Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure

Responding to Investors’ Criticism on Social Media

Bibliographic Data

ID15480697
AuthorsYuming Zhang (0000-0001-9130-1842, Shandong University, corresponding author), Fan Yang (0000-0003-2978-7102, Shandong University)
Year2021
Volume18
Issue14
Pages7396-7396
Publication date2021-07-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph18147396
PMID34299847
OpenAlexW3181017532
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited59

Companies use corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures to communicate their social and environmental policies, practices, and performance to stakeholders. Although the determinants and outcomes of CSR activities are well understood, we know little about how companies use CSR communication to manage a crisis. The few relevant CSR studies have focused on the pressure on corporations exerted by governments, customers, the media, or the public. Although investors have a significant influence on firm value, this stakeholder group has been neglected in research on CSR disclosure. Grounded in legitimacy theory and agency theory, this study uses a sample of Chinese public companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to investigate CSR disclosure in response to social media criticism posted by investors. The empirical findings show that investors' social media criticism not only motivates companies to disclose their CSR activities but also increases the substantiveness of their CSR reports, demonstrating that companies' CSR communication in response to a crisis is substantive rather than merely symbolic. We also find that the impact of social media criticism on CSR disclosure is heterogeneous. Non-state-owned enterprises, companies in regions with high levels of environmental regulations, and companies in regions with local government concern about social issues are most likely to disclose CSR information and report substantive CSR activities. We provide an in-depth analysis of corporate CSR strategies for crisis management and show that crises initiated by investors on social media provide opportunities for corporations to improve their CSR engagement

Agency (philosophy · Business · Corporate social responsibility · Criticism · Government (linguistics · Greenwashing · Legitimacy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social media · Social responsibility · Sociology · Stakeholder · Stakeholder engagement · Stakeholder Theory · Stock exchange · Corporate Identity and Reputation · Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Accounting · Finance

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access