Australian and New Zealand B Corps and Their Use of Social Media

Abstract

B Corp certification originated in the United States (U.S.) but firms in other countries including Australia and New Zealand are increasingly seeking certification. B Corps are for-profit companies that voluntarily agree to meet high standards of social and environmental performance and commitment. Proponents of B Corps believe that an increasing number of customers, investors and other stakeholders favor firms that have a strong commitment to corporate social and environmental responsibility and therefore favor firms that have B Corp certification. This research seeks to contribute to the knowledge about B Corps and their use of social media to disseminate information regarding their social and environmental activities including their B Corp status. The Facebook and Twitter posts of the 30 top ranking Australian and New Zealand B Corps over the calendar year of 2016 are reviewed and subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis. This exploratory study reveals that even though all B Corps in the sample have a clear commitment to social and environmental responsibility, the majority made very few social media postings that communicate the commitment. The firms’ promotion of their B Corp status is generally modest. The study does not explore the reasons for the behavior but proffers this for future research.