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Sustainability as Master Frame of the Future? Potency and Limits of Sustainability as Normative Framework in Corporate, Political and NGO Communication

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The Sustainability Communication Reader

Abstract

The concept of sustainable development in relation to a constantly changing climate and related challenges is reflected in public discourses. This chapter conceptualizes sustainability as master frame of the future, as narrative which stimulates new discourses and paradigms. Snow and Benford’s (1992, 2000) concept of master frames as mode of articulation with a paradigmatic character is theoretically enriched with a specific focus on problematization as core of framing processes. The explorative and exemplary qualitative content analysis of corporate, political and civic engagement discourses in Germany, Austria, New Zealand and Australia (2018, 2019) shows that sustainability is no longer a “buzz word” (Weder and Krainer 2011) or “empty phrase” (Weder et al. 2019), but increasingly used as emergent quality of communication, as master frame with the potential to problematize and thus articulate, to evaluate and reframe ecocultural challenges, as foundation of meaning- and sensemaking processes for a better future – however only from a corporate perspective. Reflecting the limitations of the exemplarily selected material and the qualitative character of the empirical study in the background of the chapter, the findings show a hyperpositivism of sustainability communication and a lack of problematization. Further recommendations for future research in the field of sustainability communication and its effects bridging strategic, CSR communication and environmental studies are presented at the end of the chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Communication and Arts, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Franzisca Weder

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  1. Franzisca Weder
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Correspondence to Franzisca Weder .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Communication and Arts, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Franzisca Weder

  2. Department of Media and Communications, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Larissa Krainer

  3. Department of Media and Communications, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Matthias Karmasin

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Weder, F. (2021). Sustainability as Master Frame of the Future? Potency and Limits of Sustainability as Normative Framework in Corporate, Political and NGO Communication. In: Weder, F., Krainer, L., Karmasin, M. (eds) The Sustainability Communication Reader. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-31883-3_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-31883-3_7

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