR/PR Boundaries: Transactional Approaches in Vietnam.8. Conclusion: Connecting the Narratives

Marianne D. Sison is senior lecturer and program manager at RMIT University’s School of Media and Communication, Melbourne, Australia. She is convenor and founding chair of the Asia Pacific Public Relations Research and Education Network, an Urban Scholar at RMIT’s UN Global Compact Cities Program and Australian lead in the Global Capabilities Framework research project. A former Deputy Dean (International) at RMIT’s School of Media and Communication, she is a fellow of the Public Relations Institute of Australia and member of the International Association of Business Communicators. Zeny Sarabia-Panol is professor and associate dean at Middle Tennessee State University, U.S.A. She is also the former editor of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s International Communication Research Journal and now serves on its editorial board. She also sits on the editorial board of the International Journal of Strategic Communication and AEJMC’s Journalism and Mass Communication Educator. An alumna of the Journalism and Mass Communication Leadership Institute for Diversity, she served as interim director of MTSU’s School of Journalism in 2008–2009.