Communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR) on social media How do message source and types of CSR messages influence stakeholders’ perceptions?

• Published in: Corporate communications Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. 326 - 341
• Main Authors: Wang, Ruoxu, Huang, Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 19.06.2018
• Subjects: Behavior; Between-subjects design; Business communications; Communication; Digital media; Employees; Maternity & paternity leaves; Organizations; Perceptions; Social networks; Social responsibility
• ISSN: 1356-3289; 1758-6046
• DOI: 10.1108/CCIJ-07-2017-0067

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of message source and types of corporate social responsibility (CSR) message on stakeholder’s perception toward CSR and behavioral intention toward the company.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (message source: CEO’s Facebook account vs organization’s Facebook account) × 3 (types of CSR messages: internal CSR vs external CSR vs control) between-subjects online experiment (n=242) was conducted online.FindingsInternal CSR message elicited greater perceptions of trust, satisfaction, control mutuality, and commitment toward the organization among the stakeholders than the external CSR message and the CEO’s personal life message. A significant two-way interaction between the message source and the type of CSR message on behavior intention toward the organization was obtained.Originality/valueInternal CSR message does matter when it comes to social media posting. The general public do pay attention to what the CEO and the organizations are posting on their social media accounts. Message source does not matter when it comes to social media message posting. However, organizations and CEOs should try to stay consistent when it comes to creating a public CSR message.