Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of external factors on the Facebook dialogue. As both weather and point in time substantially. As both weather and point in time substantially influence people’s lives, it can be assumed that both factors may also affect communication on Facebook. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study focusing on the impact of the external factors “weather” and “point in time” on a public utility’s Facebook communication. Design/methodology/approach The potential influence is explored through the case study of an Austrian public utility. The study focuses on 321 postings, published via the company’s official Facebook account between August 2016 and February 2018. Findings The empirical results confirm the influence of “weather” and “point in time” indicators on the stakeholder dialogue. The findings highlight how the relevant items affect the posting behavior of a utility, as well as stakeholders’ reactions, comments and shares. Originality/value By introducing both external factors to the social media literature, this paper broadens the understanding of Facebook communications beyond the sender and receiver of digital information. In this way, the research contributes to a more holistic view of Facebook dialogue. It provides practical advice on how social media managers of public utilities may use weather forecasts and “point in time” considerations to more strategically foster stakeholder dialogue in social media.
Highlights
As external factors might impact the conversation on Facebook, a closer investigation of these factors seems necessary to broaden our understanding of social media communication beyond the actual sender and receiver of digital information
4.2 Results of multivariate analysis As stated above, we tested the impact of weather and point in time on the Facebook communication of a public utility, considering postings’ content, visualization and number of words
Our paper applies the stakeholder theory to the Facebook communication of public utilities. It analyses to which extent the external factors weather and point in time affect the virtual dialogue between a public utility and its stakeholders
Summary
Another study interviewed users on the Facebook pages of public utilities about their expectations in terms of a dialogue on Facebook (Martin et al, 2018) Both strands of research provide detailed insights into the communication on the Facebook pages of public utilities. As the virtual dialogue might be actively used by the utilities to meet the challenges in the European energy sector, a more holistic view of the Facebook communication becomes crucial.
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