IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/buseth/v34y2025i4p2226-2242.html

CSR Authenticity During Disruptive Events: Exploring Social Media Evaluations of Tesla's Ventilator Initiative in Response to COVID‐19

Author

Listed:
  • Saud Nasser Albusaidi
  • Tijs van den Broek
  • Kees Boersma

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives have increasingly become subject to authenticity evaluations on social media. Whilst CSR initiatives are evaluated as authentic if they were perceived to genuinely address societal issues and needs, it is unclear, however, how a disruptive event would change the way stakeholders perceive a company's CSR authenticity. Disruptive events have unique features of urgency, scarcity and uncertainty, which may make stakeholders expect companies to organize their CSR initiatives in different ways in order to be perceived as authentic. Hence, this study aims to explore the conceptualization of CSR authenticity during a disruptive event by analyzing social media evaluations of CSR initiatives. This paper presents the outcomes of an abductive analysis of Twitter evaluations about a respiratory‐ventilator production initiative of Tesla in response to the COVID‐19 crisis. Our findings suggest that three dimensions constitute CSR authenticity during a disruptive event: responsiveness, reliability and motivation. Disruptive events direct the attention of social media users to certain dimensions of CSR authenticity. We discuss the meaning and salience of these dimensions and conclude by implications for theory and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Saud Nasser Albusaidi & Tijs van den Broek & Kees Boersma, 2025. "CSR Authenticity During Disruptive Events: Exploring Social Media Evaluations of Tesla's Ventilator Initiative in Response to COVID‐19," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 2226-2242, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:buseth:v:34:y:2025:i:4:p:2226-2242
    DOI: 10.1111/beer.12765
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12765
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/beer.12765?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Laura Illia & Stefania Romenti & Belén Rodríguez-Cánovas & Grazia Murtarelli & Craig E. Carroll, 2017. "Exploring Corporations’ Dialogue About CSR in the Digital Era," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 39-58, November.
    2. Christopher Wickert, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility Research in the Journal of Management Studies: A Shift from a Business‐Centric to a Society‐Centric Focus," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(8), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Tijs van den Broek & David J. Langley & Michel L. Ehrenhard & Aard Groen, 2023. "When Do Evaluators Publicly Express Their Legitimacy Judgments? An Inquiry into the Role of Peer Endorsement and Evaluative Mode," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(6), pages 2143-2162, November.
    4. Daina Mazutis & Natalie Slawinski, 2015. "Reconnecting Business and Society: Perceptions of Authenticity in Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 137-150, September.
    5. Dusko Ursic & Andrej Smogavc Cestar, 2022. "Crisis Management and CSR in Slovenian Companies: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-16, February.
    6. Marlys K. Christianson & Maria T. Farkas & Kathleen M. Sutcliffe & Karl E. Weick, 2009. "Learning Through Rare Events: Significant Interruptions at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(5), pages 846-860, October.
    7. Alhouti, Sarah & Johnson, Catherine M. & Holloway, Betsy Bugg, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility authenticity: Investigating its antecedents and outcomes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 1242-1249.
    8. Ashish Arora & Michelle Gittelman & Sarah Kaplan & John Lynch & Will Mitchell & Nicolaj Siggelkow & Steven J. Kahl & Stine Grodal, 2016. "Discursive strategies and radical technological change: Multilevel discourse analysis of the early computer (1947–1958)," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 149-166, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen Wang & Yeonggil Kim & Changhee Kim, 2022. "Are all CSR Activities in Your SNS Authentic? The Antecedents and Outcomes of Consumer Perceived Authenticity of CSR," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, November.
    2. Seung Kook Choi & Yonghwi Noh, 2024. "The role of authenticity in creating shared value: From the perspective of sports firms’ corporate image and customer loyalty," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 18(3), pages 433-454, December.
    3. Kuho Lin & Michael Y.‐P. Peng & Muhammad Khalid Anser & Zahid Yousaf & Arshian Sharif, 2021. "Bright harmony of environmental management initiatives for achieving corporate social responsibility authenticity and legitimacy: Glimpse of hotel and tourism industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 640-647, March.
    4. Jing Yu & Changjun Jiang & Xiaohong Zhuang & Sanggyun Na & Zongmin Cui, 2020. "The Formation Mechanism of Consumer Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility Authenticity: An Empirical Study of Chinese Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-22, March.
    5. Abdulaziz Alhumud, Abdullah & Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Alarfaj, Weam & Ioannidis, Alexis, 2025. "The impact of digital CSR disclosure on customer trust and Engagement: The moderating role of consumer deontology and law obedience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    6. Tom Kluijtmans & Kenn Meyfroodt & Saskia Crucke, 2024. "Doing Good and Doing Well? CSR Climate as a Driver of Team Empowerment and Team Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(3), pages 599-614, December.
    7. Seonggoo Ji & Ihsan Ullah Jan, 2019. "The Impact of Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility on Frontline Employee’s Emotional Labor Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-14, March.
    8. Duygu Turker & Ozge Can & Gizem Aras‐Beger, 2023. "How authenticity of corporate social responsibility affects organizational attractiveness: Stakeholder perceptions of organizational ideology," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1680-1697, July.
    9. Ruiqian Xu & Jinchen Liu & Dongning Yang, 2023. "The Formation of Reputation in CSR Disclosure: The Role of Signal Transmission and Sensemaking Processes of Stakeholders," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-19, June.
    10. Anthony Samuel & Dan Taylor & Gareth R. T. White & Matthew Norris, 2018. "Unpacking the authenticity gap in corporate social responsibility: lessons learned from Levi’s ‘Go Forth Braddock’ campaign," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(1), pages 53-67, January.
    11. Mirzaei, Abas & Wilkie, Dean C. & Siuki, Helen, 2022. "Woke brand activism authenticity or the lack of it," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1-12.
    12. Hajir Afzali & Sang Soo Kim, 2021. "Consumers’ Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility: The Mediating Role of CSR Authenticity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-13, February.
    13. Saeed Tajdini & Edward Ramirez, 2019. "Firm authenticity: the construct, research propositions, and managerial implications," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 9(3), pages 324-338, December.
    14. Aya Aboelenien & Chau Minh Nguyen, 2024. "From Dr. Seuss to Barbie’s cancellation: brand’s institutional work in response to changed market logics," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 31(2), pages 108-125, March.
    15. Stine Grodal & Jaekyung Ha & Elizabeth Hood & Micah Rajunov, 2024. "Between Humans and Machines : The social construction of the generative AI category," Post-Print hal-04731673, HAL.
    16. Elisabeth Yang & Julia DiBenigno, 2025. "Opportunistic Change During a Punctuation: How and When the Front Lines Can Drive Bursts of Incremental Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(1), pages 40-64, January.
    17. Niki A. den Nieuwenboer & João Vieira da Cunha & Linda Klebe Treviño, 2017. "Middle Managers and Corruptive Routine Translation: The Social Production of Deceptive Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(5), pages 781-803, October.
    18. Gwarlann Kerviler & Nico Heuvinck & Elodie Gentina, 2022. "“Make an Effort and Show Me the Love!” Effects of Indexical and Iconic Authenticity on Perceived Brand Ethicality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 89-110, August.
    19. Isabel-María García-Sánchez & Cristina Aibar-Guzmán & Carmen Serrano-Valdecillos & Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán, 2022. "Analysis of the Dialogue with Stakeholders by the IBEX 35 Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-26, February.
    20. Abdessamad Dibi & Hamid Amifi, 2023. "Hidden cost-performance control, an innovative managerial practice for more resilient organizations [Le contrôle de gestion des coûts-performance cachés, une pratique managériale innovante pour des organisations plus résilientes]," Post-Print hal-04569445, HAL.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:buseth:v:34:y:2025:i:4:p:2226-2242. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26946424 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.