Beyond lip service: Building moral legitimacy via human rights communication on social media – An Instagram-based investigation.

Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2024-06-25
Author(s)
;
DOI
Abstract
Gross corporate violations of human rights (HR) have fueled increasing demand for businesses to bear greater responsibility for protecting and developing HR. In response, many businesses have integrated HR into their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social advocacy (CSA) structures. However, corporate HR communication has received limited scholarly attention, and companies face considerable challenges in effectively engaging in corporate HR communication, particularly on social media (SM). Our study leverages Instagram data to address this gap by exploring how corporations utilize CSR and CSA communication strategies to engage in HR communication on SM. Our findings show that HR communication corresponds to a small portion of corporate SM communication and is predominantly centered around health, equality, and education issues. More importantly, we demonstrate that brands are rewarded on SM when their words are not just 'HR talk' but can demonstrate tangible actions and corporate openness to co-construct HR activities with external stakeholders. We consolidate our findings by conceptualizing the Human Rights Communication for Legitimacy (HRC4L) model for HR communication.
Language
English (United States)
Keywords
CSR communication
Human Rights Communication
CSA communication
Legitimacy
Social Media
Publisher
Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
Pages
36
Event Title
ICA 2024 Post-Conference: "The impact of public relations and promotional communication on human rights, inequalities, and social justice: Interdisciplinary reflections and future directions."
Event Location
Brisbane, Australia
Event Date
25 June, 2024
Official URL
URL