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Despite the spread and progress in the literature related to the disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance around the world as one of the most essential tools for achieving sustainable development in society, its value relevance is still uncertain. Using a survey approach involving investors dealing in stocks of 60 enterprises listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) and included in the environmental, social, and governance index (S&P/EGX ESG index) and the equal-weight index (EGX100 EWI index), we empirically examine the importance of CSR financial performance disclosure by examining the extent to which it can influence investors' choices. In addition, we assess whether company reputation acquired through online social media (OSM) influences the extent to which CSR performance disclosure influences such judgments. To examine these matters, we conduct two tests: the first examines the influence of disclosure of company environmental activities on investors' decisions and the other examines the influence of disclosure of company social activities on investor decisions. Turning to our key results, we find that investment decision makers in both experiments tend to invest only in companies that have higher CSR performance scores. In the context of OSM, we provide and discuss empirical evidence that investment decision makers are more responsive to investing in companies included in the S&P/EGX ESG index, which have a positive e-reputation for CSR performance, than companies included in the EGX100 EWI index, which do not have such a reputation, which confirms that e-reputation, as one of the most important outputs of OSM, has a marginal impact on investment decisions and moderates the relation between disclosure of high CSR scores and investors' decisions. Therefore, this paper presents a modern starting point for CSR experts and academics, particularly in the emerging markets. In general, our paper expands the CSR-related investment literature. In line with the affect-as-information theory, our paper also expands the OSM literature by indicating that the effects of OSM depend on the information context, where failure to provide information to investors or other stakeholders in a timely manner may render the information useless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer hospitals enforce different initiatives to accelerate digital transformation, such as mobile health or artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, some health professionals are not willing to adopt these technologies. In order to change some employees' perspectives, these hospitals resort to social media platforms. This paper aims to evaluate how the worlds' best cancer hospitals manage social media platforms, as well as their corporate website, with the aim of disseminating brand-related content and reinforce their reputation. Therefore, we reviewed literature on cancer hospitals' corporate communication strategies, brand, social media platforms and online patient communities. We then resorted to 48 quantitative indicators to analyze how the 200 best cancer hospitals in the world managed Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as well as their corporate website, for branding purposes. In order to identify the 200 best hospitals, we explored the World's Best Specialized Hospitals 2021, an annual ranking published by Newsweek and Statista. The 48 indicators covered different elements concerning the hospitals' identity and communication activities, as well as patient engagement on social media platforms. Our quantitative analysis proved that most cancer hospitals had a corporate website (70.5%) as well as a profile on Facebook (74%), Twitter (74.5%) and YouTube (67.5%). Nevertheless, most of them did not respect the 48 key performance indicators. Finally, we proposed three main conclusions: a) cancer hospitals should establish a Corporate Communication Department employing different experts in communication, health and big data; b) they should promote an integrated corporate communication approach; and c) they should implement brand ambassador programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model that can be used to bridge organizational identity and reputation messages. The proposed model may help organizations more-effectively build and maintain both their desired identity as well as reputation. Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative and exploratory procedure was used to develop a model for simultaneously managing and measuring both identity and reputation messages. The process of conceptualizing an exploratory, qualitative value model begins with identifying relevant concepts and measures. A qualitative review of reputation and identity scholarship was examined for recurring themes and concepts. These themes were then used to formulate the identity and reputation functions and value measures. Findings – The proposed conceptual model presents characteristics and attributes that scholars and practitioners may need to consider when managing an organization’s identity and reputation messages online. The paper also presents potential applications of the model. Practical implications – The proposed qualitative value model, if further tested and quantified, has three potential applications: integrating identity and reputation messages across multiple platforms; telling stories reflective of both identity and reputation messages; and determining the value of attribution across contingencies. Originality/value – Considering the interrelated nature of identity and reputation messages, it is necessary to formulate a model delineating how the two may be bridged with one another. By proposing the conceptual model for how organizations may be able to align their identity messages with reputation messages, this paper hopes to establish a more conscious connection between the identity and reputation scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zer: Journal of Communication Studies / Revista de Estudios de Comunicacion / Komunikazio Ikasketen Aldizkaria is the property of Universidad del Pais Vasco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: In recent years, critical events have heavily affected the cruise industry. Such events may variously influence customers' intention to take a cruise in the future depending on different factors. This paper aims to study such factors, in particular the emotions related to the event, the prior corporate reputation and the use of social media in the corporate communication strategies followed during the crisis. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on the development of a structured questionnaire submitted online via blogs and other social media. Overall, 572 cruiser opinions were used to test five research hypotheses by performing logistic regression analysis. Findings: The degree of anger increases the likelihood of a critical event influencing the intention to take a cruise in the future. On the contrary, a former excellent corporate reputation reduces that likelihood and the high importance placed by potential customers on information about the critical event transmitted via social media does not have any influence. Practical implications: The study has several managerial implications, as it identifies and analyses the variables cruise company managers should consider when dealing with critical events. Originality/value: Despite the relevance of this topic, no studies have yet focused on how (and by which factors) a critical event may influence customers' intention to take a cruise in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper relies on the study of side effects of Communities of Practice (CoP), namely on those activities that are potentially in conflict with the main and publicly declared objectives (statements) of the company to which the CoP's members belong. Communities of Practice (CoP) are seen as a good opportunity for organizations to improve their own performance. When people with a shared passion join a CoP, they are able to add value to organizations, for example by helping drive strategy, or by exploring new lines of business. When members of a CoP choose a Social Network Website as a "place" to host their meetings and to share their thoughts, the practice performed within a CoP becomes public and - at least potentially - a corporate reputation issue arises. By analyzing 165 pieces of content (posts) produced by 5.223 members across 15 weeks within a CoP hosted on Facebook and created by Italian employees of the French Company "Auchan", we show how a "good" organizational practice can affect negatively the reputation of a company8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Defending their employer on LinkedIn or attacking their organization on Twitter: a ubiquitous social-mediated environment allows employees of crisis-stricken organizations to reach out to a mass audience with only a few keystrokes. But is such employee social-mediated crisis communication an opportunity or a threat to their organizations? By developing the perspective of employees in contrast to consumers, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of employee social-mediated crisis communication on organizational reputation.Design/methodology/approach An online survey experiment was conducted among 386 participants constituting the publics of an organization.Findings The findings demonstrate the importance of moderating effects of message framing (advocacy vs adversary) and medium (blog vs microblog). They show that in comparison to consumers, employees attacking their organization on social media, particularly via media such as blog, cause disproportionally more damage to organizational reputation.Research limitations/implications While the significant effects of employees’ adversary message might make them a threat for organizations, it is argued that the fact that employees are equally as effective as advocates for their organizations as consumers also constitutes an opportunity.Practical implications Organizations need to be cognizant of the threats posed by employees’ crisis communication as well as aim to reap opportunities offered by these credible communicators by considering strategies such as authentically integrating employees in the official crisis communication response.Originality/value By comparing the role of the two groups of stakeholders (employees vs consumers) in crisis communication, the study contributes to an important audience-centered perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to recent studies published, both by the EU and the UN, the food industry is one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions and other related environmental pollution. As sustainable development and global warming have in recent years gained increased importance, expectation would be that the various stakeholders force companies to improve their environmental performance. With the parallel advancement of the Information Age consumers and investors can now easily and almost instantaneously access company records. The media, including the Internet, which have become one of the main champions of environmental issues not only plays an important part in forming a firm's reputation, but also in influencing their stock price. In this context information takes on a new role, and can create incentives for companies to adopt a more environment-friendly behaviour . This paper sets out to examine coverage of the industries' environmental reputation in the international media contrasting it with its financial performance. How did attitudes change in recent years, and how should companies change with them to benefit from this increased attention? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developments in communication and information technologies have obliged corporations to be aware of the importance of their reputation in the virtual world as well as the real world. Corporations with a robust reputation are more attractive to investors and customers. At the same time, corporations having a robust corporate reputation manages crises more successfully. Reputation management is among the primary functions of public relations practices. One of the essential purposes of public relations practices is to manage the relations between corporations and their audiences, develop and maintain a strong reputation both in the real and virtual worlds. In this paper, the definitions of corporate reputation, online reputation, online reputation management concepts and the importance of these concepts in customer relations, communication and public relations are explained. This study aims to define the components that create, develop and maintain a robust reputation in the virtual world, examin the relationship between these components and explain their functions with concrete examples. Search engine optimization, social media activities and consumer-generated content constitute online reputation managements components. In order to embody the relations between these components, Turkey's two e-commerce websites were examined with the case study method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's mobile and digital world, where consumers have access to a wealth of information, in addition to entertainment, retail options, and many other novelties right in the palm of their hands, businesses cannot ignore the importance of reaching consumers through these digital media. In particular, the influence of Yelp, the online review site founded a decade ago, has been found to have statistically significant impact on business revenue in several economic analyses. This article reviews the literature on Yelp's impact on small businesses and contains preliminary findings from the beginning of an exploratory survey study of small business owners and entrepreneurs in the urban communities of Jersey City and Hoboken, a growing urban area right outside New York City. In the sample of 50 businesses surveyed thus far, many owners are heavily emphasizing their businesses' online presence and promotion, keeping a close watch on online reviews of their businesses particularly Yelp, and using social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to engage customers. A small group of owners in the sample report they place little importance on online reviews and broader digital media. Variables such as neighborhood, owner's age and personality, socio-economics and longevity of the business, influence the level of online usage by owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines the effects of employees' personal social media posts on external publics' online engagement and offline word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions about a company. Specifically, it investigates how employee post characteristics including valence and content and employer reputation jointly influence publics' online and offline behaviors. Design/methodology/approach: A 2 (post valence: positive vs. negative) × 2 (post content: organization-related vs. job-related) × 2 (employer reputation: good vs. bad) between-subjects experiment was conducted. Participants were asked to view a stimulus social media post created by a fictitious company employee, reflecting one of the eight experimental conditions on a random basis. After viewing, they were requested to report their online engagement intentions (i.e., "like," "share" and "comment") with the post and offline WOM intentions about the company. Findings: The experimental results showed that participants expressed more "like" intentions when they viewed a positive post than a negative post. Further, they were more likely to "comment" on a job-related post as opposed to an organization-related post. In addition, a significant interaction effect between post valence and employer reputation on publics' online engagement was found, which in turn influenced their offline WOM intentions about the company. Originality/value: This study is among the first empirical attempts to examine the effectiveness of employees' personal social media posts on external publics' online and offline behaviors. The experimental findings highlight the importance of managing employee relations from a corporate reputation perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines employer branding and the relationship between corporate reputation, social media, and the intention of potential applicants to seek future employment. The researchers deployed a structured questionnaire to gather data from national service personnel in Ghana via the WhatsApp platform using a Google Form hyperlink. The proposed conceptual framework was tested based on 581 generated responses. The researchers depended on ADANCO 2.1 software for analysis. This helped in producing the PLS-SEM. The results indicate that the application value, development value, and social value positively impact reputation, which successively influences the intent to apply. The findings also reveal that, where social media influence intention to apply, it does not positively impact corporate reputation. The limitation of this study and directions for future studies are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study is the usage of social media in the banking sector. We investigate why banks have decided to use social media and the obstacles they face. We describe the different goals of social banking: advertising purposes (showcase) versus interaction with clients and prospects in order to develop strong relationships through open, continuous, and transparent communication. We seek to understand the reasons behind any usage of social banking and, thus, the expected objectives banks wish to achieve in terms of visibility, loyalty, brand awareness, engagement, and reputation. Finally, we present a development path of the social media process in banks, focusing on the use of marketing tools. We also explore the relationship between social media strategies, customer behaviors, and reputation in the banking system, compared to other sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]