The digital age: How SMEs use social media as a CSR communication tool to manage their legitimacy
Keywords
Loading...
Authors
Issue Date
2020-07-21
Language
en
Document type
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Title
ISSN
Volume
Issue
Startpage
Endpage
DOI
Abstract
This research explored how and why Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) use social
media to communicate about their socially responsible activities in order to manage
organizational legitimacy. This research was a qualitative multiple case study in which seven
SMEs operating the food-industry were studied. Little was known about how SMEs
communicate through social media about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Especially,
in terms of how SMEs manage organizational legitimacy through social media. Other studies
argued that Multinational Corporations (MNCs) use social media to communicate about their
organizational efforts regarding sustainability, and thereby, secure their legitimacy. This
research applied template analysis to analyse the seven interviews and documents. This
abductive study reveals that SMEs do not see the need to communicate about their CSR
activities on social media in order to manage their legitimacy. SMEs rather use social media to
communicate about their daily practices and their knowledge regarding their products and
industry. However, the daily practices of the SMEs participating in this research are intertwined
with CSR related activities. Therefore, this research argues that these social media posts of
SMEs are indirectly related to CSR. As a result, SMEs unconsciously use social media as a
CSR communication tool to manage their legitimacy. This research thus contributes to the
literature of legitimacy by stating that the CSR communication through social media within
SMEs depends on their core activities. Furthermore, SMEs do not intend to manage their
legitimacy by using social media as a CSR communication tool.
Description
Citation
Supervisor
Faculty
Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen