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Corporations are under increasing pressure to communicate their position and policies with regards to corporate social responsibility (CSR), informing consumers about the corporations’ good intentions and actions to appear trustworthy. Corporations have been asked to engage in dialogue with their consumers. However, academic literature still lacks empirical research that examines how consumers react to asymmetric versus symmetric communication strategies.

The present paper closes this gap and evaluates how consumers react to different CSR communication approaches on social media, specifically on Twitter. The study is based on a sample of 507 respondents in the UK, representing a well-educated population of social media users. The sample was divided into two sub-samples, one receiving a set of tweets with an asymmetric CSR communication approach (N = 242) and the other one with a symmetric CSR communication approach (N = 265).

The main finding of this study is that an asymmetric communication approach performs generally better than a symmetric communication approach. However, consumers’ involvement and their own personal information processing mechanisms also play a significant role when evaluating the trustworthiness of corporations.

The paper provides insights into how corporations should communicate with consumers on Twitter and what characteristics they should take into consideration to achieve consumer trust.

This research explores the intricate relationship between fashion, identity and religion in Muslim hijabi fashion. More specifically, it examines the impact of global brands’ inclusion of Muslim veiled females in their fashion lines.

Employing a qualitative approach, the research involved 20 in-depth interviews with Muslim women who wear hijab and those who dress modestly without it. Participants were chosen through judgemental sampling, focusing on individuals interested in fashion and brand trends. The study investigated perceptions of brand strategies, the role of influencers and consumer responses within this context.

The research suggests consumers have different viewpoints about these brands that are compliant with hijabi fashion. This incorporation benefits Muslim women by enhancing their status and recognition, hence fostering the growth of the Muslim fashion industry. In Western society, it promotes a sense of belonging and individuality. Certain individuals see the exploitation of their religious affiliation for financial gain, thereby raising doubts about these companies’ comprehension of Islamic modesty. This has engendered a sense of distrust and suspicion.

This research illuminates the intricate connection between religion, fashion and market dynamics in the realm of Muslim hijabi fashion. This paper explores the multifaceted responses of Muslim women to the marketing methods used by global fashion designers, which include a delicate balance between cultural representation and commercial exploitation. The results shed light on the ways in which fashion both empowers and creates divisions among religious and cultural groups.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how companies use corporate social responsibility (CSR) advertisements to legitimise their ethical positions and how CSR advertisements vary across countries.

The paper evaluates CSR advertisements from Chevron and Banco Real published in the news/business magazines (The) Economist and Time in the UK as well as in Veja and Exame in Brazil, leaders in their categories. The advertisements were analysed using a set of semiotic concepts.

Companies use different strategies for publicising CSR. There are campaigns that appeal to consumer rationality as well as campaigns that appeal to the emotions. There is also evidence that companies use their advertisements to respond to public pressure and thus create or maintain their legitimacy in the eyes of society.

CSR communication is an emerging field, with research focusing on corporate social disclosure mainly through web sites and corporate reports. However, little is known regarding CSR advertisements. The paper provides insights on this issue and focuses on comparative research, which is also a neglected area in the CSR field.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.