Insights from Turkey's Banking Sector

This study contributes to this growing literature by analyzing public and private banks in Turkey s banking sector with more than 300 branches and investigates the role of public relations and corporate social responsibility practices in constructing their organizational identities. In order to analyze the banks organizational identity, this research examines their corporate websites through a thematic content analysis. The focus of this study is organizational identity construction and how public relations and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices support and enhance this process. The study brings a relatively different theoretical perspective to the field of public relations through its focus on social identity theory. This research reveals that regardless of its core business functions, an organization has to communicate non-economic social concerns such as social responsibility for constructing a legitimate identity and sustaining it.

Autorentext

Sirin Atakan - Duman, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Administration at Turgut Özal University in Ankara, Turkey. Emel Özdora - Aksak, Ph.D., teaches in the Department of Communication and Design at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey since September 2012.