When CSR Clicks: In a New IABC Research Foundation Study, Stakeholders Rate How Well Companies Communicate Their CSR Activities Online

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Corporate social responsibility programs need to be well run and strategic in scope in order to have an impact. However, to communicate the range and importance of CSR activities, companies must navigate a complex web of diverse stakeholder groups with different needs and motivations.

An IABC Research Foundation study currently under way aims to identify best practices in CSR communication. The first phase of the project explores how companies communicate CSR programs via corporate CSR websites and other online media, and how they reach out to multiple stakeholders in a way that is simple, credible and interactive. (Additional results will be published in 2013.)

New media, including blogs and social networking sites, are recognized as important channels for stakeholder consultation. However, social media and other online tools have not historically been used for increasing interaction and dialogue about CSR activities, according to "Perceptions of Corporations on Facebook: An Analysis of Facebook Social Norms" by Purdue University Professor Mihaela Vorvoreanu, Ph.D., and similar research. Rather, the blogosphere is more often used as a means to transmit corporate messages and identify the most influential stakeholders in a specific CSR area. Few companies have fully explored the use of social media for stakeholder consultation.

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So we asked: Are there companies that are doing this well? And which companies best communicate online with stakeholders in terms of simplicity, credibility and interactivity?

To find out, we interviewed 37 people from different stakeholder groups with different communication needs in terms of these criteria. These groups included students; investors and analysts; customers and potential customers; professionals and scholars; employees; the media; and potential recipients of CSR efforts, grants or partnerships.

After conducting the interviews and identifying the communication needs of each group, we designed a code sheet to analyze the online communication of top companies. Our content analysis aimed to identify the companies that best …