Examining stakeholder reactions to corporate social irresponsibility: Evidence from social media

Abstract

What corporate behaviors are perceived as irresponsible by different stakeholders? How do such stakeholders react once they perceive irresponsibility? Using the literature on corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR), stakeholder theory and attribution theory, we examined a database of 100 000 social media posts on Twitter/X about Nestlé and H&M in the period 2015–2016. We found that the behavior of these two companies was perceived as irresponsible insofar as it caused direct harm to different stakeholder groups (stakeowners, stakeseekers, stakekeepers and stakewatchers). However, while stakeowners and stakeseekers were more likely to voice their concerns, they tended to voice their concerns only once. In contrast, stakewatchers and stakekeepers were more persistent in voicing concerns. In terms of goals, stakeowners and stakekeepers were more likely to advocate for information dissemination and community building than stakewatchers and stakeseekers, who were more likely to call for action. Our study therefore contributes to the CSiR and stakeholder engagement literature by illustrating how different stakeholder groups use social media to engage with firms perceived as irresponsible.