Purpose – The purpose of this research is to analyse the role covered by internet as a communication tools of social responsibility strategies implemented by Italian companies.
The hypothesis that will be tested by research are:
HP1: Italian companies disclose their commitment to CSR on their websites, fully exploiting the potential offered by the Internet.
HP2: Sectors of activities affects the quality and quantity of the information disclosed and the way in which the information is provided.
HP3: Companies that have a specific website CSR section communicate a larger quantity of information than companies that give information in a not structured way.
Design/methodology/approach – We propose a descriptive research based on a quality/quantitative approach and is focused on empirical analysis on websites of the Italian listed companies. Websites are analysed on the basis of languages, map site, dedicated CSR section, and the content both for the general aspect of social responsibility and with specific focus on environmental responsibility and relationships with the community.
The phases of research process are:
1) formulation of research problem (purpose of study);
2) literature review relating to research problem and developing of a framework to identify the hypothesis;
3) empirical analysis and interpretation of the results;
4) conclusions.
Originality/value – The research intends to work in the path outlined by the international studies on CSR disclosure (many researches represent a key starting point: Coope, 2004; Esrock, Leichty, 1998; Morhardt, 2010; Morsing, Schultz, 2006; Sousa Filho, Wanderley, 2007; Tagesson et al., 2009; Xiao et al., 2004) in order to analyse the behaviour of Italian listed companies which will be analysed, in particular, with regard to the importance of the sector to which they belong in the choice of CSR disclosure via web.
This methodology puts in evidence the important use of the Internet as a communication tool, especially in recent years.
Practical implications – The research aims to highlight areas for improvement in CSR disclosure with focus on web communications.
Keywords – Corporate social responsibility, disclosure, internet, Italian companies