ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights how social media afford non-government organizations (NGOs) new ways to influence and/or challenge large business organizations and their claims of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It provides an overview of the role of NGOs as institutional actors and outlines the developments in social media adoption by NGOs and their implications for advocacy. Social media are a cost-effective tool that allows NGOs to strengthen their outreach efforts, promote engagement by enabling feedback loops, and strengthen collective action through increased speed of communication. The chapter explains how new forms of mobilization can undermine corporate claims of social responsibility and discusses the managerial and ethical implications. The role of stakeholders and NGOs in particular, is highly situational and depends on a number of variables, including managerial perception of salience. As institutional actors and stakeholders, NGOs are in a position to influence corporate practices and social or environmental responsibilities by engaging in the co-construction and (re)definition of social standards and expectations.
