Conceptualizing Web-Based Stakeholder Communication: The Organizational Website as a Stakeholder Relations Tool

Communication & Science Journal, 18 December, 2012

36 Pages Posted: 14 Dec 2012 Last revised: 5 Mar 2015

See all articles by Gregory D. Saxton

Gregory D. Saxton

Schulich School of Business, York University

Chao Guo

Penn School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

With the near ubiquity of the organizational website, organizations’ online stakeholder relationships have dramatically increased in prevalence, complexity, and financial and strategic importance. To help advance our understanding of these relationships, we introduce and test the multi-dimensional concept of Web-based stakeholder communication using original data on US community foundations. After presenting the conceptual foundations of Web-based stakeholder communication, we develop operational measures of its key dimensions, namely stakeholder targeting and the balance of organizations’ online stakeholder portfolios. We then explore the outcomes of Web-based stakeholder communication by testing for its relationship to subsequent levels of charitable contributions. We end with an in-depth discussion of the most important implications for organizational theory and practice.

Keywords: stakeholder relations, stakeholder communication, new media, websites, nonprofit organizations, organizational communication, organization-public relations

JEL Classification: L31, O33

Suggested Citation

Saxton, Gregory D. and Guo, Chao, Conceptualizing Web-Based Stakeholder Communication: The Organizational Website as a Stakeholder Relations Tool (2012). Communication & Science Journal, 18 December, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2189036

Gregory D. Saxton (Contact Author)

Schulich School of Business, York University ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://social-metrics.org

Chao Guo

Penn School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19104-6214
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
349
Abstract Views
2,679
Rank
167,544
PlumX Metrics