Corporate YouTube practices of Eurozone companies

Abstract

Purpose

The current study extends the investigation into online relationship building by examining how Eurozone companies belonging to the EURO STOXX 600 index use the popular video platform YouTube to facilitate dialogic communication with their stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the extent and main purposes of the channel's usage, the companies’ activities and online practices, as well as the factors on this platform influencing the channel's activity, the audience, and the stakeholders’ engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve this goal a sample of 306 Eurozone companies listed in the STOXX Europe 600 index, including 19 subsectors and 12 countries, have been analysed. Stakeholder and dialogic theory were applied as a theoretical background for this study.

Findings

The results indicated that 44 per cent of companies studied have an official YouTube channel, which is mostly used for promotional purposes. It was found that the size of the company, the sector, and its country of origin determine YouTube channel activity, and that higher activity leads to a higher number of subscribers, thus fostering an initial step to better stakeholder engagement.

Originality/value

Given that this is the first study of its kind to provide this type of analysis, the resulting unique contributions may provide value to the information systems field and also contribute to the advancement of information systems research.

Citation

Bonsón, E., Bednarova, M. and Escobar-Rodríguez, T. (2014), "Corporate YouTube practices of Eurozone companies", Online Information Review, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp. 484-501. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-07-2013-0181