Communicating human rights protection in multinational companies' supply chains : effects of corporate social responsibility claim types, emotional visuals, and the nationality of the company
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[EMBARGOED UNTIL 08/01/2026] This study investigated how corporate social responsibility (CSR) messages' features influence audiences' responses to multinational companies' communication about protecting child workers' human rights in global supply chains. Using an online experiment with a 2 (claim type: substantive vs. associative) Ã-- 2 (visual valence: positive vs. negative) Ã-- 2 (corporate nationality: domestic vs. foreign) mixed-factorial design, the study examined how these messaging features affect audiences' perceptions and behaviors toward the CSR messages and the company. Results indicated that substantive claims outperformed associative ones across most outcomes, supporting signaling theory. Positive visuals enhanced attitudes toward the message and corporate reputation, while domestic companies consistently received more favorable evaluations, especially among individuals with high ethnocentrism or situational motivation in cognition. Notably, the effectiveness of substantive CSR claims varied by corporate nationality and visual valence: domestic firms benefited more when substantive claims were paired with positive visuals, whereas foreign firms saw greater impact when those claims were presented alongside negative visuals. Audiences' characteristics, such as situational motivation in cognition and ethnocentrism, moderated these effects. This study extends message processing models and social identity theory by demonstrating how emotional cues and perceptions of corporate ingroup membership jointly shape audiences' interpretations of CSR content. Practically, it suggests CSR communicators should align CSR claims with emotionally resonant visuals and consider audience characteristics to enhance message effectiveness--particularly in global contexts where human rights issues can pose reputational risks or opportunities.
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Ph. D