Communication of CSR Activities via Social Media
Added on 2022-08-02
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Meixner et al.
1
The communication of CSR activities via social media
A qualitative approach to identify opportunities and challenges for small and medium-
sized enterprises in the agri-food sector
Oliver Meixner*, Elisabeth Pollhammer and Rainer Haas
* Corresponding author:
Institute of Marketing & Innovation
Department of Economics and Social Sciences
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Feistmantelstr 4
A-1180 Vienna / Austria
oliver.meixner@boku.ac.at
Abstract
Within this paper we analyze a state-of-the-art type of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
communication, communication via social media. This type of communication with stakeholders is of
growing importance. Opportunities and challenges of communication through social media channels are
identified with special emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agri-food sector. 8
expert interviews were conducted on the basis of a broad literature review. The results of the qualitative
interviews are analyzed by means of a comprehensive computer aided qualitative content analysis. The
study enables the reader to get insights into the current situation regarding the implementation of CSR
communication through social media channels in SMEs. Opportunities and threats of the application of
social media are identified. The results are compared with relevant findings from literature.
Keywords: Small and medium sized enterprises, social media, corporate social responsibility
1 Introduction – The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility
The concept of “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) comprises all activities related to the social
responsibility of enterprises, i.e. the responsibility of companies for their impacts on wider society as part
of a sustainable economic development. The concept goes back to the mid 20th
Although there is no single commonly accepted definition of the concept itself – Dahlsrud (2008) alone
identified 37 commonly used definitions of CSR – the definition of the European Commission (EC) can be
considered to reach broad consensus. The EC defines CSR as a concept “whereby companies integrate
social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their
stakeholders on a voluntary basis. Corporate social responsibility concerns actions by companies over and
above their legal obligations towards society and the environment. Certain regulatory measures create an
environment more conducive to enterprises voluntarily meeting their social responsibility” (EC, 2011, p.
3). In brief, we can reduce the available definitions to three main points:
century. Howard R.
Bowen stated in his book “Social Responsibilities of the Businessman” (1953) that this concept “refers to
the obligations of businessmen to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines
of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society” (Bowen, 1953, 6).
Bowen’s considerations can be seen to be the starting point for a worldwide development in
organizational management. Quite often, international guidelines from governmental organizations are
influencing CSR frameworks, but we also see an increase in collaborations between the private and civil
sectors to establish platforms for responsible business practices (Poetz et al., 2013, 59). Actually, no
company is in a position to neglect the import of the CSR concept.
1
The communication of CSR activities via social media
A qualitative approach to identify opportunities and challenges for small and medium-
sized enterprises in the agri-food sector
Oliver Meixner*, Elisabeth Pollhammer and Rainer Haas
* Corresponding author:
Institute of Marketing & Innovation
Department of Economics and Social Sciences
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Feistmantelstr 4
A-1180 Vienna / Austria
oliver.meixner@boku.ac.at
Abstract
Within this paper we analyze a state-of-the-art type of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
communication, communication via social media. This type of communication with stakeholders is of
growing importance. Opportunities and challenges of communication through social media channels are
identified with special emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agri-food sector. 8
expert interviews were conducted on the basis of a broad literature review. The results of the qualitative
interviews are analyzed by means of a comprehensive computer aided qualitative content analysis. The
study enables the reader to get insights into the current situation regarding the implementation of CSR
communication through social media channels in SMEs. Opportunities and threats of the application of
social media are identified. The results are compared with relevant findings from literature.
Keywords: Small and medium sized enterprises, social media, corporate social responsibility
1 Introduction – The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility
The concept of “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) comprises all activities related to the social
responsibility of enterprises, i.e. the responsibility of companies for their impacts on wider society as part
of a sustainable economic development. The concept goes back to the mid 20th
Although there is no single commonly accepted definition of the concept itself – Dahlsrud (2008) alone
identified 37 commonly used definitions of CSR – the definition of the European Commission (EC) can be
considered to reach broad consensus. The EC defines CSR as a concept “whereby companies integrate
social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their
stakeholders on a voluntary basis. Corporate social responsibility concerns actions by companies over and
above their legal obligations towards society and the environment. Certain regulatory measures create an
environment more conducive to enterprises voluntarily meeting their social responsibility” (EC, 2011, p.
3). In brief, we can reduce the available definitions to three main points:
century. Howard R.
Bowen stated in his book “Social Responsibilities of the Businessman” (1953) that this concept “refers to
the obligations of businessmen to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines
of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society” (Bowen, 1953, 6).
Bowen’s considerations can be seen to be the starting point for a worldwide development in
organizational management. Quite often, international guidelines from governmental organizations are
influencing CSR frameworks, but we also see an increase in collaborations between the private and civil
sectors to establish platforms for responsible business practices (Poetz et al., 2013, 59). Actually, no
company is in a position to neglect the import of the CSR concept.
• Voluntariness, beyond a company’s legal obligations
• Integration into all business operations and interactions with stakeholders
• Sustainable development towards society and environment
The precise definition of CSR affects business organizations in the long run, therefore, the concept is of
strategic relevance. In particulars, we could talk about a pyramid of CSR: “Corporate social responsibility
encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic expectation placed on organizations by
society at a given point in time“ (Carroll, 2009, 35). The pyramid of CSR can be described as follows from
economic responsibility, the base of this pyramid to the top, philanthropy (Carroll, 1991, 42):
1. Economic responsibility: be profitable (the foundation)
2. Legal responsibility: obey the law (society’s codification of what is right and wrong)
3. Ethical responsibility: be ethical (right, fair, just)
4. Philanthropic responsibility: be a good corporate citizen (improvement of quality of life in society)
Consequently, a company’s responsibility goes towards a three domain approach (Schwartz and Carroll,
2003, 505pp): economic, legislative, and ethical (including philanthropy), with none of these components
outweighing the other ones (cf. Himpel et al., 2008, 119). The concept of CSR is comparable to the more
general concept of sustainability1
In summary, we can assume that enterprises are responsible for their impact on society (European
Commission, 2011, 6), which encompasses the economic, ecological and social aspects, the so-called
“triple-bottom line” (Elkington, 1994; Crane und Mattens, 2004, 24f). Within the food sector, companies
are forced to make all efforts to guarantee resources-saving, energy-optimizing, and low-emission
production processes (Maloni und Brown, 2006, 44). Given that a specific company is makinging these
efforts and initiating relevant CSR projects or activities, one core question arises: How should this
company inform the public about these activities?
which is a part of modern management (Garriga and Melé, 2004, 58).
CSR means that companies are responsible for their direct and indirect stakeholders (cf. Bassen et al.,
2005, 234). Following Freeman’s (1984) distinction between internal and external stakeholders, they
should aim to maximize the creation of “shared value” for the internal stakeholders (shareholders,
investors, employees, etc.) and external stakeholders (the public, clients, NGOs, etc.) as well (Clarkson,
1995, 105ff; Mitchell et al., 1997, 853).
2 CSR communication via social media
A key function of the CSR management approach is the adequate communication of CSR activities to the
interested public. Companies want to achieve credibility. They inform transparently about CSR activities
and integrate stakeholders into the CSR progress and all related processes. Topics like food security,
traceability, origin, animal welfare, and environmental impacts are of growing interest for a number of
stakeholders and companies, NGOs and the public administration is obliged to deliver relevant
information (Forsman-Hugg et al., 2008, 1; Maloni and Brown, 2006, 36; Heyder and Theuvsen, 2008,
177). This is getting even more important as a number of food scares shocked the whole supply chain in
the past. Food companies can reduce disparities by implementing an appropriate CSR strategy including
appropriate communication.
However, traditional communication tools like the mass media are loosing importance, as up to date
communication tools try to initiate a true stakeholder dialog via social media like weblogs, wikis, video
postcasting via social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The application of social media demands
specialized knowledge. For larger companies in the food sector Meixner et al. (2013) show that, even
1 Confirming the Brundtland-Report “sustainable development meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need “ (United Nations World
Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, 8).
• Integration into all business operations and interactions with stakeholders
• Sustainable development towards society and environment
The precise definition of CSR affects business organizations in the long run, therefore, the concept is of
strategic relevance. In particulars, we could talk about a pyramid of CSR: “Corporate social responsibility
encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic expectation placed on organizations by
society at a given point in time“ (Carroll, 2009, 35). The pyramid of CSR can be described as follows from
economic responsibility, the base of this pyramid to the top, philanthropy (Carroll, 1991, 42):
1. Economic responsibility: be profitable (the foundation)
2. Legal responsibility: obey the law (society’s codification of what is right and wrong)
3. Ethical responsibility: be ethical (right, fair, just)
4. Philanthropic responsibility: be a good corporate citizen (improvement of quality of life in society)
Consequently, a company’s responsibility goes towards a three domain approach (Schwartz and Carroll,
2003, 505pp): economic, legislative, and ethical (including philanthropy), with none of these components
outweighing the other ones (cf. Himpel et al., 2008, 119). The concept of CSR is comparable to the more
general concept of sustainability1
In summary, we can assume that enterprises are responsible for their impact on society (European
Commission, 2011, 6), which encompasses the economic, ecological and social aspects, the so-called
“triple-bottom line” (Elkington, 1994; Crane und Mattens, 2004, 24f). Within the food sector, companies
are forced to make all efforts to guarantee resources-saving, energy-optimizing, and low-emission
production processes (Maloni und Brown, 2006, 44). Given that a specific company is makinging these
efforts and initiating relevant CSR projects or activities, one core question arises: How should this
company inform the public about these activities?
which is a part of modern management (Garriga and Melé, 2004, 58).
CSR means that companies are responsible for their direct and indirect stakeholders (cf. Bassen et al.,
2005, 234). Following Freeman’s (1984) distinction between internal and external stakeholders, they
should aim to maximize the creation of “shared value” for the internal stakeholders (shareholders,
investors, employees, etc.) and external stakeholders (the public, clients, NGOs, etc.) as well (Clarkson,
1995, 105ff; Mitchell et al., 1997, 853).
2 CSR communication via social media
A key function of the CSR management approach is the adequate communication of CSR activities to the
interested public. Companies want to achieve credibility. They inform transparently about CSR activities
and integrate stakeholders into the CSR progress and all related processes. Topics like food security,
traceability, origin, animal welfare, and environmental impacts are of growing interest for a number of
stakeholders and companies, NGOs and the public administration is obliged to deliver relevant
information (Forsman-Hugg et al., 2008, 1; Maloni and Brown, 2006, 36; Heyder and Theuvsen, 2008,
177). This is getting even more important as a number of food scares shocked the whole supply chain in
the past. Food companies can reduce disparities by implementing an appropriate CSR strategy including
appropriate communication.
However, traditional communication tools like the mass media are loosing importance, as up to date
communication tools try to initiate a true stakeholder dialog via social media like weblogs, wikis, video
postcasting via social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The application of social media demands
specialized knowledge. For larger companies in the food sector Meixner et al. (2013) show that, even
1 Confirming the Brundtland-Report “sustainable development meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need “ (United Nations World
Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, 8).
Meixner et al.
3
though social media are innovative alternatives to initiate a true customer dialog, social media tools have
not to be applied on a broad basis; and 2 way communication depends on the size of companies as to
which social media tools are applied. “Smaller companies still seem to be less interested in social media –
or they do not have adequate know how and/or resources” (Meixner et al., 2013, p. 32).
3 Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and CSR communication
The focus of this study, the application of social media for CSR purposes, does not include the whole food
sector. It only addresses SMEs, and important opportunities and challenges of this specific type of
communication for SMEs are identified. Confirming Günter Verheugen, a member of the European
commission “Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the engine of the European economy.
They are an essential source of jobs, create entrepreneurial spirit and innovation in the EU and are thus
crucial for fostering competitiveness and employment” (EC, 2005, p. 4). In the EU 28 there are over 20
million SMEs representing 99% of all businesses and almost 90 million jobs (Muller et al., 2014, p. 14). The
definition of SMEs conforming to the EC regulation 2003/361/EC can be taken from Table 1.
Table 1. Definition of SMEs according EC recommendation
Compulsory
attribute
Interchangeable attributes (in Euro)
No. of
employees
Annual turnover Annual balance sheet total
Medium-sized < 250 ≤ 50 million or ≤ 43 million
Small < 50 ≤ 10 million or ≤ 10 million or
Micro < 10 ≤ 2 million or ≤ 2 million or
Source: EC, 2005, p. 14
The main goal why companies try to achieve an adequate CSR communication strategy is gaining
competitive advantages (Hooghiemstra, 2000, 64). CSR communication is part of public relations (PR)
(Huck-Sandhu, 2011, 207). Confirming Morsing und Schultz (2006) there are 3 particular strategies
available concerning PR and stakeholders: the “stakeholder information strategy”, the “stakeholder
response strategy” and the “stakeholder involvement strategy”. The stakeholder information strategy
mainly aims to provide objective, company related information to the public (Morsing und Schultz, 2006,
326f.). When applying a stakeholder response information strategy, feedback and opinions of
stakeholders are considered. There is a true stakeholder dialogue but only based on the information
provided by the enterprise itself (asymmetric communication; Osburg, 2012, 473). If companies are eager
to implement open and interactive communication with stakeholders they should follow a stakeholder
involvement strategy. Both, companies and stakeholders are defining the contents (symmetric
communication). It “... assumes a dialogue with its stakeholders. Persuasion may occur, but it comes from
stakeholders as well as from the organization itself, each trying to persuade the other to change”
(Morsing und Schultz, 2006, 328).
If SMEs want to include stakeholders in their CSR strategy (by means of a stakeholder dialogue), a further
integration of social media into the strategic communication policy would be extremely valuable. In brief,
“Social Media is a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological
foundations of Web 2.0, and that allows the creation and exchange of User Generated Content” (Kaplan
and Haenlein, 2010, 61). The core elements here are Web 2.02
2 Instead of only passively consuming internet-based web content, Web 2.0 refers to a more participatory
approach of actively creating and sharing content. “Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer
industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for
success on that new platform. Chief among those rules is this: Build applications that harness network
effects to get better the more people use them” O'Reilly (2006).
and the creation and exchange of User
Generated Content, in other words interaction and dialogue.
3
though social media are innovative alternatives to initiate a true customer dialog, social media tools have
not to be applied on a broad basis; and 2 way communication depends on the size of companies as to
which social media tools are applied. “Smaller companies still seem to be less interested in social media –
or they do not have adequate know how and/or resources” (Meixner et al., 2013, p. 32).
3 Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and CSR communication
The focus of this study, the application of social media for CSR purposes, does not include the whole food
sector. It only addresses SMEs, and important opportunities and challenges of this specific type of
communication for SMEs are identified. Confirming Günter Verheugen, a member of the European
commission “Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the engine of the European economy.
They are an essential source of jobs, create entrepreneurial spirit and innovation in the EU and are thus
crucial for fostering competitiveness and employment” (EC, 2005, p. 4). In the EU 28 there are over 20
million SMEs representing 99% of all businesses and almost 90 million jobs (Muller et al., 2014, p. 14). The
definition of SMEs conforming to the EC regulation 2003/361/EC can be taken from Table 1.
Table 1. Definition of SMEs according EC recommendation
Compulsory
attribute
Interchangeable attributes (in Euro)
No. of
employees
Annual turnover Annual balance sheet total
Medium-sized < 250 ≤ 50 million or ≤ 43 million
Small < 50 ≤ 10 million or ≤ 10 million or
Micro < 10 ≤ 2 million or ≤ 2 million or
Source: EC, 2005, p. 14
The main goal why companies try to achieve an adequate CSR communication strategy is gaining
competitive advantages (Hooghiemstra, 2000, 64). CSR communication is part of public relations (PR)
(Huck-Sandhu, 2011, 207). Confirming Morsing und Schultz (2006) there are 3 particular strategies
available concerning PR and stakeholders: the “stakeholder information strategy”, the “stakeholder
response strategy” and the “stakeholder involvement strategy”. The stakeholder information strategy
mainly aims to provide objective, company related information to the public (Morsing und Schultz, 2006,
326f.). When applying a stakeholder response information strategy, feedback and opinions of
stakeholders are considered. There is a true stakeholder dialogue but only based on the information
provided by the enterprise itself (asymmetric communication; Osburg, 2012, 473). If companies are eager
to implement open and interactive communication with stakeholders they should follow a stakeholder
involvement strategy. Both, companies and stakeholders are defining the contents (symmetric
communication). It “... assumes a dialogue with its stakeholders. Persuasion may occur, but it comes from
stakeholders as well as from the organization itself, each trying to persuade the other to change”
(Morsing und Schultz, 2006, 328).
If SMEs want to include stakeholders in their CSR strategy (by means of a stakeholder dialogue), a further
integration of social media into the strategic communication policy would be extremely valuable. In brief,
“Social Media is a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological
foundations of Web 2.0, and that allows the creation and exchange of User Generated Content” (Kaplan
and Haenlein, 2010, 61). The core elements here are Web 2.02
2 Instead of only passively consuming internet-based web content, Web 2.0 refers to a more participatory
approach of actively creating and sharing content. “Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer
industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for
success on that new platform. Chief among those rules is this: Build applications that harness network
effects to get better the more people use them” O'Reilly (2006).
and the creation and exchange of User
Generated Content, in other words interaction and dialogue.
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