ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR) engages with public relations (PR) and other forms of professional communication in the context of the digital age in Spain. The main research question asks why CSR practitioners failed to understand that political communication and stakeholder engagement are at the core of what they do? Consequently, the authors have looked at the top companies listed in the IBEX 35 in Spain, which happen to be those that have invested more resources in CSR in that country. The research included the triangulation of the different sets of data by combining semi-structured interviews with the analysis of annual reports, communication strategies and digital ethnographic observations of the digital platforms (websites and social networks). The overall research suggests that there is scarcity of public relations practitioners responsible for the formulation or communication of CSR policies in major Spanish companies, both in digital and non-digital spaces. The way we interpret these results is that there is an important gap between the awareness of CSR departments in relation to communication needs and the view they have about the ability of communication professionals to deliver these goals. Consequently, communication strategies become peripheral and performative exercises within the organization, rather than being considered a core part of CSR.
