Stakeholders’ social dialogue about responsibility and sustainability in the food sector

This paper aims at understanding whether firms conceive and use social media as disseminators, as well as amplifiers, of their results concerning sustainability and responsibility and whether this practice stimulates stakeholder engagement and participation, laying the foundation for a dialogue on corporate social responsibility.

This research analyses the theoretical background of communication related to sustainability and responsibility and the company–stakeholder dialogue in the food sector. An inductive interpretive approach is provided by conducting a qualitative content analysis related to the communication practices of the food company Ferrero (Italy) from June 2015 to September 2019.

Companies can use social channels to present their vision, values, approaches and choices related to sustainability and responsibility. Social media can become useful networks to reach stakeholders requiring and claiming for transparency about more and more relevant topics – allowing, at the same time, a two-way relationship and dialogue.

The limitation of the paper is that it presents the observation of a single firm.

The managerial implications relate to the value created by a dialogical communication: this is a strong foundation for enhancing relationships capable of maintaining and increasing the company's reputation. The establishment of an interchange about sustainability and responsibility represents a new way to direct the company and its stakeholders towards mutual support in creating value.

This article contributes to enriching the debate on the degree of knowledge, understanding, response and reaction to social media–based corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication.