Paolo PICIOCCHI | Projects

DUAL MARKETERS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION. EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM CORPORATE WEBSITES

Digital communication allows to establish deep, reliable and honest connections with the community (public, investors, suppliers, etc.) thanks to its interactivity features. Considering, thus, the importance of the web for the diffusion of sustainability information – and in particular the critical role of corporate website – the present research will focus on the analysis of communication strategies on these issues implemented by dual marketers within the website. Specifically, it will aim to evaluate the orientation to sustainability through the identification of the elements of corporate identity within mission and value statement referred to commitment of organizations. Then, it will be investigated the presence of participatory and stakeholder engagement mechanisms and tools to support "inclusive" processes, structured collaboration and personal involvement. Again, it will be evaluated the presence of information on governance systems and instruments, through which the enterprise manages internal and external relations with its stakeholders, that are leading to the implementation of stated principles and goals. Finally, it will be sought the presence of contents explicitly linked to sustainability initiatives promoted by the company, usually located in dedicated sections, and it will be examined the appropriate formulation of these in accordance with the principles of communication. For the investigation, the following search questions will be included:-What is the level of compliance with sustainability communication (SC) requirements of dual marketers on their corporate websites?-What is the level of strategic orientation to sustainability expressed by dual marketers on their corporate websites?-What is the level of stakeholder engagement of dual marketers in sustainability communication on their corporate websites?-What is the level of governance related to sustainability issues, expressed by dual marketers on corporate websites?-What is the level of commitment to creating sustainability-related content of dual marketers on their corporate websites?In order to answer to research questions, the OSEC (Orientation, Structure, Ergonomy, Content) algorithm will be used to identify and evaluate the requirements for sustainability communication within the website. The coding scheme of OSEC groups the measurement indicators on three levels: macro-item, item and micro-item. For the purpose of the research, measurement will be conducted at the macro-item level and at the item level. The results obtained through the implementation of the algorithm can provide useful indications for helping dual marketers improving their digital sustainability communication.