ABSTRACT
Digital CSR communication has gained significant traction and is of increasing importance to firms seeking to reap business benefits from their CSR investment. Drawing upon different streams of literature on CSR, institutional legitimacy, digital communication, and accountability, this chapter provides an in-depth discussion of the unique characteristics of digital CSR communication, an array of techniques managers could employ to enhance the effectiveness of such communication, and importantly, metrics for managers to comprehensively and systematically assess the accountability of digital CSR communication. This chapter highlights the importance of using rich media and encouraging interactivity and active participation by stakeholders in digital CSR communication. Furthermore, we show that the effectiveness of digital CSR communication is contingent on a variety of factors, including accessibility of CSR message, media richness, level of stakeholder participation, and, importantly, perceived credibility of CSR messages. Finally, accountability of digital CSR communication is a critical issue in CSR management; this chapter outlines several CSR-related, stakeholder-related, and firm performance-related metrics that managers should monitor to gauge the accountability of digital CSR communication on a continuous basis.
