Differences between public relations and corporate social responsibility: An analysis

This article compares corporate social responsibility and corporate public relations by reviewing their origins, theories, processes, and primary resp onsibilities and found them to be quite similar in these respects. By compa ring the two disci plines, theorists and practitioners can gain greater ins ight into each field. The comparison reveals a key difference whereby effective communication met hods are largely absent from the social responsibility literature; yet by i ncluding such techniques, one can enhance the development and overall impac t of managing corporate-stakeholder relationships. A communication manageme nt approach, which is linked to stakeholder analysis, is offered. Cynthia Clark is an assistant professor in the College of Communication at Boston University where she teaches Corporate Communication.