University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

We care about you during trying times: analyzing U.S. Fortune 500 companies' Facebook posts on COVID-19 responses

(USC Thesis Other)

We care about you during trying times: analyzing U.S. Fortune 500 companies' Facebook posts on COVID-19 responses

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content

Copyright 2023 Yexin“Veronica” Zhu

WE CARE ABOUT YOU DURING TRYING TIMES: ANALYZING U.S.
FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES’ FACEBOOK POSTS ON COVID-19
RESPONSES
by
Yexin“Veronica” Zhu

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(PUBLIC RELATIONS & ADVERTISING)

May 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………...………………ii
List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………….iii
Abstract…………………………………………….…………………………………..…………iv
Introduction…………………………………………….………………………………………….1
Chapter One: Literature Review…………………………………………………………..………3
Social Media and Facebook……………….…………………………………..……3
Firm-Generated Content and CSR…………………………………….……………4
CSR and Crisis Communication…………………………………...….……………5
CSR and Stakeholder……………….………………………………………………7
Chapter Two: Methodology……………………………….…………………………….……….10
Latent Dirichlet Allocation Topic Modeling………………………….…………..10
Sentiment Analysis……………….……………………………………...…..……11
Chapter Three: Results……………………………….………………….………………………13
Chapter Four: Discussion……………………………………………………………………...…18
Managerial Implications……………….……………………………………….…20
Theoretical Implications……………………………………………..……………21
Limitations and Future Research…………………………………….……………22
Chapter Five: Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..23
References ………………………………………………………….……………………………24

ii
List of Tables
Table 1: Topic Themes and Associated Keywords………………………………………………13
Table 2: Most to Least Positive Topics……………………………………………………..……14
Table 3: Top Post for Each Topic………………………………………………………..………14
Table 4: Posts with Highest Positive and Negative Scores, and Highest and Lowest Compound
Scores…………………………………………………………………….………………………15

iii
List of Figures
Figure 1: Predominant Emotions Among Posts………………………………………………….16
Figure 2: Descriptive Statistics for Each Topic………………………………………………….17

iv
Abstract
Organizations must exhibit good corporate citizenship during times of a crisis, such as COVID-
19. Moreover, corporations are advised to carefully select the type of CSR messages they send.
In this study, I examine how U.S. Fortune 500 companies discussed COVID-19 through their
CSR-related crisis communication messages posted on Facebook over the course of 17 months
and the emotions they expressed. This study corroborates earlier studies that demonstrate
consistent and altruistic CSR messages contribute to the establishment of positive brand images
by companies. This research also contributes to public relations theory and practice. By using
Natural Language Processing techniques, the study concludes that, in the context of CSR
communication, addressing controversial topics evokes negative emotions, while discussing
topics of diversity generates positive emotions. In conclusion, this study suggests theoretical and
practical implications, as well as limitations for future research.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, Topic modeling, Sentiment analysis, Corporate social
responsibility, Crisis communication

1
Introduction
Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, was first observed in Wuhan, China, and rapidly
spread around the world (Mao et al., 2020). As of September 26, 2022, at least 612 million
COVID-19 cases have been confirmed by the World Health Organization. Business has been
adversely affected by COVID-19 in a significant and unexpected manner (Antwi et al., 2021). In
response to the CDC guidelines, many stores were forced to close, causing economic and health
disruptions, and the U.S. government issued curfews, self-quarantine, and stay-at-home orders to
flatten the curve of the spread of the virus (Gostin & Wiley, 2020).
COVID-19 had a devastating impact on both a personal and professional level, and
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR hereafter) was introduced to manage crises, which kept
the company competitive and ensured continuity (Ursic & Cestar, 2022). For large firms to
survive the COVID-19 pandemic, various strategies must be deployed (Zhang et al., 2021b). It is
critical to note that COVID-19 is unique because it is a non-traditional crisis that threatens the
nation's sustainability, making it a humanitarian crisis (Ilmar et al., 2022). The ability of
companies to cope with a crisis can be enhanced by building trust, a positive reputation, and
long-term relationships with consumers (Diers-Lawson et al., 2021). As reported by Ramya and
Baral (2021), who examined a number of top companies during COVID-19, most were indeed
socially responsible and contributed to the community in numerous ways.
The purpose of this paper is to propose two research questions, which are: 1) What were
the major emotions conveyed by Fortune 500 companies when they provided COVID-19 related
CSR posts on Facebook? and 2) What were the major topics that Fortune 500 companies
discussed when they provided COVID-19 related CSR posts on Facebook? I do so by reviewing
the literature related to social media, CSR, crisis communication, and stakeholder engagement,

2
and evaluate the role that social media and CSR-related posts played during the COVID-19
pandemic. Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, I summarized 18,101 CSR
posts created by 480 companies from January 1, 2020, to May 18, 2021, and concluded the eight
most discussed topics as well as the main emotions they expressed. The last section of the paper
discusses the findings, and suggests future research as well as ways for corporations to engage
the public and fulfill their social responsibility obligations effectively.

3
Chapter One: Literature Review
Social Media and Facebook
Social media usage has increased dramatically in recent decades. Statistics from Statista
(2022) show that there were 4.59 billion active global social media users as of 2022, and that
number is expected to rise to 5.85 billion by 2027. Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are the
most popular social media platforms among millennials (Park, et al., 2021). They have been
shown to be effective in influencing brands and consumers (Duffett, 2015; Pauliene & Sedneva,
2019; Saeed et al., 2019). Social media can be used to assess consumer acceptance, for instance,
by displaying fluctuations in the number of followers a company has (Lee et al., 2018).
Particularly, Facebook is a platform that has the potential to increase brand visibility and
strengthen brand recognition (Nobre & Silva, 2014). The use of Facebook allows users to gain
access to news and to take part in the media selection process in a more autonomous,
independent, and innovative way. (Guo & Sun, 2020). By consistently posting on Facebook,
companies can drive engagement and the shareability of their content, which in turn increases
brand awareness (Quesenberry & Coolsen, 2018). As part of the same study, information is
provided about Facebook's other features. Users can use "likes" to convey affective responses to
online messages, and "comments" to share their opinions publicly - both ultimately influence
purchase decisions (Quesenberry & Coolsen, 2018). The study by Guo and Sun (2020) also
reveals similar conclusions about Facebook's features, suggesting that users use the "like" and
"love" buttons to express their sentiments, especially when visual elements are present. This
finding is also in agreement with a study by Sumner et al. (2017) that suggests the "like" button
on Facebook eases social interaction by facilitating sentiment sharing. The study of Sumner et al.
(2017) concludes that reaction buttons made by Facebook - such as "love", "sad", and "haha" -

4
are more likely to reveal users' intentions precisely than a single "like". With the new response
buttons, users were able to express a variety of emotions in an expressive manner (Wisniewski et
al., 2020).
While mass media existed long before social media, the latter is more influential in a
variety of ways (Palalic et al., 2020). The use of social media allows for the sharing of a wide
variety of content (Habibi et al., 2015). For example, external content – messages shared
between consumers or external stakeholders – and cross-organizational content – messages
shared between consumers and organizations (Habibi et al., 2015). Facebook, Instagram, and
Twitter are examples of social media platforms that allow users, including firms and consumers,
to produce content, including Firm-Generated Content (FGC hereafter) (Bui, 2021).
Firm-Generated Content and CSR
In studies, FGC has been proven to have significant and positive effects. Brands and
consumers have been shown to benefit from FGC in positive and significant ways (Al-Abdallah
& Jumaa, 2022). FGC helps customer-firm interaction and produce persistent effects (Kumar et
al., 2016), making it an effective method for setting up brand fan bases (Poulis et al., 2019). As a
result of exposure to FGC, an increased level of brand recall and recognition can also be
achieved (Colicev et al., 2019). The use of FGC as a marketing communication method is
common by brands, since it increases brand awareness and loyalty through techniques such as
building electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) (Poulis et al., 2019).
CSR messages can be effectively communicated on social media platforms and
relationships can be built with stakeholders both prior to and during a crisis (du Plessis, 2018).
There has been a growing body of research showing the importance of social media in improving
brands' CSR (Hao et al., 2018; Hayes & Carr, 2021; Cai, 2022). The feature of posting content

5
on social media can be a powerful tool for proving strong CSR initiatives, as social media
communication of CSR can positively affect consumer loyalty in crisis situations, leading to
reciprocal eWOM from consumers (Zhang et al., 2021). The use of social media during a crisis -
such as the COVID-19 pandemic - is crucial for businesses, especially when it comes to
generating FGC, since CSR-related FGC can influence consumers' values and loyalty (Dunn &
Harness, 2019).
It has been found that posting CSR messages on a company's social media page leads to a
higher level of consumer purchase intentions compared to posting non-CSR messages (Wang &
Huang, 2018). Kim et al. (2017) found that these enhanced purchase intentions occur across a
wide range of industries. A company that creates CSR-related messages is also viewed as an
altruistic entity and can act as a role model for its employees (Brammer et al., 2014). The more
unbiased, correct, and honest the company's CSR message appears to be, the more credibility the
company gains (Kim & Rim, 2019). An organization may enhance its ability to survive during a
crisis and minimize damages and contribute to disaster relief measures by posting appealing and
prompt CSR messages on social media (Chakraborty, 2014; Dunn & Harness, 2019). CSR also
significantly impacts business leaders’ reputations (Kim & Ji, 2021) and their loyalty to the
company (D’Aprile & Talò, 2015), a firm’s stock market performance (Pérez et al., 2020), and a
firm’s overall brand image (Zhu et al., 2013; Crifo & Forget, 2014; Kim, et al., 2017; Ghoul et
al., 2017; Newman et al., 2020) – especially during a crisis (Ducassy, 2012, Huang et al., 2020).
CSR and Crisis Communication
During crises, CSR became increasingly important as effective crisis management
depends on strategic CSR (Ducassy, 2012; Vallaster, 2017). Social media communication during
times of a crisis can be considered a form of strategic CSR. The unique characteristics of social

6
media platforms significantly influence how consumers perceive certain messages, such as crisis
communication messages that appear on such sites (Dunn & Harness, 2019). COVID-19 has
been used by many businesses for the purpose of providing consumers with guidance, which has
led to a marked increase in competition (Hesse et al., 2021). As a result of a competitive
environment such as this, companies are motivated to communicate crisis communication
messages that are goal-oriented (Koep, 2017). It has been found that consistency is the best way
for corporations to achieve positive CSR results (Park et al., 2018), and consumers are more
likely to trust organizations that have been practicing CSR for a considerable period of time
(Ham & Kim, 2017). Due to Facebook's pivotal role among social media, large companies have
consistently posted CSR messages related to COVID-19 on Facebook, making it a prime
platform for sharing content.
As a result of an unpreventable crisis, the public tends to view companies more positively
if they believe the messages are not being sent for monetary reasons (Hildebrand et al., 2017).
Crisis communication related to CSR enhances company reputation and aids firms in appearing
altruistic in crisis situations (Rim & Ferguson, 2017). A lack of altruistic CSR activities will lead
consumers to infer negative aspects of a company based on the attribution theory by Weiner et
al. (1972).
It is important for businesses to have crisis communication messages during times of
crises, but how they are composed is just as important. According to studies (Shim & Yang,
2015, Ham & Kim, 2017), tailoring messages during crises is important because it can make a
tremendous difference. It has been shown that corporate social media posts that are emotionally
framed restore consumer trust more quickly than those that are rationally framed through the
promotion of positive eWOM (Wang et al., 2021). In crises, it is imperative to deliver specific

7
CSR messages, so identifying the key emotional messages crafted by the U.S. Fortune 500
companies on Facebook is imperative, especially due to Facebook's potential as a platform for
users to express sentiments and for companies to engage in CSR activities. Accordingly, the
following research question is proposed:
RQ1: What were the major emotions conveyed by Fortune 500 companies when they
provided COVID-19 related CSR posts on Facebook?
Answering this question will reveal more about the broad and detailed emotions
expressed in the posts, which will ultimately reveal to what extent these companies perceived
their posts to be appropriate in tone.
CSR and Stakeholder
Although external and internal stakeholders interpret and respond to crises differently
(Frandsen & Johansen, 2011), maintaining strong stakeholder relationships is essential to the
success of an organization. A company's vulnerability to crises can be significantly reduced by
developing well-cultivated relationships with both internal and external stakeholders (van der
Meer et al., 2017). Through CSR, firms generate value for their stakeholders, resulting in
competitive advantages (Huang et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has proved a positive
correlation between CSR activities and shareholder value (Arora et al., 2021). As a result of an
organization's CSR efforts, stakeholder relationships can be greatly impacted (De Roeck, 2016)
and promoting organizational CSR activities increases stakeholder trust (Wang & Huang, 2018).
Furthermore, according to a study (McDonald et al., 2010), CSR activities can be helpful in
reducing adverse reactions from stakeholders in times of uncontrollable crises. As a result of
crisis situations resulting from outside factors, stakeholders tend to be more loyal to a company.
A company's CSR disclosure affects its performance, which in turn impacts stakeholder

8
investment (Purbawangsa et al., 2019). As a result of the level of commitment that firms make to
CSR, they are treated differently by external stakeholders (Ducassy, 2012). Accordingly, firms
created statements about COVID-19 as a means of communicating with stakeholders (Govender
& Smit, 2022).
Research found implementing CSR initiatives enables stakeholders, such as employees,
to meet their unique needs as well as reduces their stress levels (Kim et al., 2010). Firms that
take on high levels of CSR responsibilities have more productive employees, especially during
uncertain times (Ellouze, 2020). For firms, CSR is a crucial tool for creating a sense of pride in
employees and enhancing their sense of belonging (De Roeck, 2016). Employees of companies
that adopt great CSR strategies are also more creative (Brammer et al., 2014), and more willing
to take crisis-related risks on behalf of the company because they feel secure and fair (Ahmad et
al., 2021)
Nonetheless, firms in different industries should adopt tailored CSR practices since
stakeholders expect and prefer different CSR practices (Jain et al., 2016; Feng et al., 2017; Yang
& Stohl, 2019). Additionally, since practicing the same CSR initiatives results in different
financial returns in different industries, firms across industries should adopt CSR practices
differently (Feng et al., 2017). The level of CSR practices is influenced by the nature of the
industry, and each industry approaches CSR matters uniquely (Dabic et al., 2016). Considering
that CSR contributes to the establishment of excellent corporate images for brands, and firms
across industries should implement CSR projects differently, it becomes necessary to explore the
characteristics of the CSR-related posts made by companies across industries – such as their
common themes – to understand what types of statements were made, and what topics were of
particular interest. Therefore, the following research question is proposed:

9
RQ2: What were the major topics that Fortune 500 companies discussed when they
provided COVID-19 related CSR posts on Facebook?
Through answering this question, we will be able to gain a deeper understanding of the
topics that have surfaced on Facebook in relation to COVID-19 as companies engage in CSR and
issue crisis communications messages.

10
Chapter Two: Methodology
U.S. Fortune 500 companies’ Facebook posts on COVID-19 from January 1, 2020, to
May 18, 2021, were collected. The 17-month data was compiled from Facebook's own archive of
data hosted by CrowdTangle. Overall, I obtained 18,101 posts from 480 Fortune 500 companies.
Then, using an analysis program called Orange, I identified the eight most discussed topics using
Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling and sentiment analysis. Following are sections
that explain how the methods are used to analyze data in this study.
Latent Dirichlet Allocation Topic Modeling
Natural Language Processing (NLP) includes techniques to analyze natural language,
such as to extract data from texts, and using NLP methods to examine data extracted from social
media has become more common than usual (Liu et al., 2021). Topic Modeling is one of the
methods of NLP. A topic model classifies a list of texts that occur most frequently into topics
(Jelodar et al., 2018). While a list of texts can be an article, a blog post, or an email, the texts this
article analyzes are a selection of Facebook posts created by 480 Fortune 500 companies. By
using topic models, we can gain a better understanding of the relationships between a wide range
of data. For instance, insights into marketing can be gained by using topic models to analyze
such a large volume of firm-generated content. LDA is one of the methods of topic modeling that
detects core themes by measuring word correlations (Jelodar et al., 2018). LDA-based
methodology is extremely efficient because unstructured, time-based data, as well as big data,
can all be processed with it (Tirunillai & Tellis, 2014).
Using Orange, I processed corporate messages based on standard NLP procedures. First,
I downloaded data from CrowdTangle, extracted only content posted, and entered it into Corpus.
Afterward, I preprocessed the texts by converting all characters to lowercase letters, removing

11
accents, removing all HTML tags, and removing hyperlinks. In the next step, I performed
tokenization - the process of breaking down the text into words and sentences - and selected
Regexp to split the text with regular expressions. I then filtered out non-English data, numbers,
regexp symbols, and POS tags such as NOUN and VERB. In the end, eight topics were derived
from the LDA topic model along with their respective topic keywords. Following the generation
of eight topics, I was able to select a specific topic and determine its emotional expression using
both the Vader (Valence Aware Dictionary for Sentiment Reasoning) method in ‘Sentiment
Analysis’ and ‘Twitter Profiler.’
Sentiment Analysis
Machine Learning (ML), NLP, and Cognitive Science are all involved in a sentiment
analysis. Using an ample collection of documents, this process aims to extract the writer's
feelings from feedback and queries. To process the data, SentiWordNet - an opinion mining
lexicon - is used in conjunction with SVM classifiers. Tokenizing data, splitting sentences,
extracting adjectives, interpreting SentiWordNet, and calculating sentiment scores are all part of
a sentiment analysis implementation. A variety of different applications can be achieved with it,
such as analyzing new product perceptions, advertising placements, and brand beliefs. As almost
all of a business's data consists of words, sentiment analysis supplies highly accurate and
insightful analysis because it is more efficient than traditional surveying. The same
preprocessing was used as before to perform the Vader method in ‘Sentiment Analysis.’
Following that, a data table was created and a compound score, a measure of the extent
to which certain emotions are present in a post, was calculated for each post. Among all the
different types of scores, compound scores offer the best insight as they provide a single-level
assessment of a sentence's sentiment. To compute compound scores, researchers used the

12
equation below, where x represents the total of each word's valence score, and α represents the
constants used to normalize the scores (Swarnkar, 2022).
x=x/√ x2+α
In the case of compound scores, a score of 0 indicates total neutral emotion, a score of 1
shows the most positive emotion, and a score of -1 indicates the most negative emotion. In
general, the greater the deviation from zero, the more intense the emotions associated with the
post. Furthermore, this data table displayed each post's positive and negative scores, its overall
compound score, and its compound score under each topic. Consequently, I was able to
understand the major emotions expressed in those large companies' posts.
To better understand the sentiment expressed by each topic, I added the ‘Twitter Profiler’
widget. It supports three distinct types of emotion classifications, but only Ekman's was used.
This widget computes emotion scores, like 'Sentiment Analysis.' To visualize the results, I added
a 'Box Plot' that shows the median, the first (25%) and third (75%) quantiles, the mean, and the
standard deviation of each topic. Additionally, it displays the overall percentages of emotions
expressed by the data.

13
Chapter Three: Results
As computed from LDA Topic Modeling, the following eight topics were identified,
along with their topic keywords. To understand each topic in its true context, a certain level of
personal judgment was needed. In accordance with the keywords, a theme was given to each
topic based on the author’s understanding. Based on the data, topics were listed in order of
popularity (Table 1).
Table 1
Topic Themes and Associated Keywords
Topic Keywords Theme
One support, pandemic, team, proud, health, help,
communities, learn, healthcare, community.
Pandemic Community
Support
Two learn, help, pandemic, new, webinar, philip,
international, businesses, small.
Worldwide Business
Assistance
Three pandemic, learn, health, employees, us, vaccine,
new, get, customers, time.
Vaccine Advocacy For
Stakeholder
Four marks, insurance, raise, therapies, vaccinated,
treating, able, upcoming, iwn, navigating.
Wellbeing Treatment
Navigation
Five leadership, post, pandemic, digital, world,
leaders, report, work, global, campaign.
Global Leadership Overview
Six panel, trees, hr, miller, discussion, dr, discovery,
reflects, tackle, pressing.
Panel Discussion With
Experts
Seven use, rachel, survey, pfizer, masproductivity,
emergency, fda, third, vaccine, cdc.
Pandemic Resource
Education
Eight help, work, stay, tips, pandemic, read, home,
keep, safe, ways.
Stay Home Guidance
Thus, Table 1 provides insight into Fortune 500 companies' most discussed topics, and
answers RQ2. From Table 1, the major focus of organizational crisis responses is on ensuring the
survival of other organizations, sharing pandemic resource information, and offering support to
affected communities. After eight topics were generated, an analysis of each post’s scores was
performed using Vader's method on a data table. Below is table 2 showing the most to least
scored topics, indicating that the most positive topic has the highest score, and the least positive
topic has the lowest score.

14
Table 2
Most to Least Positive Topics
Topic Sum (highest to lowest)
Pandemic Community Support 4694.216942
Vaccine Advocacy For Stakeholder 3061.664841
Worldwide Business Assistance 1791.7499
Stay Home Guidance 1557.553347
Global Leadership Overview 1282.003232
Pandemic Resource Education 1020.780912
Wellbeing Treatment Navigation 745.6861657
Panel Discussion With Experts 721.2422833
It can be seen from table 2 that Pandemic Community Support was the most positive
topic, while Panel Discussion With Experts was the least positive one. Extraction of some
sample posts after understanding the most to least positive topic themes will enable readers to
gain a greater understanding of how positive emotions are expressed in these posts. Hence, the
following table (Table 3) lists the topic themes and a top post illustrating each theme.
Table 3
Top Post for Each Topic
Topic Theme Sample Post
Pandemic
Community
Support
Hillrom: Through our #HillromForHumanity program, we’re making a
#donation of more than $3 million in medical devices well-suited for critical
and intensive care environments to 25 U.S. hospitals fighting #COVID19.
“Hillrom’s diverse portfolio is uniquely suited to help caregivers and
patients fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Hillrom President and CEO
John Groetelaars. “We feel a deep responsibility as a healthcare company to
help our communities expand access to critical care. We are honored that the
American Hospital Association is supporting our initiative by spreading the
word among the nation’s hospitals so that we can get the Critical Care and
Respiratory Support products where they are needed most.”
Worldwide
Business
Assistance

Western Union: Join Western Union and the Western Union Foundation.
Together we do more. We announced a US $1M matching challenge to help
fight COVID-19 (coronavirus) and provide relief in China and around the
world, we are matching donations up to US $500,000.
Vaccine
Advocacy For
Stakeholder
Rite Aid: Our pharmacists are administering COVID-19 vaccines in select
cities and states for those eligible. As we ramp up for the broader rollout,
we’re looking for additional pharmacists, pharmacy interns and pharmacy
technicians interested in helping to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
Wellbeing
Treatment
Navigation
AMETEK: To make sure eye care professionals are able to continue treating
patients, Reichert Technologies offers single-use, sanitized, individually
wrapped Ocu-Film®+ Tip Covers for proper performance of Tono-Pen
AVIA® and Tono-Pen® XL.

15
Global
Leadership
Overview
Samina Corporation: Rebright Partners' Brij Singh and Bindu Reddy dive
into the future of #DigitalTransformation in post- #COVID19 times
Panel
Discussion
With Experts
Showtime Networks: The Circus' John Heilemann breaks down Trump and
Biden's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pandemic
Resource
Education
Thermo Fisher Scientific: FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for
the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from #SARS-Cov2 with use of the
MagMax Viral/Pathogen Kits
Stay Home
Guidance
Humana: The number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases is increasing. But,
one simple thing we can all do is called "social distancing." To do it right,
we have to work together. If you can stay at home and keep healthy
distances of at least 6 feet from others when you're not home, you'll be
keeping health in mind for yourself, those you love, and your neighbors.
The ‘Data Table’ and Excel spreadsheet were used to determine which post expressed the
most positive emotion and which expressed the most negative emotion. Utilizing their compound
scores, I also determined which posts expressed the strongest positive emotions and which
expressed the greatest negative emotions. Below is a table (Table 4) indicating the posts with the
highest positive and negative scores, as well as those with the highest and lowest compound
scores.
Table 4
Posts with Highest Positive and Negative Scores, and Highest and Lowest Compound Scores
Category Post
Highest Positive Score Costco: Congratulations, Clay! Thanks for sharing WTHR-TV.
“COVID-19 scrapped his commencement, so this father hilariously
strolled around Costco in his cap and gown instead. Clay
Westmoreland started college 25 years ago and never finished. He
went back to school in 2018 and has finally earned his degree.”
Highest Negative Score Tower Records: We're not worthy! We're not worthy! Thanks,
Dolly Parton! “Dolly Parton, Country Saint, Funded Moderna’s
Coronavirus Vaccine. Her $1 million donation made a huge
impact.”

16
Highest Compound
Score
UGI Utilities: This week we’re focusing on another group of
behind-the-scenes heroes that help keep us safe. Utility workers
have been working diligently to keep us energized in our new
normal. We want to say THANK YOU! Nominate your favorite
utility worker hero now. Both of you will be entered to win great
prizes! Nominate them by entering our Heroes of Hope
Sweepstakes! Just visit https://woobox.com/fzynyf and complete
our short entry form before August 25, 2020. We’ll be randomly
selecting three heroes to each win a $500 Visa® Gift Card. And, if
your hero is randomly selected as a winner, you will win a $100
Amazon® eGift card! We know there are many people in various
roles working diligently in the fight against COVID-19. We’ll get
to all segments in the next few weeks, so please continue to check
our Facebook page frequently. We thank all people devoting their
time and energy - and making personal sacrifices - to keep all of us
safe. Reminder: In addition to commenting with your favorite hero's
name, please complete the online form so you're both entered in the
sweepstakes!
Lowest Compound
Score
Thermo Fisher Scientific: Does vaccination mean no more
#SARSCoV2 worries? Not so fast. The devil is in the details.
In the tables, we can see that ‘Sentiment Analysis’ provides us with an in-depth look at
each topic's popularity and each post's sentiment, combined with an analysis of the overall
sentiment of the posts.
Apart from ‘Data Table’ that showed the results of the ‘Sentiment Analysis,’ ‘Twitter
Profiler’ was used alongside the ‘Box Plot’ to understand the emotional content of the posts. In
this way, I was able to evaluate the sparsity of the data under each topic, using ‘Box Plot.’ The
mean, median, and standard deviation of each topic were shown by the widget. Hence, figure 1
presents the descriptive statistics calculated for each topic.
Figure 1
Descriptive Statistics for Each Topic
Topic One: Pandemic Community Support

Topic Two: Worldwide Business Assistance

17
Topic Three: Vaccine Advocacy For
Stakeholder

Topic Four: Wellbeing Treatment Navigation

Topic Five: Global Leadership Overview

Topic Six: Panel Discussion With Experts

Topic Seven: Pandemic Resource Education

Topic Eight: Stay Home Guidance

Using ‘Twitter Profiler’ and ‘Box Plot,’ I also discovered the top three emotions
expressed, which were joy, surprise, and fear, as illustrated in figure 2.
Figure 2
Predominant Emotions Among Posts

With 'Box Plot,' standard deviations were effectively presented. Hence, using both the
‘Twitter Profiler’ and the 'Sentiment Analysis,' I was able to identify the relationship between the
standard deviations and the popularity of the various topic themes, and continue to discuss their
implications. Scores calculated from ‘Sentiment Analysis’ and emotions depicted horizontally by
‘Twitter Profiler’ provide us with sufficient information about the major emotions conveyed by
the posts. Therefore, RQ1 is answered.

18
Chapter Four: Discussion
The purpose of this study was to examine how large companies practiced their CSR
initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic by posting COVID-19-related Facebook updates, and
to identify the emotions conveyed through those posts. Below, I discuss a few important findings
resulting from the analysis.
The results indicate that the most frequently discussed topic by U.S. Fortune 500
companies was supporting communities in need – such as hospitals, while assisting organizations
around the globe and advocating vaccines for stakeholders – including employees and consumers
– were the second and third hottest topics. All these topics were present during the pandemic,
suggesting that large companies sought to appear altruistic, as shown by examples in table 3. The
reason may be that, according to previous research (Brammer et al., 2014; Rim & Ferguson,
2017), appearing altruistic boosts a company's reputation and renders it more reliable to
stakeholders, and employees are more likely to devote themselves to a company if CSR
initiatives are undertaken (Brammer et al., 2014; De Roeck, 2016; Ellouze, 2020). In addition,
because the level of positive emotions for each topic varies, the ranking of most to least positive
topics indicate that most companies’ first instinct was to demonstrate that they were following
the government's guidelines, which were to encourage citizens to stay at home, get vaccinated,
and maintain unity.
Separating posts with the highest positive and negative scores can also provide important
insights. As an example, Tower Records' post reporting that Dolly Parton funded COVID-19
vaccine received the most negative responses because of American skepticism of vaccines.
Despite this, the creation of this post still indicates that big corporations were committed to
fulfilling their social responsibilities and following the guidelines established by the CDC.

19
Although a negative score alone cannot determine whether a post is negative, this example
shows that addressing controversial issues can trigger a great deal of negativity. In contrast, the
post shared by Costco in which a person did a humorous thing because of COVID-19 had the
highest positive rating, likely because audiences found the company to be approachable and
accessible through stories about real people, and the report alleviated their stress.
A post from Thermo Fisher Scientific received the lowest compound. The company
might have caused American skepticism about vaccines, just as Tower Records had. In contrast,
UGI Utilities' post received the highest compound score likely due to its reference to real-life
people as a means of demonstrating its approachability, in similar fashion to Costco. Hence,
considering these four posts, we can conclude that creating tailored CSR messages that avoid
addressing doubtful issues and present companies in an approachable manner will result in the
audience developing a great deal of positive feelings about the company.
Table 2 and figure 1 together provide a great deal of information. Based on these two
figures, the standard deviation (SD) of a topic is positively correlated with the theme's positive
characteristics. In other words, the more positive a topic is, the more variable the scores will be.
It is evident from this that fewer positive topics have posts that express a comparable level of
positive emotions, whereas more positive topics have posts that express a greater intensity of
positive emotions. As a result, it is presumed that less positive topics tend to have posts
discussing similar content, while more positive topics tend to have posts discussing a variety of
subjects. It is therefore likely that corporations developed the most sub-themes when discussing
support for communities in need during the pandemic, and that these sub-themes together
produced the greatest amount of positive sentiment of any other topic. To put it another way, if a
topic is less positive, there will be fewer sub-themes associated with it.

20
According to figure 2, which indicates joy, surprise, and fear were the most expressed
emotions, those posts elicited positive and soothing reactions from audiences. Thus, it can be
observed that, when the U.S. Fortune 500 companies shared CSR messages on social media, they
were still prone to make the messages look upbeat and joyous since they are aware of the
positive outcomes from such posts. As a result, we can conclude that firms should be strategic in
their CSR initiatives by sending out joyful CSR messages. What is more, the study shows the
importance of consistency when sending out CSR messages, which aligns with earlier research
(Park et al., 2018) that CSR is a practice that requires consistency, because, over a 17-month
period, it would have been difficult to generate so much positive sentiment without consistency.
However, there is also an unexpected finding in the study. In this study, the fear emotion
emerged, which was not in agreement with earlier research since McDonald et al. (2010) have
shown that CSR activities are very effective in reducing negative sentiments among stakeholders
during times of uncontrollable crises. Even though fear only represents about 7% of the total
emotions, the result nonetheless suggests that this negative emotion was large enough to be
depicted in the figure. There is a possibility that corporations included sensitive and controversial
issues in their CSR messages, resulting in negative emotions being generated. Companies might
have generated a greater degree of positive emotions if such subjects were not discussed, and
controversial issues were avoided.
Managerial Implications
This study provides significant managerial implications to assist companies in
strengthening their CSR practices to promote a good image of their company in the future. First,
it is suggested that CSR messages with altruistic content will appear altruistic and be regarded
favorably. A company should avoid drafting CSR messages based on monetary considerations,

21
as such messages are highly likely to generate negative responses from its audience. Second, in
situations of untraditional and health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is recommended
that companies post crisis communication messages that follow government guidelines and
promote solidarity, since content that adheres to government guidelines is deemed more positive
than content that fails to comply with government directives. Third, when sending out CSR
communications, companies should refrain from addressing controversial or skeptic subjects.
Considering the diversity of the population, beliefs vary from individual to individual. The
inclusion of controversial and skeptical issues in a CSR message may, therefore, lead to negative
emotions, which ultimately harm a company's brand image. Fourth, in times of crises, companies
should ensure that their CSR messages are consistent. Sending out occasional CSR messages will
not help build long-term consumer trust as consumers will perceive those messages as insincere.
Lastly, it is recommended that companies discuss a variety of subjects and issues when
publishing CSR messages to generate more positive emotions. Therefore, incorporating sub-
themes into a certain large topic will benefit companies and enable them to send messages that
are more positive.
Theoretical Implications
Moreover, this study offers significant theoretical implications to help researchers
understand how corporations can use CSR messages to be viewed more positively by the public.
First, this study supports previous research by highlighting the importance of consistent CSR
communication for companies during a crisis and extends earlier studies by demonstrating that
consistent CSR messages can generate a large number of positive emotions. Additionally, the
study provides future researchers with evidence that consistent CSR messages coupled with
subject-appropriate messages will contribute to the positive perception of companies. Second,

22
this study analyzes sample posts in order to assist other researchers in determining how specific
topics are associated with particular emotions. Therefore, researchers may use this finding as a
starting point for future investigations to examine whether other types of topics in crisis
communication related to CSR are associated with similar or different emotions.
Limitations and Future Research
There are several limitations to this study. First, I discuss only the crisis communication
of large American companies on Facebook, not on any other social media platforms. While
Facebook remains one of the most popular social media platforms for companies to generate
corporate content, a cross-platform approach comparing CSR efforts across a variety of social
media platforms like Twitter and Instagram is essential to future research. As each platform's
user characteristics differ, adopting a cross-platform strategy enables researchers to obtain a
fuller understanding of the questions they pose. For example, future studies could examine how
platforms differ in their presentation of crisis communication themes and emotional expressions.
Second, the study focuses solely on Facebook posts published between the beginning of 2020
and the middle of 2021. Although it has been more than a year since COVID-19 began, it did not
largely fade away until early- to mid-2022. Thus, for future research, it would be beneficial to
focus on material that has been published prior to at least early 2022 in order to increase our
understanding of the messages and emotions associated with CSR. Future researchers may be
able to observe any fluctuations in expressed emotion and topic themes through a more extensive
investigation in this area.

23
Chapter Five: Conclusion
To conclude, this study discusses how large corporations portrayed themselves, what
types of content were sent, and how emotions were associated with them, as well as the rationale
behind the posting of CSR statements on Facebook. It is important to carry out this research
because the interpretation of emotions by the audience can be greatly influenced by how CSR
messages are tailored. Likewise, understanding the popular topics discussed can assist companies
in avoiding unnecessary actions and distributing positive messages so that a positive company
image can be built. Furthermore, this study contributes to existing literature by supporting the
argument from earlier studies and by exploring the relationship between CSR message topics and
possible emotions that can be evoked. This study suggests that individuals will be more likely to
respect firms that demonstrate consistent and proper CSR practices in the future as
communications become more public-oriented. A future study should examine the long-term
impact of corporate COVID-19 engagement to decide whether the level of their CSR efforts and
the associated emotional tone have changed over time.

24
References
Ahmad, N., Scholz, M., Arshad, M. Z., Jafri, S. K., Sabir, R. I., Khan, W. A., & Han, H. (2021).
The inter-relation of corporate social responsibility at employee level, servant leadership,
and innovative work behavior in the time of crisis from the healthcare sector of Pakistan.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), 4608.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094608
Al-Abdallah, G., & Jumaa, S. (2022). User-generated content and firm generated content: A
comparative empirical study of the consumer buying process. ISSUE TEN, 6(1), 10–31.
https://doi.org/10.25079/ukhjss.v6n1y2022.pp10-31
Antwi, H., Zhou, L., Xu, X., & Mustafa, T. (2021). Beyond covid-19 pandemic: An Integrative
Review of Global Health Crisis influencing the evolution and practice of Corporate
Social Responsibility. Healthcare, 9(4), 453. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9040453
Arora, S., Sur, J. K., & Chauhan, Y. (2021). Does corporate social responsibility affect
shareholder value? evidence from the COVID-19 crisis. International Review of Finance,
22(2), 325–334. https://doi.org/10.1111/irfi.12353
Brammer, S., He, H., & Mellahi, K. (2014). Corporate Social Responsibility, employee
organizational identification, and creative effort. Group & Organization Management,
40(3), 323–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601114562246
Bui, H. T. (2021). Exploring and explaining older consumers' behaviour in the boom of social
media. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 46(2), 601–620.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12715
Cai, M. (2022). Influence of social media on Corporate Communication Social Responsibility
under entrepreneurial psychology. Frontiers in Psychology, 13.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.870373
Chakraborty, S. (2014). Risk and crisis communication recommendations for industry based on
advances in Cognitive Behavioral Science Research. European Journal of Risk
Regulation, 5(2), 238–241. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1867299x00003676
Colicev, A., Kumar, A., & O'Connor, P. (2019). Modeling the relationship between firm and user
generated content and the stages of the marketing funnel. International Journal of
Research in Marketing, 36(1), 100–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2018.09.005
Crifo, P., & Forget, V. D. (2014). The Economics of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Firm-
Level Perspective Survey. Journal of Economic Surveys, 29(1), 112–130.
https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12055

25
Dabic, M., Colovic, A., Lamotte, O., Painter-Morland, M., & Brozovic, S. (2016). Industry-
specific CSR: Analysis of 20 years of research. European Business Review, 28(3), 250–
273. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr-06-2015-0058
D’Aprile, G., & Talò, C. (2015). How corporate social responsibility influences organizational
commitment: A psychosocial process mediated by organizational sense of community.
Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 27(4), 241–269.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-015-9265-6
De Roeck, K., El Akremi, A., & Swaen, V. (2016). Consistency matters! how and when does
corporate social responsibility affect employees’ organizational identification? Journal of
Management Studies, 53(7), 1141–1168. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12216
Diers-Lawson, A., Symons, A., & Zeng, C. (2021). Building crisis capacity with data breaches:
The role of Stakeholder Relationship Management and strategic communication.
Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 26(4), 675–699.
https://doi.org/10.1108/ccij-02-2021-0024
Ducassy, I. (2012). Does Corporate Social Responsibility pay off in times of crisis? an alternate
perspective on the relationship between financial and corporate social performance.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 20(3), 157–167.
https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1282
Duffett, R. G. (2015). Facebook advertising’s influence on intention-to-purchase and purchase
amongst millennials. Internet Research, 25(4), 498–526. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr-01-
2014-0020
Dunn, K., & Harness, D. (2019). Whose voice is heard? the influence of user-generated versus
company-generated content on consumer scepticism towards CSR. Journal of Marketing
Management, 35(9-10), 886–915. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257x.2019.1605401
du Plessis, C. (2018). Social Media Crisis Communication: Enhancing a discourse of renewal
through dialogic content. Public Relations Review, 44(5), 829–838.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2018.10.003
Ellouze, D. (2020). The role of customers and employees in the buffer effect of corporate social
responsibility in times of crisis. Managerial Finance, 46(7), 955–975.
https://doi.org/10.1108/mf-11-2018-0575
Feng, M., Wang, X., & Kreuze, J. G. (2017). Corporate Social Responsibility and firm Financial
Performance. American Journal of Business, 32(3-4), 106–133.
https://doi.org/10.1108/ajb-05-2016-0015

26
Frandsen, F., & Johansen, W. (2011). The study of Internal Crisis Communication: Towards an
integrative framework. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 16(4),
347–361. https://doi.org/10.1108/13563281111186977
Ghoul, S. E., Guedhami, O., & Kim, Y. (2017). Country-level institutions, firm value, and the
role of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives. Journal of International Business
Studies, 48(3), 360–385. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2016.4
Gostin, L. O., & Wiley, L. F. (2020). Governmental Public Health Powers during the COVID-19
pandemic. JAMA, 323(21), 2137. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.5460
Govender, S., & Smit, A. T. (2022). Sensemaking and Corporate Social Responsibility:
Implications for stakeholder communication amid the COVID-19 pandemic. South
African Journal of Business Management, 53(1).
https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v53i1.2806
Guo, M., & Sun, F. (2020). Like, comment, or share? exploring the effects of local television
news Facebook posts on news engagement. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media,
64(5), 736–755. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2020.1851125
Habibi, F., Hamilton, C. A., Valos, M. J., & Callaghan, M. (2015). E-marketing orientation and
social media implementation in B2B marketing. European Business Review, 27(6), 638–
655. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr-03-2015-0026
Ham, C., & Kim, J. (2017). The role of CSR in crises: Integration of Situational Crisis
Communication Theory and the persuasion knowledge model. Journal of Business
Ethics, 158(2), 353–372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3706-0
Hao, Y., Farooq, Q., & Sun, Y. (2018). Development of theoretical framework and measures for
the role of social media in realizing corporate social responsibility through native and
non-native communication modes: Moderating effects of cross-cultural
management. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 25(4),
704–711. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1523
Hayes, R. A., & Carr, C. T. (2021). Getting called out: Effects of feedback to social media
corporate social responsibility statements. Public Relations Review, 47(1), 101962.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101962
Hesse, A., Niederle, F., Schön, L., & Stautz, D. (2021). Consumer responses to brand
communications involving covid-19. Journal of Marketing Management, 37(17-18),
1783–1814. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257x.2021.2000008

27
Hildebrand, D., DeMotta, Y., Sen, S., & Valenzuela, A. (2017). Consumer responses to
corporate social responsibility (CSR) contribution type. Journal of Consumer Research,
44(4), 738–758. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx063
Huang, W., Chen, S., & Nguyen, L. T. (2020). Corporate Social Responsibility and
organizational resilience to covid-19 crisis: An empirical study of Chinese firms.
Sustainability, 12(21), 8970. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218970
Ilmar, A., Kusuma, A. J., Nathanael, G. K., & Indrawan, J. (2022). Covid-19: A nontraditional
threat. KnE Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v7i12.11500
Jain, T., Aguilera, R. V., & Jamali, D. (2016). Corporate stakeholder orientation in an emerging
country context: A longitudinal cross industry analysis. Journal of Business Ethics,
143(4), 701–719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3074-1
Jelodar, H., Wang, Y., Yuan, C., Feng, X., Jiang, X., Li, Y., & Zhao, L. (2018). Latent dirichlet
allocation (LDA) and topic modeling: Models, applications, a survey. Multimedia Tools
and Applications, 78(11), 15169–15211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-018-6894-4
Kim, H.-R., Lee, M., Lee, H.-T., & Kim, N.-M. (2010). Corporate Social Responsibility and
employee–company identification. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(4), 557–569.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0440-2
Kim, S., & Ji, Y. (2021). Positive ripple effects of corporate leaders’ CSR donations amid covid-
19 on corporate and Country Reputations: Multi-level reputational benefits of
CSR focusing on Bill Gates and Jack Ma. Public Relations Review, 47(4), 102073.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102073
Kim, S., & Rim, H. (2019). The role of public skepticism and distrust in the process of CSR
Communication. International Journal of Business Communication, 232948841986688.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488419866888
Kim, Y., Park, H., & Kim, J. K. (2017). Corporate Association Strategies and Consumer
Responses: The relative effectiveness of Ca versus CSR communication strategy by
Industry Type. Journal of Marketing Communications, 25(2), 204–227.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2017.1393766
Koep, L. (2017). Investigating industry expert discourses on aspirational CSR Communication.
Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 22(2), 220–238.
https://doi.org/10.1108/ccij-01-2016-0011

28
Kumar, A., Bezawada, R., Rishika, R., Janakiraman, R., & Kannan, P. K. (2016). From social to
sale: The effects of firm-generated content in social media on customer behavior. Journal
of Marketing, 80(1), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.14.0249
Lee, Y.-J., O’Donnell, N. H., & Hust, S. J. (2018). Interaction effects of system-
generated information and consumer skepticism: An evaluation of issue support behavior
in CSR twitter campaigns. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 19(1), 15–28.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2018.1507853
Liu, Y., Whitfield, C., Zhang, T., Hauser, A., Reynolds, T., & Anwar, M. (2021). Monitoring
covid-19 pandemic through the lens of social media using Natural Language Processing
and machine learning. Health Information Science and Systems, 9(1).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13755-021-00158-4
Mao, L., Jin, H., Wang, M., Hu, Y., Chen, S., He, Q., Chang, J., Hong, C., Zhou, Y., Wang, D.,
Miao, X., Li, Y., & Hu, B. (2020). Neurologic manifestations of hospitalized patients
with coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan, China. JAMA Neurology, 77(6), 683.
https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.1127
McDonald, L. M., Sparks, B., & Glendon, A. I. (2010). Stakeholder reactions to company crisis
communication and causes. Public Relations Review, 36(3), 263–271.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.04.004
Newman, C., Rand, J., Tarp, F., & Trifkovic, N. (2020). Corporate Social Responsibility in a
competitive business environment. The Journal of Development Studies, 56(8), 1455–
1472. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2019.1694144
Nobre, H., & Silva, D. (2014). Social network marketing strategy and SME Strategy Benefits.
Journal of Transnational Management, 19(2), 138–151.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15475778.2014.904658
Palalic, R., Ramadani, V., Mariam Gilani, S., Gërguri-Rashiti, S., & Dana, L. P. (2020). Social
Media and consumer buying behavior decision: What entrepreneurs should know?
Management Decision, 59(6), 1249–1270. https://doi.org/10.1108/md-10-2019-1461
Park, G., Chen, F., & Cheng, L. (2021). A study on the Millennials Usage Behavior of Social
Network services: Effects of motivation, density, and centrality on continuous intention
to use. Sustainability, 13(5), 2680. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052680
Park, Y. E., Son, H., Yang, S.-U., & Lee, J. K. (2018). A good company gone bad. Journal of
Communication Management, 23(1), 31–51. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcom-11-2017-0132

29
Pauliene, R., & Sedneva, K. (2019). The influence of recommendations in social media on
purchase intentions of generations Y and Z. Organizations and Markets in Emerging
Economies, 10(2), 227–256. https://doi.org/10.15388/omee.2019.10.12
Poulis, A., Rizomyliotis, I., & Konstantoulaki, K. (2019). DO firms still need to be social? firm
generated content in social media. Information Technology & People, 32(2), 387–404.
https://doi.org/10.1108/itp-03-2018-0134
Purbawangsa, I. B., Solimun, S., Fernandes, A. A., & Mangesti Rahayu, S. (2019). Corporate
governance, corporate profitability toward corporate social responsibility disclosure and
corporate value (comparative study in Indonesia, China and India Stock Exchange in
2013-2016). Social Responsibility Journal, 16(7), 983–999. https://doi.org/10.1108/srj-
08-2017-0160
Pérez, A., García de los Salmones, M. del, & López-Gutiérrez, C. (2020). Market reactions to
CSR News in different industries. Corporate Communications: An International Journal,
25(2), 243–261. https://doi.org/10.1108/ccij-05-2019-0056
Quesenberry, K. A., & Coolsen, M. K. (2018). What makes Facebook brand posts engaging? A
content analysis of Facebook brand post text that increases shares, likes, and comments to
influence organic viral reach. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising,
40(3), 229–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2018.1503113
Ramya, S. M., & Baral, R. (2021). CSR during COVID-19: Exploring select organizations’
intents and activities. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in
Society, 21(6), 1028–1042. https://doi.org/10.1108/cg-09-2020-0426
Rim, H., & Ferguson, M. A. (2017). Proactive versus reactive CSR in a crisis: An impression
management perspective. International Journal of Business Communication, 57(4), 545–
568. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488417719835
Saeed, M. A., Farooq, A., Kersten, W., & Ben Abdelaziz, S. I. (2019). Sustainable product
purchase: Does information about product sustainability on social media affect purchase
behavior? Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, 4(1).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41180-019-0029-3
Shim, K. J., & Yang, S. (2015). The effect of bad reputation: The occurrence of crisis, corporate
social responsibility, and perceptions of hypocrisy and attitudes toward a company.
Public Relations Review, 42(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.11.009
Statista (2022, August 22). Number of worldwide social network users 2027. Statista. Retrieved
September 14, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-
worldwide-social-network-users/

30
Sumner, E. M., Ruge-Jones, L., & Alcorn, D. (2017). A functional approach to the Facebook like
button: An exploration of meaning, interpersonal functionality, and potential alternative
response buttons. New Media & Society, 20(4), 1451–1469.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817697917
Swarnkar, N. (2022, May 21). Vader sentiment analysis: A complete guide, algo trading and
more. Quantitative Finance & Algo Trading Blog by QuantInsti. Retrieved October 12,
2022, from https://blog.quantinsti.com/vader-sentiment/
Tirunillai, S., & Tellis, G. J. (2014). Mining marketing meaning from online chatter:
Strategic Brand Analysis of big data using latent Dirichlet allocation. Journal of
Marketing Research, 51(4), 463–479. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.12.0106
Ursic, D., & Cestar, A. S. (2022). Crisis Management and CSR in Slovenian companies: The
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 14(5), 2690.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052690
Vallaster, C. (2017). Managing a company crisis through Strategic Corporate Social
Responsibility: A practice-based analysis. Corporate Social Responsibility and
Environmental Management, 24(6), 509–523. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1424
van der Meer, T. G. L. A., Verhoeven, P., W.J. Beentjes, H., & Vliegenthart, R. (2017).
Communication in times of crisis: The stakeholder relationship under pressure. Public
Relations Review, 43(2), 426–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2017.02.005
Wang, R., & Huang, Y. (2018). Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on social
media. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 23(3), 326–341.
https://doi.org/10.1108/ccij-07-2017-0067
Wang, Y., Zhang, M., Li, S., McLeay, F., & Gupta, S. (2021). Corporate responses to the
coronavirus crisis and their impact on electronic word of mouth and trust recovery:
Evidence from Social Media. British Journal of Management, 32(4), 1184–1202.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12497
Weiner, B., Valins, S., Nisbett, R. E., Kelley, H. H., Kanouse, D. E., & Jones, E. E. (1972).
Attribution: Perceiving the causes of behavior. by Edward E. Jones and others. N.J.,
General Learning Press.
Wisniewski, P., Badillo-Urquiola, K., Ashtorab, Z., & Vitak, J. (2020). Happiness and fear. ACM
Transactions on Social Computing, 3(4), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1145/3414825

31
World Health Organization. (2022, September 26). Who coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard.
World Health Organization. Retrieved September 26, 2022, from
https://covid19.who.int/
Yang, Y., & Stohl, C. (2019). The (in)congruence of measures of corporate social responsibility
performance and stakeholder measures of corporate social responsibility reputation.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(2), 969–981.
https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1859
Zhang, D., Mahmood, A., Ariza-Montes, A., Vega-Muñoz, A., Ahmad, N., Han, H., & Sial, M.
S. (2021a). Exploring the impact of corporate social responsibility communication
through social media on banking customer E-WOM and loyalty in times of crisis.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), 4739.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094739
Zhang, Y., Rambotti, S., Davis, A. P., & Hill, T. D. (2021b). Corporate responses to covid-19: A
nonmarket strategy approach. Sociological Perspectives, 64(5), 1032–1057.
https://doi.org/10.1177/07311214211017587
Zhu, Y., Sun, L.-Y., & Leung, A. S. (2013). Corporate Social Responsibility, firm reputation,
and firm performance: The Role of Ethical Leadership. Asia Pacific Journal of
Management, 31(4), 925–947. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-013-9369-1

Abstract (if available)

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

The role of social media in influencing consumer opinions and preferences in the fintech industry

PDF

The implementation of corporate social responsibility initiatives as a strategy for post-crisis rebuilding and renewal

PDF

A comparison of corporate PR practices in U.S. and China: a case study approach

PDF

Public relations as a diversity management approach: a big-data examination of CSR strategies and activities for corporate LGBTQ advocacy

PDF

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K–12 public school districts in southern California: responses of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and principals

PDF

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K–12 public school districts in southern California: responses of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and principals

PDF

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K–12 public school districts in southern California: responses of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and principals

PDF

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K–12 public school districts in southern California: responses of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and principals

PDF

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K–12 public school districts in southern California: responses of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and principals

PDF

Case study on Chinese heavy industry companies' community relations in U.S.: a comparison between corporate effort and media representation

PDF

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 public school districts in southern California: responses of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and principals

PDF

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K–12 public school districts in southern California: responses of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and principals

PDF

The CSR paradox: how communicating about good can turn out bad

PDF

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 public school districts in southern California: responses of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and principals

PDF

The making of a crisis communication plan for a large, public, national professional services company

PDF

Comparative analysis of nuclear crisis communication: 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis and 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear crisis

PDF

Return of the MAC: a strategic communication plan to resonate with Gen Z consumers

PDF

The effects of a COVID-19 narrative message on beliefs and intentions among vaccine hesitant parents

PDF

Corporate reputation crisis in the digital age: a comparative study on Abercrombie & Fitch’s reputation crisis in the U.S., China and Taiwan

PDF

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on K–12 public school districts in southern California: responses of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and principals

Asset Metadata

Creator Zhu, Yexin (author)

Core Title We care about you during trying times: analyzing U.S. Fortune 500 companies' Facebook posts on COVID-19 responses

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Public Relations and Advertising

Degree Conferral Date 2023-05

Publication Date 04/06/2023

Defense Date 04/05/2023

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag corporate social responsibility,COVID-19 pandemic,crisis communication,OAI-PMH Harvest,sentiment analysis,topic modeling

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Yang, Aimei (committee chair), Beyah, Clarissa (committee member), Turner, Miki (committee member)

Creator Email veronicayexinz@gmail.com,yexinzhu@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC112952585

Unique identifier UC112952585

Identifier etd-ZhuYexin-11560.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-ZhuYexin-11560

Document Type Thesis

Format theses (aat)

Rights Zhu, Yexin

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20230406-usctheses-batch-1017 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu