Consumer engagement through corporate social responsibility communication on social media: Evidence from Facebook and Instagram Bank Accounts

This paper investigates the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication through social media on consumer engagement, focusing on the top 15 European banks’ social media accounts. Drawing on stakeholder theory and customer engagement perspective, this study analyzes banks’ content posted on Facebook and Instagram from January 2021 to December 2022. The research employs multiple regression analysis to assess the relationship between CSR dimensions and consumer engagement. Results reveal that two CSR dimensions (employee support and diversity) positively arouse more engagement than non-CSR-related content. Oppositely, other CSR dimensions (environment, community support, product) provide negative or non-statistically signficant results compared to non-CSR-related content. This empirical study, utilizing official data from Facebook and Instagram, contributes valuable insights into consumer engagement with CSR-related posts in the banking sector, addressing both scholarly and practical needs for understanding consumer social media engagement dynamics.