IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v33y2025i5p7314-7335.html

Social Media and Sustainability Reporting: A Literature Review

Author

Listed:
  • Alice Pennesi
  • Marco Giuliani

Abstract

Continuous technological advances have radically changed the means of disclosure that companies adopt. These media have evolved from traditional paper media and have started using the Internet as a new platform for disseminating information about companies. Recent studies show that even non‐financial information, such as sustainability disclosure, is disseminated on websites and social media platforms. Social media platforms allow for the creation and development of new forms of “corporate dialogue and stakeholder engagement”, that is, the various processes and strategies that firms and other organizations implement in their stakeholder relations. This article aims to understand, systematize, and frame existing studies regarding the relationship between sustainability reporting and stakeholder engagement (dialogue) through social media, that is, how sustainability reports are influenced by and disseminated through social media. To achieve this aim, a systematic literature review (SLR) will be developed.

Suggested Citation

  • Alice Pennesi & Marco Giuliani, 2025. "Social Media and Sustainability Reporting: A Literature Review," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 7314-7335, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:5:p:7314-7335
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.3524
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3524
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.3524?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. Vitiana L'Abate & Nicola Raimo & Francesco Albergo & Filippo Vitolla, 2024. "Social media to disseminate circular economy information. An empirical analysis on Twitter," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 528-539, January.
    2. Michelle Greenwood, 2007. "Stakeholder Engagement: Beyond the Myth of Corporate Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 315-327, September.
    3. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-07-2015-2122 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Thomas Lyon & A. Montgomery, 2013. "Tweetjacked: The Impact of Social Media on Corporate Greenwash," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(4), pages 747-757, December.
    5. Neu, Dean & Saxton, Greg & Rahaman, Abu & Everett, Jeffery, 2019. "Twitter and social accountability: Reactions to the Panama Papers," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 38-53.
    6. Giovanna Afeltra & Alireza Alerasoul & Berto Usman, 2022. "Board of Directors and Corporate Social Reporting: A Systematic Literature Network Analysis," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 48-77, January.
    7. Gregory D. Saxton & Dean Neu, 2022. "Twitter-Based Social Accountability Processes: The Roles for Financial Inscriptions-Based and Values-Based Messaging," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(4), pages 1041-1064, December.
    8. Vitiana L'Abate & Nicola Raimo & Benedetta Esposito & Filippo Vitolla, 2024. "Examining the impact of circular economy disclosure on the cost of debt: A signaling theory approach via social media," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4007-4019, September.
    9. J. Emil Morhardt, 2010. "Corporate social responsibility and sustainability reporting on the Internet," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(7), pages 436-452, November.
    10. Benedetta Gesuele, 2016. "Municipalities and Facebook Use: Which Key Drivers? Empirical Evidence from Italian Municipalities," International Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(10), pages 771-777, August.
    11. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-01-2015-1939 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Daniel Zeghal & Sadrudin A. Ahmed, 1990. "Comparison of Social Responsibility Information Disclosure Media Used by Canadian Firms," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 3(1), pages 1-1, April.
    13. Maurizio Massaro & John Dumay & James Guthrie, 2016. "On the shoulders of giants: undertaking a structured literature review in accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(5), pages 767-801, June.
    14. Pizzi, Simone & Venturelli, Andrea & Variale, Michele & Macario, Giuseppe Pio, 2021. "Assessing the impacts of digital transformation on internal auditing: A bibliometric analysis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    15. Jerry Calton, 2006. "Social Contracting in a Pluralist Process of Moral Sense Making: A Dialogic Twist on the ISCT," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 68(3), pages 329-346, October.
    16. Giuseppe Nicolò & Natalia Aversano & Giuseppe Sannino & Paolo Tartaglia Polcini, 2020. "ICD corporate communication and its determinants: evidence from Italian listed companies’ websites," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(5), pages 1209-1232, December.
    17. Pablo Gómez-Carrasco & Encarna Guillamón-Saorín & Beatriz García Osma, 2021. "Stakeholders versus Firm Communication in Social Media: The Case of Twitter and Corporate Social Responsibility Information," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 31-62, January.
    18. Marco Bellucci & Giacomo Manetti, 2017. "Facebook as a tool for supporting dialogic accounting? Evidence from large philanthropic foundations in the United States," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(4), pages 874-905, May.
    19. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513579010136343 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Sumit Lodhia & Amanpreet Kaur & Gerard Stone, 2020. "The use of social media as a legitimation tool for sustainability reporting," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(4), pages 613-632, April.
    21. Salma S. Abed & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & Michael D. Williams, 2015. "SMEs' adoption of e-commerce using social media in a Saudi Arabian context: a systematic literature review," International Journal of Business Information Systems, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 19(2), pages 159-179.
    22. Giacomo Manetti & Simone Toccafondi, 2012. "The Role of Stakeholders in Sustainability Reporting Assurance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 363-377, May.
    23. Gregory D. Saxton & Charlotte Ren & Chao Guo, 2021. "Responding to Diffused Stakeholders on Social Media: Connective Power and Firm Reactions to CSR-Related Twitter Messages," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(2), pages 229-252, August.
    24. Reilly, Anne H. & Hynan, Katherine A., 2014. "Corporate communication, sustainability, and social media: It's not easy (really) being green," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 57(6), pages 747-758.
    25. Sumit K. Lodhia & Amir Allam & Andrew Lymer, 2004. "Corporate Reporting on the Internet in Australia: An Exploratory Study," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 14(34), pages 64-71, November.
    26. Maurizio Massaro & John Dumay & James Guthrie, 2016. "On the shoulders of giants: undertaking a structured literature review in accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(5), pages 767-801, June.
    27. Lian Fen Lee & Amy P. Hutton & Susan Shu, 2015. "The Role of Social Media in the Capital Market: Evidence from Consumer Product Recalls," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 53(2), pages 367-404, May.
    28. Joost F Wolfswinkel & Elfi Furtmueller & Celeste P M Wilderom, 2013. "Using grounded theory as a method for rigorously reviewing literature," European Journal of Information Systems, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 45-55, January.
    29. Patrizia Di Tullio & Matteo La Torre & Michele Antonio Rea, 2021. "Social Media for Engaging and Educating: From Universities’ Sustainability Reporting to Dialogic Communication," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-16, December.
    30. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    31. Michela Arnaboldi & Cristiano Busco & Suresh Cuganesan, 2017. "Accounting, accountability, social media and big data: revolution or hype?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(4), pages 762-776, May.
    32. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-03-2017-2880 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Laura Ferraro & Franco Ernesto Rubino & Giovanna Crocco & Eleonora De Luca, 2026. "Benefit Corporations and B‐Corps: A State‐of‐the‐Art Review Through Bibliometric and Content Analyses," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(2), pages 1734-1754, April.

    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. Giuseppe Nicolo & Lukasz Bryl & Diana Ferullo, 2025. "The Impact of National Cultural Dimensions on Corporate Environmental, Social and Governance Disclosure: Evidence From Social Media Practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 6345-6362, July.
    2. Nerantzidis, Michail & Tampakoudis, Ioannis & She, Chaoyuan, 2024. "Social media in accounting research: A review and future research agenda," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    3. Pasquale Latella & Stefania Veltri, 2024. "The drivers of nonfinancial disclosure quality: A systematic literature review analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(6), pages 5524-5542, November.
    4. Giuseppe Nicolo' & José María Cervilla‐Bellido, 2025. "Investigating the antecedents of Sustainable Development Goals disclosure via social media: Evidence from water companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(2), pages 2317-2331, March.
    5. Knudsen, Dan-Richard, 2020. "Elusive boundaries, power relations, and knowledge production: A systematic review of the literature on digitalization in accounting," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    6. Wei Deng & Jing Shao, 2022. "Empowering Green Development: How Social Media Interaction Influences Environmental Information Disclosure of High-Polluting Firms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-20, August.
    7. Amin, Marian H. & Mohamed, Ehab K.A. & Elragal, Ahmed, 2021. "CSR disclosure on Twitter: Evidence from the UK," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    8. Stefano Adamo & Clarissa De Matteis & Roberta Fasiello & Francesca Imperiale, 2025. "A Literature Analysis of Sustainability Reporting Quality," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 4194-4215, May.
    9. Hanan Qudah, 2026. "Tracing the development of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performs: a systematic review and bibliometric analysis," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.
    10. Luigi Lepore & Loris Landriani & Sabrina Pisano & Gabriella D’Amore & Stefano Pozzoli, 2023. "Corporate governance in the digital age: the role of social media and board independence in CSR disclosure. Evidence from Italian listed companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(3), pages 749-785, September.
    11. Jiaxin Liu & Boram Lee & Ruth Rentschler, 2025. "Leveraging entrepreneurial identity and technology: legitimacy of art securitization platforms," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 49(2), pages 327-354, June.
    12. repec:ehu:cuader:55446 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Dolores Gallardo‐Vázquez & Inna Choban de Sousa Paiva & Cristina Nuevo‐Gallardo, 2025. "Exploring the role of sustainability reporting strategies in promoting sustainable development in social economy entities: The circular economy as a mediator," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 2902-2925, April.
    14. Cristian R. Loza Adaui, 2020. "Sustainability Reporting Quality of Peruvian Listed Companies and the Impact of Regulatory Requirements of Sustainability Disclosures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22, February.
    15. Philip Fliegel, 2025. "How (Not) to Measure Companies' Climate Transition Risk: A Framework and Categorized Literature Review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 3049-3077, May.
    16. Abbas, Khalid, 2026. "Management accounting and artificial intelligence: A comprehensive literature review and recommendations for future research," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    17. Sherine Jharni & Giulia Leoni, 2026. "Mapping 24 Years of Sustainability Reporting Assurance Research: A Bibliometric‐Systematic Literature Review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(2), pages 2837-2886, March.
    18. Susanne Leitner-Hanetseder & Christoph Eisl & Carina Knoll & Othmar M. Lehner, 2021. "Need For Advanced It Skills For Accountants €“ What Does Accounting Education Literature Tell Us?," Business Education and Accreditation, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 13(1), pages 57-69.
    19. Simone Pizzi & Sara Moggi & Fabio Caputo & Pierfelice Rosato, 2021. "Social media as stakeholder engagement tool: CSR communication failure in the oil and gas sector," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 849-859, March.
    20. Irene M. Herremans & Jamal A. Nazari & Fereshteh Mahmoudian, 2016. "Stakeholder Relationships, Engagement, and Sustainability Reporting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 417-435, October.
    21. Ilenia Ascani & Chiara Ancillai, 2026. "Social media marketing and performance measurement: does it take two to tango?," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 775-823, March.

    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:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:5:p:7314-7335. 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: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    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.