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Title: Exploring the Role of Social Media Platforms in Corporate Social Responsibility

Gap

Existing research rarely compares the effectiveness of different social media platforms in delivering CSR messages and enhancing corporate image. There is limited empirical data on the patterns of user interaction with CSR content and how these interactions (e.g., likes, comments, shares) affect user engagement and support for CSR activities. These gaps lead to a lack of clarity on which platforms are most effective for different types of CSR communication and user engagement strategies.

Aims:

This study aims to explore the use and impact of various social media platforms in corporate implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. Specifically, this study aims to identify the different social media tools and platforms used by companies and examine the unique role these platforms play in supporting and strengthening CSR.

Objectives:

Identify the various social media platforms used by companies in implementing CSR Explore the interaction patterns between users and companies on social media platforms and their impact on corporate engagement and support for CSR activities.

Questions:

What are the differences in companies implementing CSR activities through Facebook, Linkedin, and YouTube?

What are the patterns of user interaction with companies on social media platforms?

Methods

Use secondary data.

Based on Interbrand's brand rankings, we first determine the differences in how the top ten companies communicate their CSR activities on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter. Secondly, we collect data on the public's participation in these companies' CSR posts within half a year, compare the public's different response data (likes, comments, reposts) and the target companies' response levels, and evaluate the effectiveness of social media for corporate social responsibility communication, especially how they help companies interact with the public more effectively.

Quantitative analysis is used to evaluate the effectiveness of social media platforms in disseminating corporate CSR information and enhancing corporate image, as well as the public's participation and support for corporate CSR activities. First, social media analysis tools such as Hootsuite and Sprout Social are used to collect and analyze corporate activity data on social media platforms. Secondly, we focus on the interactive data of CSR content released by companies and the impact of these data on corporate image. Regression analysis is performed using Spss to evaluate the impact of different types of social media interactions (likes, comments, shares, etc.) on user support for corporate CSR activities.

Literature Review

Introduction

This study will collate relevant literature on CSR and stakeholders, explore the application and role of social media platforms in the dissemination of CSR, and the role of user interaction patterns in CSR dissemination.

CSR

CSR and sustainable development are increasingly becoming core components of modern corporate strategies. By implementing CSR and sustainable development projects, companies can not only enhance their own image, but also make positive contributions to society and the environment (Jamali, Safieddine and Rabbath, 2008). First, the definition proposed by Bowen (2013) emphasizes the social obligations that companies should bear, indicating that corporate behavior should not only pursue economic interests, but also follow the standards and expectations of stakeholders. This view reveals that the fundamental purpose of CSR is to balance the needs of stakeholders with the economic goals of the company, but this definition may also lead to conflicts between ethics and interests in practice (Revathy, 2012).

Carroll (1991)'s CSR pyramid model further refines CSR and divides it into four levels: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic. This model provides companies with a clear responsibility hierarchy framework, which helps companies pursue higher-level ethical and philanthropic goals while meeting basic economic and legal responsibilities. However, this model may also be criticized as being too idealistic and difficult to balance the implementation of responsibilities at all levels in actual operations.

Lantos (2001) further divides CSR into ethical, altruistic and strategic types. This view holds that CSR is not only a moral requirement, but can also be regarded as part of corporate strategy. This classification emphasizes the practicality and flexibility of CSR, and believes that companies can choose the appropriate type of CSR according to their own strategic needs. However, this approach may cause companies to ignore the essence of CSR - the moral obligation of social responsibility while pursuing strategic interests.

Some scholars believe that CSR includes two dimensions: internal and external (Werther and Chandler, 2010). External CSR refers to the practice of focusing on the management of local communities, natural resources and natural resources (El Akremi et al., 2015), and is aimed at activities that benefit external stakeholders (Farooq, Rupp and Farooq, 2017). Internal CSR refers to the management practice of focusing on internal labor (i.e. employees). This includes activities such as employee training, continuing education programs, safe working environments, diversity policies, daycare programs, and ethical labor practices (Brammer, Millington, and Rayton, 2007; Turker, 2009). This two-way focus helps companies to establish a comprehensive social responsibility system to a certain extent. However, it also faces challenges in resource allocation and priority setting.

Although Dahlsrud (2006) classified and summarized CSR from five dimensions: environment, society, economy, stakeholders, and voluntariness, illustrating the complexity of the concept of CSR, it also reflects the diversity and adaptability of CSR in different cultural and economic contexts. Companies may need to take into account the specific cultural, economic, and legal environment of the place when implementing CSR strategies in different regions around the world.

Stakeholders

Since Freeman proposed the stakeholder theory in the 1980s, it has profoundly influenced the practice and theoretical development of corporate management and CSR (CSR). The theory advocates that companies should treat all stakeholders equally, including shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, communities and the environment, to ensure that their needs and interests are met.

Stakeholder theory emphasizes that companies should balance and coordinate the interests of different stakeholders in the decision-making process to achieve sustainable development. The theory proposed by Freeman (1984) broke through the traditional concept of shareholder supremacy and provided a more comprehensive perspective for corporate management. However, with the popularity and application of the theory, many scholars have criticized its effectiveness and challenges in practical application. Jensen (2010) questioned the practicality of stakeholder theory, pointing out that the theory lacks clear performance measurement criteria, which may make it difficult for companies to effectively balance the interests of all parties in actual operations. Jensen's criticism reflects a core problem faced by stakeholder theory in the implementation process, namely how to quantify and evaluate the performance of companies in meeting the needs of different stakeholders.

Second, Cho, Furey and Mohr (2016) discussed the conflicts that may arise when dealing with different stakeholder expectations, especially the conflicts of interest between shareholders and community members. For example, between shareholders and community members, community members may think that shareholders do not really care about the community, but are just seeking benefits for the company (Nazeer, 2013). Furthermore, Brown and Fraser (2006) criticized the way companies implement CSR, pointing out that many companies implement CSR more as a marketing tool rather than fulfilling real social responsibilities. Such "superficial" CSR practices often fail to produce the expected social and environmental benefits, but may lead to public criticism and distrust of CSR activities. Such superficial CSR practices not only damage the reputation of the company, but may also trigger negative reactions from the public and reduce trust in the company.

In the case of many stakeholders, the interests and expectations of different groups may conflict. Frooman (1999) emphasized that in the case of many stakeholders, companies need to establish an effective conflict management mechanism to resolve conflicts through dialogue and consultation to achieve win-win results. This point points out that stakeholder theory in practice is not only about identifying and responding to the needs of all parties, but more importantly, how to manage and mediate the contradictions and conflicts among them. The effectiveness of stakeholder participation is also a key issue. In theory, stakeholder participation can enhance the legitimacy and effectiveness of a project, but in practice, it is difficult for companies to achieve true stakeholder participation.

Greenwood (2007) also mentioned the effectiveness of stakeholder participation, pointing out that although stakeholder participation can enhance the legitimacy and effectiveness of a project in theory, it is often difficult to achieve true stakeholder participation in practice.

The role of social media in CSR communication

Social media has become an important tool for companies to disseminate CSR (CSR) information. Social media platforms not only provide companies with a channel to communicate directly with the public, but also effectively improve corporate transparency and public engagement.

The interactivity and real-time nature of social media give it a unique advantage in CSR communication. Lee, Oh and Kim (2013) pointed out that social media has changed the way information is shared and relationships are established online, allowing previously passive information consumers to become their own information creators and disseminators. This change not only enhances the efficiency of information dissemination, but also increases the credibility and influence of information. Dwivedi et al. (2021) further pointed out that social media is not only a tool for information dissemination, but also can significantly improve corporate transparency and public engagement. For example, platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn allow companies to publish detailed information about their CSR projects and interact with users in real time (Kolk & Van Tulder, 2010; Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Pavlíček and Doucek (2015) found that CSR accounted for 13% of the information posted by most companies on Facebook and Twitter, ranking second.

In addition, social media platforms provide the public with a channel to express opinions and feedback. Cho, Furey and Mohr (2016) believe that the public can express their views and opinions on organizations and various things through social media. For the top 10 companies, social media is mature enough to be used and monitored to better understand public expectations (Cho, Furey and Mohr, 2016). Interaction can not only enhance corporate transparency, but also increase public trust and support for corporate CSR activities (Coombs and Holladay, 2011), but it is not so smooth in the communication process. Pavlíček and Doucek (2015) data show that the "viral spread effect" of CSR is only 2%. This shows that people are reluctant to spread this information.In addition, the inherent properties of different social media also allow companies to publish different content in a targeted manner (Moran, Muzellec and Johnson, 2019), such as spreading information through Facebook, interacting with the public through Linkedin, and sharing videos through YouTube.

Therefore, the following research questions are derived:

Research Question 1: Do companies use social media such as Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube to communicate CSR?

Although social media has many advantages in CSR communication, it also faces many challenges. First, communicating CSR is a unique challenge, which often produces negative effects during the communication process. Skarmeas and Leonidou (2013) believe that the most common negative reaction is CSR skepticism, and stakeholders may doubt the organization's intention to participate in CSR. This suspicion stems from the public's distrust of the company's true motives, believing that the company is only using CSR activities to enhance its image and market position. Secondly, the diversity and complexity of social media platforms increase the difficulty for companies to manage CSR communication. Different platforms have different user groups and interaction methods. Companies need to develop corresponding communication strategies for different platforms to ensure the effective communication of CSR information (Kietzmann et al., 2011). Gummerus et al., (2012) found that few customers actively interact with brand content and each other at the same time. In addition, the CSR information released by companies on social media may face negative feedback and criticism from the public. Due to the openness of social media, the public can comment and express opinions on the company's CSR activities at any time (Coombs, 2007). Failure to deal with negative feedback in a timely and effective manner may cause damage to the company's image and even trigger a greater public relations crisis.

Therefore, the following hypothesis is derived:

H1: Users are more likely to respond to non-CSR activities than CSR activities.

User interaction patterns and their impact

The interaction pattern between users and companies on social media is the key to understanding the effect of CSR communication (Cortado and Chalmeta, 2016). Interactions can include likes, comments, and sharing, which not only reflect users' attitudes towards CSR content, but may also affect other users' views and behaviors (Saxton and Waters, 2014). Likes are the simplest and most common form of interaction. Users express their approval and love for content by clicking the "Like" button. Studies have shown that likes are most closely related to the overall impression of company posts (Quesenberry and Coolsen, 2018). De Vries, Gensler and Leeflang (2012) showed that vivid and interactive brand post features can increase the number of likes.

Comments are considered the highest level of participation (Cho, Furey and Mohr, 2016). Comments can not only reflect users' attitudes, but also promote communication and discussion between users and enhance the interactivity of social media platforms (Yang, Kang and Johnson, 2013). De Vries, Gensler and Leeflang (2012) believe that the share of positive and negative comments is positively correlated with the number of comments.

Sharing is a behavior in which users forward content to their social networks. This form of interaction has a strong communication effect, which can spread content to a wider audience and enhance brand exposure and influence (Chu and Kim, 2011). The results of Quesenberry and Coolsen (2018) show that sharing is 55% associated with the unique impression of brand posts. And new content generates more user interactions.

Online social media provides organizations and stakeholders with better connections through participation and interaction, but research rarely shows that organizations are truly committed to public participation and interaction. However, research on the impact of different types of interaction on user support for CSR activities is still limited. More empirical research is needed to quantify the specific impact of these interactions.

This study proposes the following questions and hypotheses:

Research Question 2: What is the pattern of user interaction with companies on social media platforms?

H2: On social media, users' like behavior is positively correlated with their support for CSR activities.

H3: On social media, users' comment behavior (whether positive or negative) is significantly positively correlated with their support for CSR activities.

H4: On social media, users' sharing behavior significantly enhances the dissemination scope and public support for CSR activities.