Mapping Sustainability Communication on Social Media: A NVivo-Driven Thematic Analysis of Organizational Practices, Stakeholder Engagement, and Governance Implications

Abstract

Purpose: The current paper channels its investigation into the communication of sustainability via social media and how the engagement of stakeholders, the dynamics of sentiments, governance structures, and signs of credibility determine the perceived organizational and societal impact.

Design / Methodology / Approach: The qualitative research design was used that utilized the NVivo based thematic analysis of the social media data of twelve organizations in banking, FMCG, energy, manufacturing, and textile sectors. The data have been coded in the six dimensions of analysis, including organizational practices, stakeholder engagement dimension, sentiment, impact dimension, drivers, and barriers. The frequency analysis of words, that of hierarchical node models, queries of matrix coding and cross case comparison were used.

Findings: Hybrid disclosure strategies that incorporates both symbolic sustainability narratives and selective evidence of performance are mostly adopted by organizations. The interest of stakeholders in different platforms and groups is different, with the customers involved showing more behavioral interaction, and the investors and non-governmental bodies showing more dialogue engagement. The trend of sentiment is mostly positive and indifferent, but negative sentiment is present when the discrepancies between the claims and the verifiable indicators cause greenwashing sceptics. When backed by supporting evidence, transparency signals and believable data, effective sustainability communication increases the intensity of reputation, legitimacy, and trust. The forces of adoption include the regulatory expectations, pressure on investors, and reputational goals, and the factors that limit disclosure are the information verification gaps, backlash risk, and the available resources.

Originality / Value: The article combines the perspectives of governance, stakeholder, and sentiment in one qualitative approach and provides the practical recommendations on enhancing accountability and credibility of digital sustainability reporting.