Building corporate image through social media: role of impression management

Abstract

The study investigated impression and corporate image management through a qualitative analysis that included three social networking platforms (Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook). Four hundred-seven users of Egyptian telecommunications services participated. They used four service providers: Telecom Egypt, Vodafone, Orange, and Etisalat Misr. Primary data was collected during January - March 2023. According to the statistical analysis, there is a difference in impression management practices and corporate image creation in the Egyptian telecommunication industry. The author revealed the contribution of social media platforms to building corporate image via impression management. The change in impression management explains 74.3% of the difference in the corporate image. A study of the effective contribution of social media platforms to the company's image-building reveals the differences in platform user characteristics. The study's limitation was one country's and one industry's scope. Therefore it is suggested to re-test raised hypotheses in other countries and industries.