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Objectives: In an attempt to enrich and de-Westernize the CSR literature in Kuwait and uncover the external factors that are related to corporate social responsibility [CSR], this research investigates the institutional factors influencing CSR in Islamic and conventional banks and telecommunications companies in Kuwait. Method: Utilizing institutional theory and in-depth interviews with 12 corporate communications practitioners, the study found varying albeit minimal contributions of institutional factors to the CSR practices of organizations. Results: Islam did not exert a direct influence on CSR in Kuwait, a majority Muslim country, but was found to be a framework within which organizations operate. Industry sectors, peer pressure, the media, NGOs, and the local community along with social media were also insignificant institutional factors. The environment was the only institutional factor that was found to exert influence on CSR, but its impact was marginal. Increasing levels of global environmental awareness, rather than country-specific factors, made Kuwaiti corporations pay attention to the environment. Conclusion: The implications of the findings suggest the need for government intervention to encourage the private sector to align its CSR practices with the country's priorities. Corporate communicators need to strategically manage CSR where research and planning are conducted, and stakeholders such as local communities, NGOs, and company employees are involved.

The widespread use of Corporate Philanthropy (CP) in the US and the UK has resulted in a significant body of literature on the phenomena and its use. However, the literature generated around CP is criticised for being of an economic nature and for being biased toward the context of developed Western countries. This thesis suggests that the context of developing countries is important in relation to the non-economic nature of CP, due to the existence of intense religious beliefs and values. However, there has been little attempt to explicitly examine how the institutional pressures within this context shape the CP of a non-economic and more precisely of an altruistic nature, and how firms act in response to these influences. This thesis leverages institutional theory by proposing that stakeholders – including communities, competitors, NGOs and politicians – may impose coercive and mimetic pressures encouraging isomorphic field-level CP of a non-economic nature in a context of intense Islamic beliefs, values and norms. However, the way in which firms perceive and act upon these pressures may differ depending on specific factors related to the firm itself, including the identity of the firm, the competitive position of the firm, and shareholder pressures. These differences between firms result in the adoption of different CP strategies as decided by each firm, expressing its appropriate responses to field pressures. This study uses a qualitative methodology using data collected from 27 of the key personnel responsible for CP decisions (shareholders and managers) in the Kuwaiti banking sector. Questions were developed to assess the relationships between institutional pressures at the field and organisational levels of analysis. Data was collected through multiple sources such as in-depth interviews, documentation, and archival records. The contributions of the thesis are in relation to: a) the institutional theory; b) gaining more understanding of CP in developing countries; C) offering a robust understanding of altruistic CP influenced by an Islamic context; and d) practical implementations of CP in Islamic banks.

Most public relations (PR) research on corporate social responsibility (CSR)focuses on the significance of external stakeholders, mainly investigating consumer perceptions and societal pressures. This study examines the CSR contribution of internal stakeholders in Kuwaiti banks and telecommunications companies in terms of their inclusion indecision-making, expressing opinions, and providing feedback. Employing stakeholder theory and based on 12 in-depth interviews with PR managers, the findings suggest that many of the practitioners are well-informed and passionate about CSR but believe that their contribution is being limited by top management. The findings also revealed that the C-Suite is the most contributing internal stakeholder while employees, owners, shareholders, and board members are greatly absent in their input. Intervention from top management, the absence of internal guidelines and routines, the personal role of PR managers, the lack of dialogic communication and employee contribution are the most apparent barriers to better management of CSR. The findings provide implications for both CSR theory and practice in discussing the significance of dialogic communication, the inclusion of employee voice, and the ability of PR to independently lead CSR. Suggestions for PR practitioners are presented in the context of the findings.