Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure via Social Media: A Study of Selected Airline Operators in Nigeria

Abstract:

This study investigates what corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities three domestic airlines in Nigeria engage in, how frequently they report these CSR-related activities and if their CSR activities measure up to societal expectations by adopting Carroll’s (1991) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) model. Information reported on Facebook in 2017, 2018 as well as in the first 5 months of 2019 by three airline companies namely; Arik Air, Air Peace and Dana Air was analysed via content analysis. The analysis was done two times to ensure minimal errors. Within the period of analysis, the sum total of posts shared by the three airliners came up to 1,060 with 36 containing information related to CSR. The results imply that domestic airlines in Nigeria utilise Facebook for marketing communication and brand management than for corporate social responsibility reporting or disclosure. A larger number of information shared on Facebook by these air transporters is concerned with travel destinations, air fares, new offerings and service delivery. The study also reveals that most of the CSR activities disclosed by the airlines studied do not treat environmental sustainability related issues.