CSR Communication in the Digital Age - Investigating the Strategic Utilization of Social Media in the Social Enterprise Sector

This research aims to explore the value and utilization of social media strategies in corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication and their effectiveness among the social enterprise sector in the Netherlands. The concept of CSR has gained a lot of prominence within the business landscape in the past few years, posing numerous challenges for businesses to successfully communicate their social responsibility. Simultaneously, the emergence of the Internet, and more specifically of diverse social media platforms, has challenged the existing one-way communication approach of businesses in regard to CSR and has propelled the need for establishment of a dialogue with the stakeholders in businesses’ search for a stronger connection with the society. The notions of CSR and CSR communication have been predominantly examined in relation to the operations of large corporations such as General Electric or Timberland, as well as amongst medium and small businesses. However, scholars have not yet taken into account the vast expansion of the social enterprise sector as the new way of doing business, where CSR exists at its essence. Thus, it was of crucial importance for the further advancement of CSR and CSR communication literature to take on this approach and explore how social enterprises determine their social media strategy with respect to communicating CSR. In order to examine the current problem, this research relied on a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews conducted with experts in the fields of communications and operations within a set of social enterprises in the Netherlands. The main results of this research showed that social enterprises consider it crucial to communicate their identity to the stakeholders through showcasing their socially responsible efforts. It became evident that social enterprises primarily engage in an information strategy on social media focused on creating awareness when it comes to their CSR operations. This research also revealed the general attempts of the social enterprises to engage with their stakeholders through the establishment of a dialogue that is, however, still in its development stage. Due to lack of resources in the social enterprise sector, the effectiveness of the social media strategy in CSR communication, proved difficult to be established. Thus, this research closes with the hopes that future research will build on the current findings and take on a further in-depth exploration of the social enterprise sector in relation to CSR and CSR communication.