15032-4834d-1pass-r01.indd
DOI: XXXXXXXXXX/ XXXXXXXXXX
17 Advancing Socially
Responsible Strategies
Through Earned Social
Media
Catalin G. Pavel and R. Greg Bell
Over the last three decades companies have tried to be socially respon-
sible by creating a business setting where they have a positive impact on
society, environment, and the economy, all without compromising profi t-
ability. Along with their quest to be socially responsible, fi rms today are
looking for ways to convey their e� orts to consumers and other stake-
holders. Research suggests that an organization’s image is a� ected by the
combination of interactions between members of the organization and
external audiences and corporate spokespersons’ engaged in impression
management ( Hatch & Schultz, XXXXXXXXXXTo shape stakeholder perceptions,
many organizations make public their CSR e� orts in annual CSR reports.
Communicating CSR practices is not as easy as it may sound. It has
een long known that when communication is not clear for consumers,
comprehension can su� er ( Keyes, 1953 ).
Thus, how can fi rms make consumers aware of CSR practices in an
e� cient and cost-e� ective way? Epstein and Roy XXXXXXXXXXidentify commu-
nication and promotion of CSR activities as the key performance drivers
of successful CSR practices. We suggest that CSR communication must
go beyond the release of CSR reports best practices. To ensure that CSR
communication reaches its intended purpose, we propose that fi rms
ing
the consumer into the communication process. In other words, fi rms
may benefi t from a pull strategy, where consumers are freely spreading
the word on behalf of the fi rm instead of the ordinary push approach
efl ected by the CSR reports published on annual basis. Specifi cally, CSR
communication is about choosing the right message and proper medium
of di� using the message to ensure consumers receive it as intended. We
elieve the essential test that should guide CSR communication it is not
whether it is worth it but whether it presents an opportunity to engage the
consumer. It is this type of engagement that can lead to positive results,
and we posit that social media is a viable medium for engaging consum-
ers and contribute to a positive fi rm image.
In this chapter, we suggest that it is increasingly important for a fi rm
to know how to publicize its CSR initiatives and create the synergy that
will lead many consumers to bond with the fi rm. We suggest that message
226 Catalin G. Pavel and R. Greg Bell
appeals and decision-making styles may generate positive earned social
media (ESM) regarding the CSR e� orts of a fi rm, and in turn, positive
ESM may lead to the sought-after consumer-fi rm bond that will deter-
mine consumers to continue advocating on social media for their pre-
fe
ed CSR-conscious organizations.
Our approach is an adaptation of Court, Elzinga, Mulder, & Vetvik’s
model that, after its publication in 2009 in McKinsey Quarterly, has pos-
itively infl uenced
anding processes in the digital era. Although Court
et al.’s XXXXXXXXXXapproach is marketing-related, we suggest that it could
e helpful in a modifi ed form in the CSR communication area as well.
Specifi cally, we believe that consumers of CSR-related news evaluate and
advocate (Stage II in Court et al.’s model) based on how CSR e� orts are
presented. Those who are impressed by a fi rm’s CSR e� orts may bond
with the company (Court et al.’s Stage III), and continue to advocate on
its behalf. We present these ideas in following sections.
CSR Communication
CSR’s “triple bottom line” that attempts to harmonize a fi rm’s e� orts to
ecome socially responsible, environmentally sound, and economically
viable has steadily grown in importance among organizations. Rising
consumer interest in CSR has prompted fi rms to invest in CSR initiatives
when they viewed this investment as a profi table proposition. Likewise,
when fi rms deem CSR practices to increase customer loyalty, sales, or
the fi rm’s positive public opinion, they will often publicize their CSR
initiatives.
Van de Ven XXXXXXXXXXproposed three approaches for CSR communi-
cation: reputation management approach, building a virtuous
and
approach, and the ethical product di� erentiation approach. Organiza-
tions will often adopt one or more of these approaches when developing
their CSR reports. However, regardless of the approach used, consumers’
eaction to CSR communication is still contradictory. Indeed, profusion
of CSR claims, justifi ed or not, does not guarantee that a strategy of “do
good and let others talk about it” will work. In fact, this strategy may
cause fi rms to miss their full potential if consumers are not engaged in
conversations.
Knowing how to properly communicate CSR initiatives may assist
with developing competitive positions. As such, it has become a fre-
quent topic in corporate communication because it is regarded as
something that a� ects the fi rm’s reputation and legitimacy ( Ve
oven,
XXXXXXXXXXDespite this importance, consumers are still largely uninformed
of fi rms’ CSR practices ( Bhattacharya, Sen, & Korshchun, XXXXXXXXXXWe
explore opportunities for fi rms to communicate CSR practices in the
following sections.
Advancing Socially Responsible Strategies 227
Earned Social Media
The advent of social media has created new opportunities for fi rms to
advertise their products and services. However, their emergence has
prompted fi rms to seek a better understanding of consumers’ social
media habits and how to exploit those habits to increase sales,
and
loyalty, or willingness to purchase. One of the challenges for organiza-
tions is attempting to discern the motivation of consumers to engage in
social media. Scholars also point that consumers’ engagement in social
media refl ects their desire to be infl uential, their desire to interact, keep
in touch with friends and family, seek opinions of others, receive
and
promotions, of communicate better with friends and fi rms ( Gironda &
Korgaonkar, XXXXXXXXXXThe collaborative nature of social media creates
a tremendous opportunity for fi rms to interact with their consumers.
Consumers fi nd social media a very convenient method to generate and
disseminate
and-related messages and, in turn, the easiness of con-
sumer-authored social media assists fi rms ascertain what consumers care
about the most ( Dobele & Lindgreen, XXXXXXXXXXThis user-generated content
is refe
ed to as earned social media. Thus, ESM represents any
and-
elated content posted on social media platforms by organizations and/or
people not associated with the
and. Examples of ESM include reviews
and videos about a fi rm’s product and/or services, shares of the fi rm’s
social media posts, or any other content intended by the user to provide
his or her opinion on a fi rm’s o� erings. ESM’s salience is undisputable
considering the fast and far-reaching e� ect of social media posts.
The interest in ESM is tied to the way social media platforms operate.
Specifi cally, platforms such as Facebook operate on social connections
ased on pre-existing relationships. In turn, this creates an opportunity
for fi rms to reach to users’ contacts and, based on the users’ news inter-
est, push content that matches their preferences. Forman, Ghose, and
Wiesenfeld’s XXXXXXXXXXstudy is of particular interest because it uncovered
that consumers trust those in their inner circle more than strangers. Thus,
if fi rms would like to get the word out about their CSR practices, it will
ehoove them to learn what determines consumers to engage in ESM.
ESM is a construct comprising two dimensions: volume and valence.
ESM volume is represented by the number of all ESM content created
voluntarily by social media users, whereas ESM valence is the sentiment,
either positive or negative, expressed by the ESM post. As a dichotomous
construct, ESM ought to be regarded by both users and fi rms as a tremen-
dous opportunity to benefi t from. From consumers’ perspective, ESM is
important because they can share content, fi nd information, learn, be
entertained and, most importantly, feel empowered. This empowerment
decreased traditional media’s infl uence, especially because social media
provides an easy avenue of sharing experiences, opinions, reviews, and
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228 Catalin G. Pavel and R. Greg Bell
feedback online. The consumers’ role changed from merely observing an
advertising ad and sharing impressions with the inner circle of acquaint-
ances to co-creating content with marketers that can be shared quickly
worldwide ( Singh & Sonnenburg, XXXXXXXXXXAs a result of this involvement,
consumers make purchasing decisions based on reviews because they are
more inclined to trust other users’ opinions ( Nielsen, 2012 ).
Concu
ently, ESM presents an opportunity for fi rms to benefi t from
positive ESM. Specifi cally, fi rms recognize ESM’s potential to engage con-
sumers in disseminating news about a fi rm’s CSR practices. The conun-
drum experienced by practitioners, however, is how to create an online
setting that will not seem controlled by the fi rm and not feel boastful and
unauthentic ( Nelmapius & Bosho� , 2016 ).
The infl uence of positive valence ESM has been studied in various con-
texts. Studies such as Colicev, Malshe, and Pauwels’ XXXXXXXXXXrevealed that
educed uncertainty based on third party reviews lead to increased sales
or
and equity. We propose these fi ndings can be applicable to the CSR
context as well: the more consumers engage in positive ESM about a
fi rm’s CSR practices, the higher the regard for that fi rm. We opine fi rms
should concentrate on generating positive ESM in small online communi-
ties because these have the highest potential to generate the most negative
ESM.
Volume of ESM is also of great signifi cance. For example, Goh, Heng,
and Lin XXXXXXXXXXfound ESM volume to be a great contributor to
and
awareness. This fi nding is complementary to an earlier study by Berger,
Sorensen, and Rasmussen XXXXXXXXXXthat found that the higher the volume
of reviews, the higher the number of sales when compared to those of
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