This study explores how employees perceive their organization’s Corporate Social Respon-sibility (CSR) communication, focusing on both internal and external dimensions. As there is limited research approaching CSR communication from an integrative and employee per-spective, this qualitative research investigates how employees perceive both consistencies and inconsistencies within and between these communication streams.

Methodologically, the study draws on nine semi-structured interviews that were conducted with employees from medium to large organizations across various roles and industries. Thematic analysis revealed that employees perceive and interpret all forms of CSR commu-nication, whether internal, external, official, or unofficial, as signals of CSR commitment. Four types of inconsistencies were identified: between internal and external communication, between unofficial and official communication, within internal communication, and between communication and actual activities.

Inconsistencies were associated with skepticism and dissatisfaction, particularly in cases of insufficient or unclear internal communication, while consistencies fostered trust and au-thenticity. These findings highlight that employees notice not only the variety of CSR com-munication but also the absence of messages, both of which influence their perceptions. Therefore, organizations and future research should adopt a holistic, integrated approach to CSR communication, considering not only the alignment across channels but also the effec-tiveness and impact of each CSR message, even of the one never delivered.