Stakeholder use of Social Media: A Communicative Catalyst of Corporate Social Responsibility
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2014
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
With specific regard to corporate social responsibility (CSR), this thesis aims to answer how is social media changing the relationship between the consumer and the corporation? As indicated by Edelman's 2014 Trust Barometer, global trust in government is at an all time low (41%). Dwindling trust in global politics coupled with expanding corporate influence in political decision making, as signaled by the United States Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, has led me to believe that corporations should be held more responsible for their societal impacts. CSR has long been considered the way in which companies should demonstrate their interest in society and the welfare of their consumers. However, Milton Friedman's widely accepted stockholder theory of business management, which suggests a firm's social role is to act in the monetary interest of its shareholders, has relegated CSR to the periphery of business strategy. With social media's meteoric rise in popularity, firms that want their brands to remain relevant and profitable are forced to maintain a presence on SNS. The transparency and visibility provided by social media's three aforementioned traits require highly visible brands to both market themselves and mitigate any potential scandals or shocks to their business.