Transparency in corporate social responsibility communication on social media
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
ISSN: 0959-0552
Article publication date: 28 February 2023
Issue publication date: 14 April 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Retailers recently have started communicating their corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments to their consumers directly on social media. That is to say, CSR communication has expanded to social media that allow two-way communication, distinct from traditional CSR communication channels. As transparency has been recognised as a crucial factor influencing the effectiveness of traditional CSR communication, this study investigated its role in the social media context.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-level, single-factor (i.e. transparency of a mock retail company's CSR communication) between-subjects experimental design was employed, and 237 responses from an online survey were used for PROCESS macroanalysis.
Findings
Transparent CSR communication was found to increase the consumers' perceived CSR credibility and attitude toward the company, which influenced consumers' subsequent purchase intention (functionalistic outcome) and intention to respond to the CSR communication (constitutive outcome). The results of the study also corroborated that consumers' level of elaboration when processing CSR communication on social media depends upon their level of concern over the social issue.
Originality/value
The study extends the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to CSR communication in the social media context by validating that consumers' level of information elaboration is determined by their level of concern over the social issue. In addition, it provides the first empirical support for the significance of transparent CSR communication on social media and explains the mechanism of transparency's influence. Transparency indirectly affects consumers' behavioural intentions by forming a favourable attitude toward a retailer. The findings can help retail practitioners communicate CSR commitments persuasively on social media. The study also integrates functionalistic and constitutive perspectives of social media CSR communication, which is notable and discussed in depth.
Keywords
Citation
Lee, A. and Chung, T.-L.D. (2023), "Transparency in corporate social responsibility communication on social media", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 51 No. 5, pp. 590-610. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-01-2022-0038
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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