Literature Review

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NOTES TO VIEWERS

• This presentation represents work in progress,
  and as such should not be cited, or circulated
  beyond people attending the Dublin meeting.
• The report based on this will come out later in
  2008 I will make sure I let all attendees at
  the conference know about its release!
• In the meantime, please contact me if you have
  any thoughts/questions

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PR or CSR? The existence of a real reason for
responsibility

• The Alcohol Policy Arena positing science,
  knowledge and policy in relation to the alcohol
  industry - Dublin, 16/5/2008
• Ben Baumberg, IAS/LSE

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The research

• Interviews with 36 people
• Industry (companies, bodies)
• Non-industry partners
• Also quantitative analysis and reviews
• Work in progress - so confidential!

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Reasons to be responsible

• PART ONE

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Reasons to be responsible

• Altruistic CSR is unlikely
• Some possible economic motives
• (Corporate reputation)
• Legislation
• By-product of consumer demand - safety, quality
• ? BUT are these just motives for PR? Motives to
  appear responsible but not to reduce harm

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Long-term I

• Industry explains CSR by long-term
• I would say the irresponsible retailer tends to
  be rather short sighted and just focuses in on
  how to sell as much alcohol as possible to as
  many people as possible, for as long a time
  period as possible. And that is not how you
  build a sustainable business these days.

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Long-term II

• Steven Pinker (2008) on evolutionary reasons for
  alturism
• The most effective way to seem generous and
  fair, under harsh scrutiny, is to be generous and
  fair. In the long run, then, reputation can be
  secured only by commitment

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Long-term III

• Same for companies (Rae 1993)
• The threat to drinks companies comes from the
  population-based approach to the reduction of
  alcohol-related harmThe best way to counter this
  threat is to demonstrate that there are far more
  effective, equitable and politically realistic
  ways to reduce alcohol-related harm. In other
  words the industry has a vested interest in
  supporting real not token measures to cut
  alcohol misuse

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Long-term IV

• This can make CSR genuine
• If youre in this just for a quick win in the
  media then youre in it for the wrong reason, you
  have to be in it because it makes business sense

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Long-term V

• Non-industry partners saw moral commitment as
  essential
• If I were to engage with anybody who fell into
  the cynical category, I would walk away because I
  dont see the point
• Hence individual motivation in industry
• I think all the big playersare genuinely trying
  to do the right thing. I dont think its PR. I
  think its real.

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Reasons to be irresponsible

• PART TWO

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Problems

• Genuineness depends on how far long-term view
  makes motives real
• Public opinion is affected by real levels of
  harm
• but also affected by perceptions of the facts,
  media, ideology et al.
• E.g. public concern is highest after rises in
  harm, not plateau (Baggott)

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CSR plus PR

• Occasional respondents admitted that the
  incentives were not complete
• if I was being perfectly honest, I suppose that
  the industry might be more likely to act to
  address a perceived problem, if you know what I
  mean, than to address a real problem, if
  addressing that real problem did not actually
  tackle perception

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Reasons to be irresponsible
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SUMMARY

• The industry will act to maximise profits - but
  there are real economic motives for the industry
  to behave responsibly. Some CSR may be real.
• However, there are real and strong motives for
  the alcohol industry to behave irresponsibly as
  well
• Need to look at actual behaviour to see the
  balance (work in progress!).