Skip to main content

CSR Communications on Twitter: An Exploration into Stakeholder Reactions

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Corporate Responsibility and Digital Communities

Abstract

The chapter explores CSR communications on Twitter and examines stakeholder reactions to the communication approaches of global food and beverage brands. The purpose is to gain insights into how companies communicate CSR on Twitter and how stakeholders perceive such approaches. Over 3000 Tweets from three companies and their stakeholders were collected using purposive sampling and coded using content analysis. The analysis revealed that a higher CSR ranking (Global CSR RepTrak 100) is an indicator of a higher amount of CSR communications. Findings suggest that product-related initiatives are well received by stakeholders and that there is a desire for more communication about the responsibility of products. The study contributes to the academic literature as it found that none of the companies were seen to have a two-way symmetrical dialogue approach, instead that companies are using a selective-dialogue approach when communicating on Twitter. The paper concludes that a more open dialogic approach to CSR communications on Twitter is not only better perceived than broadcast type communication by stakeholders, but that using stakeholder insights from this platform can aid companies in making strategic CSR decisions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Al-Khalifa, S.H., and R.M. Al-Eidan. 2011. An Experimental System for Measuring the Credibility of News Content in Twitter. International Journal of Web Information Systems 7: 130–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angeles, M., and M. Capriotti. 2009. Communicating CSR, Citizenship and Sustainability on the Web. Journal of Communication Management 13: 157–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker-Olsen, K.L., and R.P. Hill. 2006. The Impact of Sponsor Fit on Brand Equity: The Case of Nonprofit Service Providers. Journal of Service Research: 73–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castello, I., and J.M. Lozano. 2011. Searching for New Forms of Legitimacy Through Corporate Responsibility Rhetoric. Journal of Business Ethics 100: 11–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castello, I., M. Morsing, and F. Schultz. 2013. Communicative Dynamics and the Polyphony of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Network Society. Journal of Business Ethics 118: 683–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colleoni, E. 2013. CSR Communication Strategies for Organizational Legitimacy in Social Media. Corporate Communications: An International Journal 18: 228–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coombs, W. Timothy, and Sherry J. Holladay. 2015. How Activists Shape CSR: Insights from Internet Contagion and Contingency Theories. In Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Age, 85–97. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • De Vries, L., S. Gensler, and P.S.H. Leeflang. 2012. Popularity of Brand Posts on Brand Fan Pages: An Investigation of the Effects of Social Media Marketing. Journal of Interactive Marketing 26: 83–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devinney, T.M. 2009. Is the Socially Responsible Corporation a Myth? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Corporate Social Responsibility. Academy of Management Perspectives: 44–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Du, S., C.B. Bhattacharya, and S. Sen. 2007. Reaping Relational Rewards from Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of Competitive Positioning. International Journal of Research in Marketing 24: 224–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2010. Maximising Business Returns to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): The Role of CSR Communication. International Journal of Management Reviews 12: 8–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etter, M. 2013. Reasons for Low Levels of Interactivity (Non-) Interactive CSR Communication in Twitter. Public Relations Review 39: 606–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2014. Broadcasting, Reacting, Engaging – Three Strategies for CSR Communication in Twitter. Journal of Communication Management 18: 322–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fieseler, C., M. Fleck, and M. Meckel. 2010. Corporate Social Responsibility in the Blogosphere. Journal of Business Ethics 91: 599–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haigh, M.M., P. Brubaker, and E. Whiteside. 2013. Facebook: Examining the Information Presented and Its Impact on Stakeholders. Corporate Communications: An International Journal 18: 52–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, A.M., and M. Haenlein. 2010. Users of the World, Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons 53: 59–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kietzmann, J.H., K. Hermkens, I.P. McCarthy, and B.S. Silvestre. 2011. Social Media? Get Serious! Understanding the Functional Building Blocks of Social Media. Business Horizons 54: 241–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H.-H.M., W. Van Dolen, and A. Kolk. 2013a. On the Role of Social Media in the ‘Responsible’ Food Business: Blogger Buzz on Health and Obesity Issues. Journal of Business Ethics 118: 695–707.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, K., W.-Y. Oh, and N. Kim. 2013b. Social Media for Socially Responsible Firms: Analysis of Fortune 500’s Twitter Profiles and their CSR/CSIR Ratings. Journal of Business Ethics 118: 791–906.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, X., and C.B. Bhattacharya. 2006. Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Satisfaction, and Market Value. Journal of Marketing 70: 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, T.P., and A.W. Montgomery. 2013. Tweetjacked: The Impact of Social Media on Corporate Greenwash. Journal of Business Ethics 118: 747–757.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morsing, M., and M. Schultz. 2006. Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: Stakeholder Information, Response and Involvement Strategies. Business Ethics: A European Review 15: 323–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, Cau Ngoc, and Renee Oyotode. 2015. The Moderating Effect of Marketing Capabilities on the Relationship Between Changes in CSR perceptions and Changes in Brand Equity. International Management Review 11 (1): 17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peloza, J., and Shang, J. (2011). Investing in CSR to Enhance Customer Value. The Conference Board 3(3) [Online]. https://www.conference-board.org/retrievefile.cfm?filename=TCB%20DN-V3N3-111.pdf&type=subsite. Accessed 24 Sept 2015.

  • Pope, S., and A. Waeraas. 2016. CSR-Washing Is Rare: A Conceptual Framework, Literature Review, and Critique. Journal of Business Ethics 137: 173–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reputation Institute. (2014). 2014 CSR Global RepTrak 100 [Online]. https://www.reputationinstitute.com/Resources/Registered/PDF-Resources/2014-CSR-RepTrak-100-Study.aspx. Accessed 23 Sept 2015.

  • Schultz, F., and S. Wehmeier. 2010. Institutionalization of Corporate Social Responsibility Within Corporate Communications. Corporate Communications: An International Journal 15: 9–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, S., and C.B. Bhattacharya. 2001. Does Doing Good Always Lead to Doing Better? Consumer Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Marketing Research 38: 225–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Ethical Consumer. (2017). The Best and the Worst of the Last 25 Years [online]. http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/aboutus/ethicalconsumerat25/thebestandworstofthelast25years.aspx. Accessed 25 May 2017.

  • Vidhi, C., and J. Wang. 2007. Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility on the Internet: A Case Study of the Top 100 Information Technology Companies in India. Management Communication Quarterly 21 (2): 232–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whiting, A., and D. Williams. 2013. Why People Use Social Media: A Uses and Gratifications Approach. Qualitative Market Research: An Interactive Journal 16: 362–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoon, Y., Z. Gurhan-Canli, and N. Schwarz. 2006. The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities on Companies with Bad Reputations. Journal of Consumer Psychology 16: 377–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, L.R., and M. Nestle. 2007. Portion Sizes and Obesity: Responses of Fast-food Companies. Journal of Public Health Policy 28: 238–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Farache, F., Tetchner, I., Kollat, J. (2018). CSR Communications on Twitter: An Exploration into Stakeholder Reactions. In: Grigore, G., Stancu, A., McQueen, D. (eds) Corporate Responsibility and Digital Communities. Palgrave Studies in Governance, Leadership and Responsibility. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63480-7_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics