Big Responsible Oil? A comparison between European and American oil majors in the topics of Corporate Social Responsibility communicated on Facebook using content Big Responsible Oil? A comparison between European and American oil majors in the topics of Corporate Social Responsibility communicated on Facebook using content

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2018-11-05
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en
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This research aimed to provide explorative insights on the influence of institutional context on the communication of CSR related information on social media. It is examined to what extent European and American oil companies differ in their CSR topics communicated on Facebook. A content analysis has been conducted of a random sample (N=580) of the Facebook posts of six major oil companies in the period of 2013-2018. Overall, it was found that the oil majors use a proportional amount of CSR communication in their overall Facebook communication (41%). Furthermore, CSR related posts communicated by oil companies on Facebook are found to be highly visual and one-way communication still dominates. Next, it was found that the American companies focus on the social aspect of CSR, whereas European companies tend to focus on the environmental aspect of CSR when communicating CSR on Facebook. This empirical research provides evidence that oil companies are adapting to their institutional context when communicating CSR information on social media. Although this research has some limitations, it has become clear that the CSR topics disclosed differ between European and American oil companies.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen