Does Oil and Goodwill Mix?: Examining the Oil and Gas Industry’s Impact on Stakeholder Engagement on Facebook

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe present study explores how oil and gas companies use Facebook to communicate about community-supporting initiatives and engage stakeholders. Drawing from the company–cause fit and social interactivity literature, we examined the type of message and the language used in company Facebook posts to elicit stakeholder engagement, as measured by the number of likes, shares, and comments. We content analyzed 953 Facebook posts from 12 companies featured on Oil & Gas Journal’s top 50-company list. The results showed that, although oil and gas companies are posting about their CSR-related efforts on Facebook, their lack of two-way messaging and interactive language use are not effectively engaging stakeholders. In terms of theory, this study advances company–cause fit and interactive studies by applying them to the oil and gas industry. In terms of practice, the results highlight the importance of using diverse messaging and interactive language when utilizing Facebook to engage stakeholders.