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To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00300.x Byline: May-May Meijer (1), Jan Kleinnijenhuis (1) Abstract: Effects of issues in business news on corporate reputation are often assumed, but less often put to a test. To study these effects, this study combines a recent extension of agenda-setting theory-the second level of agenda setting-with issue ownership theory. A content analysis of business news is linked to a panel survey to measure corporate associations and corporate reputation. The results provide empirical evidence both for the second level of agenda setting and for issue ownership, thereby showing that theories from the field of political communication are valuable for understanding the effects of issues in business news. Author Affiliation: (1)The Center for the Study of Philanthropy, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands Article note: May-May Meijer; e-mail: mm.meijer@fsw.vu.nl.

• Corporate giving as an expression of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been researched less than the more general theme of CSR. In addition, much of the research in this area focuses on countries with an Anglo cultural tradition. • The study outlined in this paper offers a comprehensive longitudinal study of corporate giving in the Netherlands. An overview, is provided of corporate giving in the Netherlands in the period from 1995 till 2003. • The data are gathered by means of a biennial survey of Dutch companies as part of the 'Giving in the Netherlands' project. Based on these findings, recent developments in corporate giving can be sketched out. • Moreover, literature on motives for corporate giving behavior is focused upon and applied in exploring Dutch managers' motivations for offering donations. Nonprofit organizations could use this knowledge to increase the efficiency of their fund raising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study replicates Paul, Zalka, Downes, Perry, and Friday's scale to mea- sure U.S. consumer sensitivity to corporate social performance (CSP) in another sample-namely, that of Dutch consumers. In addition, theories on the effects of sociodemographic variables on environmental concern have been applied to investigate the influence of individual consumer characteristics on the sensitivity to CSP. It was found that the Consumer Sensitivity Scale to CSP is a reliable one, and it also seems applicable to West European countries. For Dutch consumers, CSP serves more as a hygiene factor—it should be at a minimum acceptable level (a bottom line)—than as a motivator to buy a product. Having a left-wing political orientation, a higher level of education, being female, and being older are consumer characteristics that all have a positive influence on sensitivity to CSP. Surprisingly, household income did not influence this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]