CSR as Corporate Power. A Communication View Facebook Approach: An Exploratory Study
Abstract
This article aims to operationalize and measure the power of corporate communication and the main strategies that Romanian companies use to communicate their CSR campaigns on Facebook. The study conducts an extensive survey designed to emphasize the corporate communication indicators of power within CSR communication on Facebook and their correlation with the CSR communication strategy used by the first 100 biggest companies in Romania according to their turnover. The most important findings refer to the practice of Romanian companies of using their Facebook pages, primarily in order to expand their market, and less for reaching the confidence of their stakeholders. Thus, they profess their preference for visibility against trust. Romanian companies mainly use the self-centered strategy to communicate their CSR actions on Facebook, which means that the indicatives „relationship” and „co-creation” are very weak from the company’s point of view. The resistance to power is strong on the stakeholders’ side. As a result, it can be observed that there is a big pressure from the stakeholders’ point of view concerning the CSR communication on Facebook, in Romania. While companies try to sell their products or services through Facebook, stakeholders try to establish a relationship and consolidate a trust liaison with the companies they choose to buy from. In this context, it can be acknowledged that companies would rather respond to stakeholders’ questions or inquiries, than be proactive and anticipate some of their needs or complaints.References
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