A cloud for global good: Exploring hypermodal corporate strategies for communicating Microsoft’s CSR

Purpose. Drawing on an interdisciplinary methodological framework related to CSR, the present study focuses on how communication reflects the symbiotic relation existing between CSR and diversity management (DM), and specifically delves into the discursive strategies related to diversity commitment and management as disclosed through online external corporate communication. Methodology. Based on a social semiotics perspective upon multimodal discourse analysis, the paper explores what types of multimodal knowledge about social actors and actions are communicated in a persuasive CSR discourse, and what kinds of legitimating and evaluative strategies are employed. The model is applied to the specific case of Microsoft. The collected hypermodal data comprise webpages from the company’s Global Diversity and Inclusion website including both verbal and visual elements. Findings. The results show how the meaning-making potentials of written text and images are discursively integrated on the corporate website dedicated to DM, and how this multimodal integration influences the hypermodal corporate strategies for communicating about diversity and responsibility. It also reveals the semiotic modes’ interconnectivity and functional differentiation in the digital context of CSR communication. Originality/value. This study contributes theoretically to building bridges between the two management concepts and practices of CSR and DM by showing how, in communication, diversity commitment and management are integral to internal CSR. On a methodological level, it contributes by extending the focus of analysis from text exclusively, to several semiotic modes while also addressing their interconnectivity and functional differentiation. Another contribution is related to the qualitative approach to web data that favors a fine-grained critical exploration of meaning construction over quantitative content description.