Framing as a strategy for defending the perceived authenticity of voluntary environmental disclosure in the digital era

Abstract

In the digital age, to attract readers' attention, environmental activists may change the way corporate environmental information is reported and reinterpret it in social media. This paper aims to discuss how firms protect the perceived authenticity of their environmental disclosure. This study suggests that framing enables firms to clarify the disclosure focus for their readers in the information-overload context. We propose five framing strategies and evaluate their effects on the stigmatized categorization, attribution, and diffusion of environmental information. By doing so, we add framing strategies to the managerial toolkit available for protecting the perceived authenticity of corporate voluntary environmental disclosure.