Communicating corporate social responsibility issues on Facebook’s corporate fanpages of Latin American companies

Abstract

The new organizational context in Latin America has changed the relationships between companies and stakeholders. Companies need to increase trust and transparency, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication can help Latin American companies become legitimated in the social environment by strengthening relationships with their stakeholders. This study analyzes how Latin American companies communicate their CSR activities to their stakeholders on Facebook. The research includes a specific analysis of CSR presence, activity, contents, and resources on the corporate fanpages. The results reveal that content about CSR topics are not frequently published in this social network. Companies focus their communication on their economic topics rather than their social issues, and they are using Facebook as a dissemination channel rather than as a communication channel. They mainly manage fanpages to obtain visibility, thereby missing the opportunity offered by the social network to promote dialogue and participation about CSR activities with their stakeholders.