Organizational communication for social change on social media: NPOs’ social media strategies based on their perception of three stakeholder networks in collective and connective action

Abstract

Social media transform and complicate nonprofit organizations’ (NPOs) traditional communication to engage and lead stakeholders for collective action. Stakeholders can self-organize for connective action on social media and form stakeholder networks of varied potential and structures that NPOs may leverage for collective goals. Facing such networks, NPOs may communicate in diverse ways to accommodate and take advantage of the diverse stakeholder networks. Through two surveys conducted with 375 (Study 1) and 74 (Study 2) NPOs, this study suggests that NPOs diversify their communication to leverage different potential from each stakeholder network by crafting different types of social media activities based on their perception of different networks. This study develops a comprehensive theoretical understanding of NPOs’ transformed and complex communication strategies for stakeholder engagement in driving social change, opening up new avenues for organizational communication and collective and connective action scholarship.