Abstract
This dissertation explores ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) from the perspective of internal public relations, aiming to understand employee perceptions of ESG and its communication through two consecutive studies. Both studies employed quantitative surveys conducted with U.S. employees.
Study 1 examined how employee perceptions of ESG can be structured by conceptualizing and operationalizing it through a reliable, measurable quantitative scale. Grounded in stakeholder theory, the study introduced a scale of 24 items that address the elements underlying the ESG construct. This scale specifically focused on employee perceptions of corporate ESG efforts from both external (i.e., initiatives targeting the public or broader management strategies) and internal (i.e., initiatives directly affecting employees’ experiences within the company) perspectives of environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G).
Study 2 built upon Study 1, examining the role of communication in shaping employee perceptions of ESG and, in turn, fostering positive relationships with their companies. Adopting media richness theory and relationship management theory, Study 2 highlighted the importance of rich-feature mediums in enhancing the communication quality of ESG content and format, as compared to lean-feature mediums, which had a negative impact on both aspects. The results showed that high-quality ESG content significantly affects employee perceptions of ESG, thereby strengthening the employee-organization relationship (EOR) in terms of trust, control mutuality, satisfaction, and commitment. In contrast, communication quality in terms of format did not show a significant relationship with employee perceptions of ESG, nor did it contribute to a positive EOR.
This dissertation makes significant theoretical contributions by expanding the scope of ESG studies to the public relations framework. It also provides practical guidelines for companies to enhance ESG initiatives and strengthen internal relationships through strategic ESG communication and management.