The construction of social performance in social media channels

• Firms face pressure to deliver social performance that is acceptable to their stakeholders. The feedback that a firm receives from its stakeholders is therefore an essential source of information to understand whether it needs to change its social performance-related strategies. However, feedback on a firm’s social performance tends to be messy, particularly in social media, to which firm-stakeholder communication increasingly turns. We present a longitudinal case study that unpacks the underlying processes of social performance feedback construction in social media and subsequent change in firms’ social performance strategies. We identify recurring communication loops in which managers interact with stakeholders who self-police discussion channels, which reduces the heterogeneity of feedback and supports managers’ ability to comprehend feedback. We find that managers adapt their social initiatives based on mixed feedback, while positive feedback has little effect, and negative feedback leads to threat-rigidity responses if isolated and leads to change if it is the result of a concerted stakeholder effort.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications (hsv//eng)

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