Terms of engagement: Facebook and Twitter use among nonprofit human service organizations

• Published in: Nonprofit management & leadership Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 545 - 568
• Main Authors: Campbell, David A., Lambright, Kristina T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA Wiley Periodicals, Inc 01.06.2020; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Facebook; Hierarchies; Human service organizations; Management; Nonprofit organizations; Nonprofit < management; Organization theory; Social agencies; Social media; Social networks; Stakeholder engagement; Stakeholders; Twitter
• ISSN: 1048-6682; 1542-7854
• DOI: 10.1002/nml.21403

This study uses Lovejoy and Saxton's (2012) hierarchy of engagement to analyze how nonprofit human service organizations use Facebook and Twitter to engage stakeholders. Their framework has not been applied to this nonprofit subgroup, and most previous scholarship on this topic focuses on just one platform. We also contribute by drawing on organizational theory to better understand variation in the modes of engagement organizations emphasize. Based on our analysis, we add new subcategories to the hierarchy of engagement. In addition, we find that compared to other nonprofit subgroups examined in previous research, the organizations in our sample placed a greater emphasis on using social media messages to ask stakeholders to take action. We report only modest variations in how organizations were using Facebook and Twitter. Finally, according to our results, resource dependence and stewardship theories help explain the modes of engagement organizations prioritize.