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Is it in corporations' long‐term interests to exceed their social and environmental obligations and deliver a superior ethical performance? This is one of the key questions raised in the debate launched by the European Commission's green paper last year regarding the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is clear that the commercial world must rise to the challenge of building the confidence and trust demanded by stakeholders worldwide. There is a broad consensus on the need for businesses to take the social, economic, and environmental impact of their actions — the 'triple bottom line' — into account. Businesses are an integral part of the society (local and international) and they have to consider the impact their behaviour has on it. Many businesses highlight the links between CSR and their wider sustainable development agenda. Corporate reputation or image depends on how the company conducts or is perceived as conducting its business. Today the ability to build a sustainable corporate reputation is more important than ever before as stakeholders are more educated, more knowledgeable, and more demanding. The Cyprus Popular Bank, the second largest banking organisation in Cyprus, has developed and launched 'Radiomarathon' in support of children with special needs, which has won a place in the Guinness World of Records as the most successful charitable event in the world on the basis of per capita contribution, and was chosen among the top five charity events worldwide by the Chartered Institute of Bankers for 2003. Radiomarathon has been used in order to build a strong corporate identity and corporate reputation: "With the Radiomarathon we have hit a vein of gold…our corporate reputation is stronger than ever before! In such a turbulent climate, a positive corporate reputation can play a vital role in ensuring that the organisation is on a solid footing. " (Yiannos Pissourios, Cyprus Popular Bank). The bank realised the importance and need for corporate social responsibility in their efforts to build a good corporate reputation and achieve competitive differentiation.

AbstractThis paper differentiates between the modern and the postmodern approach to advertising. It provides indicators of the nature of postmodern advertisements and proposes a methodology based on critical discourse analysis for interpreting the meaning and understanding the structure of such advertisements. The paper discusses the purpose of the postmodern approach to advertising and argues that its very imagery may further confuse an already confused postmodern consumer. The credibility of the imagery may also be questioned where it is perceived to be an illusion that is incapable of being substantiated. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.

PurposeThe paper seeks to consider the findings that emerged from a preliminary study into Cypriot businesses and their attitudes and behaviour towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). The overarching aim of the discussion is to explore whether Cypriot businesses have realized the opportunity of using CSR to build a strong reputation, a practice "embraced" and adopted by many successful and profitable corporations, or whether they ignore their social responsibilities and do it at their peril.Design/methodology/approachA total of 4,000 questionnaires were given to the Employers Federation in Cyprus to mail to its members. Two issues were addressed: one dealing with philanthropic and the other with the stewardship CSR projects, covering social responsibility not only towards customers and society at large but also towards employees, suppliers, investors, and the environment.FindingsIt appears that local corporations primarily emphasize the importance of meeting their responsibilities and obligations towards their employees and customers. The majority of respondents postulate that their philanthropic donations are made to approved organizations for tax deduction. So, financial gain appears to be a key motive for the adoption of social responsibility by the business sector in Cyprus.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was characterized by a low response rate, which has implications to the generalization of the research findings. Perhaps future research can focus on certain sectors and their approach to the practice of CSR instead of exploring several sectors in the Cypriot economy, which was the approach adopted in this study.Originality/valueThe paper reports findings from the first nationwide study carried out in the area of CSR.