How do Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting in Social Media impact Customer-based Brand Equity? (PDF)

Master's Thesis from the year 2022 in the subject Business economics - Corporate communication, grade: 1,0, University of Southern Denmark, language: English, abstract: The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the impact of CSR reporting in social media on customer-based brand equity. For a better understanding the mediating effects of brand awareness, corporate image, brand authenticity, and brand loyalty will be assessed. In addition, the effect of CSR reporting in social media on perceived CSR and social media marketing efforts is explored.

This study incorporates the three following research methodologies to analyze and test the seven proposed hypotheses: a survey, in-depth interviews, and content analysis. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, this thesis applies an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach, which enables methodical triangulation. The qualitative research is based on interviews, but the focus however is on the quantitative analysis, combining the data from the conducted survey and the content analysis. The analytical method applied for the statistical analysis of the quantitative data is the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The four social media networks Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram and the following five sportswear brands have been selected as a base for the quantitative analysis: Nike, Adidas, Puma, The North Face, and Reebok.