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This study aims to investigate the evolution of sustainability reporting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against a backdrop of changing legislation. It uses qualitative content analysis within the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication framework proposed by Kotler and Lee (2005) to investigate how corporations in the UAE disclosed information on their CSR activities in 2018 and 2023.

The authors refer to the CSR communication framework proposed by Kotler and Lee (2005), which puts forward a set of marketing communication strategies that can be used to promote a corporation. The authors identify the strategies used by the top 14 companies operating in the UAE in their CSR disclosure in the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2023, respectively. The authors note any changes that have occurred over time and differences between the distinct business sectors.

The findings indicate a continuing reliance on the marketing communication strategies associated with corporate philanthropy, cause promotion and being a good corporate citizen. All of the corporations in the study showed evidence of engaging in an increasing diversity of CSR initiatives and a corresponding diversity in the marketing communication strategies they used to promote them.

Corporations wishing to promote themselves through their CSR activities and build a positive reputation would do well to select a diverse set of CSR activities communicated in a variety of ways.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first longitudinal, comparative study examining the CSR marketing strategies of the top corporations in the UAE. As such, it contributes to the ongoing debate on CSR in the Middle East in general and to understanding more about the approach as well as the changes in approach to CSR in a Muslim-majority Middle-eastern and secular developing economy, the impact of CSR legislation and government regulation on CSR disclosures in different business sectors and the promotional opportunities afforded by effective CSR disclosure within the UAE in particular.

This paper aims to explore the online corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication by domestic and global banks operating in the United Arab Emirates.

Through a qualitative content analysis, the study examines the strategies banks use to market their CSR initiatives on their corporate websites. CSR marketing strategies are classified with reference to Kotler and Lee’s (2005) categorization.

The analysis indicates that overall, all CSR marketing strategies, as proposed by Kotler and Lee (2005), are used by the domestic UAE banks with the most frequently used being cause-promotion, philanthropy and socially responsible business practices. Government owned and conventional banks display patterns congruent to the communications observed in the global sample. Islamic banks have a less diversified approach relying mostly on philanthropy with only one Islamic bank using four of the six strategies.

The present study provides insight into how CSR is communicated within one of the largest industries in the fast-growing economy of the UAE. The observations reported here could help corporate communication practitioners and managers in domestic corporations that contribute to the Islamic economy to understand how to benchmark better and to communicate more effectively about their CSR.

The purpose of this paper is to explore customer–corporate social responsibility (-CSR) expectations communicated on the corporate websites of the banking sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and identify patterns based on origin, ownership structure and compliance to Sharia law.

A quantitative content analysis of 28 bank corporate websites was conducted using Pérez and del Bosque's (2012) bank customers’ CSR scale which identifies five relevant dimensions of CSR: (1) customers, (2) investors, (3) employees, (4) community and (5) general interest groups, such as governments, regulatory bodies, NGOs and the media.

The findings indicate that the most frequently communicated customer CSR expectations are general interest, customer- and community-oriented, with employee-related concerns being the least addressed. Global banks prioritize general concerns, regarding their legal and ethical responsibilities while domestic banks appear more customer-centric. None of the Islamic banks address their responsibility to the environment.

The paper contributes to the increasing number of studies conducted on CSR communication in emerging economies, and more specifically, to the dynamic yet underexplored market of the UAE. It provides scholars and practitioners with insights into the interplay of globalization, organizational characteristics and national influence on CSR communication through corporate websites, one of the most useful tools organizations can utilize to reach their customers and the wider public.

Communicating CSR through corporate websites is one of the most effective ways for organizations to inform and engage stakeholders, earn legitimacy and reap the intangible and tangible benefits of practicing CSR. However, in emerging economies in the Middle East, online CSR disclosure remains limited while corporate websites are not used effectively as strategic tools. This study explores online CSR communication (CSRC) by banks in the dynamic, emerging economy of the United Arab Emirates.

The study uses an adaptation of the analytical framework used by Chaudhri and Wang (2007) to examine the prominence and extent of the CSR information on the corporate websites of domestic and global banks in the UAE. It further compares domestic and global banks' CSRC patterns as well as domestic/government-owned versus private banks and conventional versus Islamic banks.

About 70% of the domestic banks in the UAE provide information about their CSR activities. CSR information is moderately to highly prominent for the majority of the domestic banks, but the extent of the information presented is minimal (1–2 pages). Domestic/government-owned and conventional banks communicate their CSR more prominently and extensively than private and Islamic banks. Domestic/government-owned banks tend to follow the CSRC patterns observed in global banks.

Despite the increasingly important role of the United Arab Emirates within the Middle East as well as on the global business arena, very little is known about whether and how companies in the country approach CSR. This is the first study focusing on CSRC within the entirety of a single business sector within the United Arab Emirates.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether including an Islamic appeal in a culture-neutral product advertisement has a positive effect on consumer attitudes to the advertisement leading to higher purchase intentions while considering religious affiliation and religiosity as moderating factors of the relationship.

Conditional process analysis was applied to examine the mediation of the relationship between ad version and purchase intention through attitude to the advertisement as well as the moderating role of religious affiliation and religiosity among 819 consumers within the Dubai market.

The analysis in this paper revealed that including an Islamic appeal in an advertisement does not have a positive effect on attitude to the advertisement or purchase intention, neither for Muslim consumers in general nor for Muslim consumers with high levels of religiosity. Conversely, including an Islamic appeal has a significant negative effect on the purchase intentions of Christian consumers within the Dubai market, as well as on those consumers who did not state their religious affiliation.

Marketers should reconsider the use of Islamic appeals in product advertising, especially in relation to the promotion of culture-free products within diverse expatriate populations such as that represented by the Emirate of Dubai.

This study sheds light on the underexplored role of religious affiliation and religiosity in relationship to consumer behavior within the field of Islamic marketing in a major retail hub in the Middle East.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Businesses not only greatly benefit from CSR initiatives, but it is increasingly becoming a firm expectation. In the article by Nickerson and Georgiadou, the authors find that different marketing strategies and forms of CSR initiatives can greatly benefit firm reputation and engage with many different stakeholders to become industry leaders, while demonstrating their social engagement and status as good corporate citizens.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.