The 5th International CSR Communication Conference was hosted in Stockholm, by the Stockholm School of Economics in September 2019. Scholars and practitioners from all five continents were present at this great event. Alongside with around 60 academic presentations included in the proceedings, the program was set to introduce and discuss various trending topics in CSR and sustainability. The list of keynote and panelguests included several renowned authors in CSR and sustainability research, such as: Mats Alvesson, Annavon Bergen, Nils Brunsson, Itziar Castello, Michael Etter, Mikkel Flyverbom, Jean-Pascal Gond, Ellen Quigley,Dennis Schoeneborn, and Laura J. Spence. This ‘all-star cast’, together with a number of young scholars andestablished researchers in CSR who continue to express their loyalty to this conference, have once againconfirmed the importance of the event for the CSR communication research community.Five conferences later, studying communicational aspects of CSR has become firmly institutionalized and the field of CSR communication has been established. From the start of this biannual event, the conference has produced more than 300 papers on various CSR communication-related topics. An overview of the past conferences reflects the changing agenda of CSR communication research with several new themes and research approaches emerging. Starting with the instrumental perspective that was focused on strategic management of CSR communication, the research topics moved towards more relational views featuringengagement, relationships, digital environments and internal, employee-focused aspects. And lately, agraduate emergence of communicative constitutive perspectives, the role of talk and performativity in CSR isevident.Development of CSR communication filed and scholars’ participation over time has certainly been dynamic,with several voices driving the change from within, searching new paths to study CSR, stimulating participation of scholars and inviting alternative interpretations. This (positive) dynamic seems to be critical for moving the field forward (Verk, Golob, & Podnar, 2019). Proceedings of the 5th International CSR Communication Conference reflect some of the dynamics. They are divided into several sections that cover such topics as CSR engagement, talk and dialog; CSR reporting,perceptions and internal CSR perspectives; digital media and organizing, CSR across industries, NGOengagement, corporate irresponsibility; CSR and educational organizations, and communicative aspects ofsustainability.Thank you to all conference keynote speakers and panelists, as well as to all reviewers, presenters, discussantsand participants from academia and practice for sharing new thoughts and ideas and yet again contributing to the enrichment of CSR communication debate.
In the city of Amsterdam commercial transport is responsible for 15% of vehicles, 34% of traffic’s CO2 emissions and 62% of NOx emissions. The City of Amsterdam plans to improve traffic flows using real time traffic data and data about loading and unloading zones. In this paper, we present, reflect, and discuss the results of two projects from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences with research partners from 2016 till 2018. The ITSLOG and Sailor projects aim to analyze and test the benefits and challenges of connecting ITS and traffic management to urban freight transport, by using real-time data about loading and unloading zone availability for rerouting trucks. New technologies were developed and tested in collaboration with local authorities, transport companies and a food retailer. This paper presents and discusses the opportunities and challenges faced in developing and implementing this new technology, as well as the role played by different stakeholders. In both projects, the human factor was critical for the implementation of new technologies in practice.
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The obser-view is a method to generate data and create a learning space for both researcher and participants in qualitative research. It includes reflection between the two after the researcher has observed the participant. This article aims to reveal the benefits and challenges encountered when using the obser-view in two different research projects. In a Dutch project whose aim was to empower residents with dementia, in nursing homes the obser-view was used to generate data and create space for reflection which included residents and the family members. It showed that the obser-view cannot be finished when reflection does not happen. A Danish project with the aim to map the practice for inmates’ opportunities for education and job guidance highlighted that it made participants—educational prison leaders and teachers—aware they were doing their jobs by rote and showed the difficulties the researcher had trying to reflect with some participants. In both projects the obser-view created a learning space for participants. A benefit of the obser-view is that it can be used in dissimilar settings with different research purposes and with vulnerable and stigmatized people often excluded from the research. A challenge is for the researcher to reflect with participants, which is more likely to be successful if they have had time to develop a trusting relationship. Although the obser-view is a novel method in qualitative research, it has proved useful in different settings. It is a valuable method and we recommend developing it further in additional different settings with different populations.
