Relevance of corporate use of social media for disclosing ESG practices

Relevância do uso corporativo de mídias sociais para divulgação de práticas ESG

Abstract

Purpose: Analyze the relationship between corporate use of social media, specifically Twitter, to disseminate ESG practices and the relevance of accounting information from Brazilian companies.

Originality/value: Brazilian companies tend to use social media in a corporate way to publicize their engagement in ESG practices to signal to the market their commitment to socially responsible behavior, making such information relevant to the market.

Design/methodology/approach: This research is classified as descriptive, documentary, and quantitative. Its sample corresponds to 181 companies involved in B3. Information related to social media was collected through Twitter, and financial information was collected through the Refinitiv Eikon® database. The MOORA method, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and OLS linear regression operationalize the data.

Findings: The results indicate that disclosing ESG information on Twitter positively relates to stock returns and companies’ Market-to- -book. Furthermore, it is possible to infer that Brazilian companies tend to increasingly signal their engagement in ESG practices to market participants through new means of communication, such as social media. The findings contribute to market participants, as they allow investors and shareholders to pay attention to the disclosure of ESG information in new media, such as Twitter.

Keywords:
ESG; social media; value relevance; Twitter; Brazilian companies

Resumo

Objetivo:  Analisar a relação entre o uso corporativo de mídias sociais para divulgação de práticas ESG, especificamente o Twitter, e a relevância das informações contábeis de empresas brasileiras. Originalidade/valor: Empresas brasileiras tendem a utilizar mídias sociais de forma corporativa para divulgar seu engajamento em práticas ESG, na tentativa de sinalizar ao mercado seu comprometimento com comportamentos socialmente responsáveis, tornando tais informações relevantes ao mercado. Design/metodologia/abordagem: Esta pesquisa classifica-se como descritiva, documental e quantitativa. Sua amostra corresponde a 181 empresas listadas na B3. A coleta de informações relacionadas à mídia social ocorreu por meio do Twitter e, às informações financeiras ocorreu por meio da base Refinitiv Eikon®. Na operacionalização dos dados utilizou-se o método MOORA, estatística descritiva, correlação de Pearson e regressão linear OLS.

Resultados:  Os resultados indicam que a divulgação de informações ESG no Twitter se relaciona positivamente com o retorno das ações e o Market-to-book das empresas. Ainda, é possível inferir que as empresas brasileiras tendem a sinalizar cada vez mais seu engajamento em práticas ESG aos participantes do mercado, por meio de novos meios de comunicação, como as mídias sociais. Os achados contribuem para os participantes do mercado, visto que permitem que tanto investidores, como acionistas se atentem às divulgações de informações ESG em novos meios de comunicação, como o Twitter.

Palavras-chaves:
ESG; mídias sociais; relevância da informação contábil; Twitter; empresas brasileiras

INTRODUCTION

This study addresses the effects of corporate use of social media (SM) to disseminate ESG practices, specifically Twitter, on the relevance of accounting information from Brazilian companies. The increasing use of SM by society means that companies include them in their structure for disclosing relevant organizational information (Kim & Youm, 2017; Smits & Mogos, 2013), including information regarding their environmental practices, social and governance (ESG). In this sense, Signaling Theory (ST) is considered since one of its concerns is the reduction of information asymmetry between two related parties (Spence, 2002).

When it comes to investments in ESG practices, it is assumed that their objective is to have positive impacts on society. Based on the ST vision, companies can engage in such practices and disclose them to signal to their stakeholders their ability to fill institutional gaps compared to other organizations (Zhang et al., 2020). Thus, organizations demonstrate their commitment to ESG practices to market participants.

As they are considered a means of communication with greater reach (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010) and effectiveness (Tench & Jones, 2015), SM can play a fundamental role in encouraging ESG practices (El Ghoul et al., 2019). Thus, disseminating these practices became increasingly significant (Lee et al., 2018). Another particularity of SM in traditional communication channels is the possibility of user interaction (Dunn & Harness, 2018). Characteristics can generate more efficient signaling, allowing receivers to send feedback regarding the information received (Connelly et al., 2011). This reinforces the importance of SM for companies, as it acts as a communication channel for their ESG practices (Eberle et al., 2013).

Regarding the relevance of the information, it is considered that the data conveyed through SM can be helpful in building good relationships between companies and their stakeholders and providing accounting information capable of affecting market behavior (Dunn & Harness, 2018). Thus, it is inferred that the disclosure of ESG information can influence decision-making, specifically on the part of investors and analysts, becoming value-relevant information and specific accounting information.

In this context, media such as Twitter began to gain space in the organizational sphere by facilitating the dissemination of information, especially voluntary information, in addition to disseminating it more quickly and at a lower cost when compared to traditional means of communication (Blankespoor et al., 2014; Crişan & Zbuchea, 2015). Thus, when investigating the role of its corporate use in the financial market, it was found that there is a reduction in the information asymmetry between organizations and their stakeholders (Blankespoor et al., 2014). Furthermore, it was identified that the possibility of companies effectively managing the perception of their investors about their actions is related to the number of retweets received in their publications (Cade, 2018). It was also found that companies in SM can contribute to their engagement in ESG; however, the different functions available to users of these media (tweets, retweets, mentions) did not prove relevant (Russo et al., 2021).

Furthermore, the findings of Galati et al. (2019) point out that companies with economic objectives carry out the corporate use of SM for ESG communication, mainly to increase their reputation in the market. Jha and Verma (2023) found that stakeholders are receptive to the communication of ESG information carried out by organizations in SM in a way that significantly increases their market value.

In Brazil, studies indicate the existence of a positive relationship between the corporate use of Facebook and Twitter and socio-environmental practices (Giordani et al., 2020) and, even though their use for disclosing accounting information increases the value relevance of Brazilian companies (Giordani & Klann, 2022). When investigating the role of CEOS’ use of LinkedIn, Giordani et al. (2023) identified that SM can also be used to mask management practices, such as earnings management, thus reducing the quality of accounting information in Brazilian companies.

The research problem was based on Brazilian companies’ corporate use of SM to disclose their ESG information to signal their commitment to such behaviors, making this information relevant to the market. Companies gene-rally use SM to disseminate information due to their ability to communicate at a low cost.

Within the scope of ST, the research gap is based on analyzing the relevance of the disclosure of ESG practices by companies (signals) in their SM (Twitter) for market participants, such as investors and analysts. Thus, we seek to answer the following research question: What is the effect of the corporate use of SM for the disclosure of ESG information on the relevance of accounting information? Thus, the objective is to analyze the relationship between the corporate use of SM for disseminating ESG information, specifically Twitter, and the relevance of accounting information from Brazilian companies.

Compared to traditional communication channels, SM enables interaction between signalers and receivers, ensuring a mutual understanding of the information disseminated (Dunn & Harness, 2018). Thus, this research is justified by the importance of understanding SM’s role in signaling ESG information in the context of the Brazilian financial market.

Despite the increase in the number of companies using SM in a corporate manner (Muninger et al., 2019), there are still some contradictions in the literature regarding the impact of disclosing ESG practices through SM on company performance (Dunn & Harness, 2018). Therefore, this study becomes relevant when seeking empirical evidence on the topic, as no research was found on the proposed theme at national and international levels. Furthermore, the promising scenario involving SM demands studies that cover numerous levels of business, sectors, and contexts to analyze the adoption, strategies, and results of their corporate use (King et al., 2014; Odoom et al., 2017).

As practical contributions, its results enable companies to understand the influence of SM, such as Twitter, on disseminating ESG information. This tool can increase the visibility of information companies communicate to their stakeholders, bringing benefits such as reducing the cost of capital and improving their performance in the market. For investors and analysts, the results may indicate that ESG information should be part of their decision models, and Twitter may be a source of relevant information about such information.

RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS

ST focuses on the voluntary communication of information related to the positive attributes of an organization to those who are interested in this information (Connelly et al., 2011). Furthermore, it addresses the reduction of information asymmetry between two related parties (Spence, 2002). Moreover, it allows describing the behavior of these parties according to the information received, whether different or not (Connelly et al., 2011).

At the organizational level, it focuses on the intention of the organization’s management to share information and, consequently, receive signals from the market, stakeholders, and society (Connelly et al., 2011). Four elements make up the ST: signaler, signals, receiver, and feedback (Taj, 2016). In this study, signalers are identified as the internal managers of organizations, while signals are formed by the flow of information that these managers disseminate to stakeholders. The receivers are those external to the company, identified as individuals, investors, and employees. Finally, feedback is characterized by interaction between signalers and receivers (Connelly et al., 2011; Mavlanova et al., 2012).

The repetition of the signals emitted intensifies the signaling and the visibility of the information disclosed, especially when the signaler uses different ways of communicating the same information (Balboa & Martí, 2007). Thus, SMs are seen as new communication channels that transmit signals in different formats, such as texts, videos, and images. They also allow feedback between companies and information receivers (Teoh, 2018), increasing the signals’ effectiveness (Gupta et al., 1999).

That said, it is inferred that SM stands out as a viable means of signaling information, as it enables a direct relationship between signalers and receivers. It is noteworthy that for this study, the information disclosed on Twitter regarding the ESG practices carried out by the organizations analyzed is considered a signal from the company in question. Furthermore, the market’s response to the signal issued will be evident through the return of its shares and its Market-to-book.

In this context, it is worth highlighting that ESG investment aims to impact society positively and, when selected, also considers non-financial reasons, such as environmental, social, and governance issues. Thus, many companies voluntarily declared their commitment to such issues over time, making ESG investment globally relevant (Daugaard, 2020).

SM stands out for covering numerous applications and allowing the creation and exchange of produced content (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Although it is not recognized as an accounting tool, it has the potential to provide information related to stakeholders’ expectations regarding the organizations to which it is linked, whether financial information (Giordani & Klann, 2022; Manetti et al., 2017) or as discussed in this study, ESG information.

In this context, it is noteworthy that media such as Twitter are relevant in the strategic dissemination process, as they use push technology, allowing organizations to transmit their information to interested parties directly without the need for a request from the receiver (Blankespoor et al., 2014), becoming a source of information for stakeholders (Giordani et al., 2020). The use of these technologies generates benefits, including reducing the costs of information transmitted to the market, as well as the financial performance of organizations and the relevance of their information (Blankespoor et al., 2014; Giordani et al., 2020; Giordani & Klann, 2022).

In the accounting environment, the corporate use of SM was approached differently. It was found that the voluntary disclosure of information in the media is determined by numerous factors, such as the information envi-ronment, information asymmetry, and company profitability (Zhang, 2015), causing competitive advantages (Gaganis et al., 2019) and even more efficient environmental accounting (Russo et al., 2021). Furthermore, evidence indicates that Brazilian organizations increasingly insert new tools, such as SM, into their organizational structures (Giordani & Klann, 2022) to disseminate their information to the financial market. Thus, it was observed that the corporate use of Twitter by Brazilian companies is positively related to abnormal stock returns, as well as value relevance, suggesting that information disclosures made on the platform influence the behavior of investors and analysts (Giordani et al., 2020; Giordani & Klann, 2022).

The use of these media signals to stakeholders a stance genuinely committed to socially responsible behavior, as it is inferred that organizations would be reluctant to publish information that was not authentic practices, as it could be publicly denounced (Dunn & Harness, 2018). Thus, it is understood that organizations’ corporate use of Twitter enables the engagement of their stakeholders and has a wide reach. Therefore, it can influence the decisions of stakeholders, becoming value-relevant, as well as the information arising from the statements accounting.

As organizations use SM to communicate their ESG practices, the need to understand the implications of their use in voluntary disclosure increases (Dunn & Harness, 2018). Thus, Russo et al. (2021) observed how SM affects the sustainability performance of companies in the energy and utilities sectors in the European Union. The authors found that, for the organizations analyzed, Twitter has a more relevant role in increasing their legitimacy with their stakeholders. Therefore, this media contributes more to constructing an ESG identity for these organizations than managing aspects involving such practices.

Wong and Zhang (2022) also point out that the signaling of these disclosures demonstrates that corporate reputation can be considered an intangible asset of companies, even though SM’s adverse disclosure of ESG information is shown to be relevant to investors’ evaluation of companies.

In the national context, when investigating the relationship between corporate use of SM, such as Facebook and Twitter, and CSR practices, Giordani et al. (2019) found that companies with greater engagement in such media had higher scores regarding social and environmental information. Furthermore, Giordani et al. (2020) analyzed whether the corporate use of Twitter to disseminate financial information influenced the market performance of organizations in a way that affected the return on their shares. The authors found that SM, such as Twitter, is characterized as a source of information for stakeholders, positively impacting the performance of organizations and influencing investors and market analysts. Giordani and Klann (2022) observed that using Facebook and Twitter to disseminate financial information increases the relevance of Brazilian companies’ accounting information by affecting their MTB.

Therefore, it is expected that in the context of ESG practices, companies will use these media, specifically Twitter, to disseminate information regarding such practices to their investors, analysts, and other stakeholders. With this, the following research hypothesis was formulated:

• H₁ = The disclosure of ESG information on Twitter is positively related to the value relevance of Brazilian organizations.

RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES

This research is classified as descriptive, documentary, and quantitative. Its population corresponds to companies listed on Brasil, Bolsa e Balcão (B3) in January 2021. Its sample comprises companies that contained the data necessary to analyze the relevance of accounting information, among which those that had Twitter were identified. Companies from the financial sector were removed, as they had specific characteristics regarding accounting standards.

In Panel A of Table 1, it can be seen that 181 companies (37.95%) make up the total sample, generating 905 observations corresponding to the period from 2015 to 2019. Panel B presents companies by sector, according to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), and those with Twitter are also identified. The Consumer Discretionary sector stands out with the most significant number of companies (26.52%), followed by the Industrial (17.68%) and Materials (11.60%) sectors. Notably, 57 companies have social media Twitter (31.49% of the total sample).

Table 1
Population and research sample

Panel A - Sample design
	Companies	%	Companies with Twitter	%
Sample	477	100	111	23,27
No information for:
(-) Return on shares	123	25,79	34	7,12
(-) EARN	4	0,84	3	0,62
(-) Market-to-book	2	0,42	1	0,20
(-) Financial Sector	167	35,01	16	3,35
Total	181	37,95	57	11,94
Panel B - Sample by sectors (GICS)
Real Estate	14	7,73	3	1,66
Basic Consumption	13	7,18	4	2,21
Discretionary Consumption	48	26,52	11	6,08
Health	7	3,87	1	0,55
Energy	8	4,42	3	1,66
Industrial	32	17,68	10	5,52
Materials	21	11,60	6	3,31
Communication Services	6	3,31	3	1,66
Public Utility Services	26	14,36	15	8,29
Information Technology	6	3,31	1	0,55
Total sample	181	100	57	31,49

Twitter is a digital platform that became popular around 2009 (Lee et al., 2015), with over 330 million registered users. In addition to enabling the dissemination of information directly, it allows controlling the time of dissemination and the sending of repeated or similar messages referring to the same information event and knowing the exact number of followers so that organizations are aware of the reach of your information (Jung et al., 2018). Studies point to it as one of the most used platforms by organizations (Jung et al., 2018; Manetti et al., 2017), which justifies its choice as the focus of this study.

The company’s website was initially checked to collect information regarding SM and find out whether they had direct links to the Twitter page. This process ensures that the corporate page and the identified user are official for the company in question (Jung et al., 2018). Subsequently, companies that published tweets referring to ESG practices were identified until the period’s analysis began (2015).

To do this, the Twitter accounts of the companies in the sample were manually checked to check the existence of publications regarding their ESG practices. Thus, some keywords were selected based on the authors’ prior knowledge of the topic. As the collection progressed, other words were identified and added to the filter, thus considering tweets containing the following keywords: ESG, environmental, social, governance, ambiental, corporate responsibility, CSR, sustainable, sustainability, recyclable, environment, recycle, renewable, socio-environmental.

It is also noted that the corporate use of SM grew considerably between 2008 and 2013, with the number of organizations using these platforms increasing from 5% to 50% (Jung et al., 2018). Thus, the analysis period considered is justified, as it is when companies tend to increase the use of SM to disclose their ESG information.

The population referring to Twitter information corresponds to a total of 1,445,244 tweets from 111 companies present in the population of this research. Of these, 916,355 correspond to 57 companies belonging to the sample. Since this research focuses on ESG publications, the analysis focuses on the 1,167 tweets published by 25 companies. Table 2 shows the evolution of publications in the period analyzed.

Table 2
Research sample publications

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	Total
Number of Tweets	3.551	3.071	3.127	3.903	6.287	19.939
Number of Tweets ESG	166	191	157	291	362	1.167

As shown in Table 2, it is noteworthy that the number of tweets reduced in the first three years of the period considered. However, the increase in this number in the following two years demonstrates that the corporate use of Twitter by the companies analyzed has evolved. This evolution can also be noted in publications referring to ESG practices, which had twice as many publications in 2019 compared to 2015. Table 3 presents the research construct, describing the variables used, their measurement, and the authors who previously used them.

Table 3
Research construct

Panel A - Variables for operationalizing the MOORA method
Composition of the S_TT variable
Variables	Description	Authors
T_NT	Total number of tweets	Lee et al. (2015); Manetti and Bellucci (2016); Manetti et al. (2017); Jung et al. (2018); Giordani et al. (2019).
T_NT_ESG	Total number of tweets referring to ESG information	Lee et al. (2015); Manetti and Belluci (2016); Manetti et al. (2017); Jung et al. (2018).
T_NT_RT	Total number of retweets referring to ESG information	Zhang (2015); Manetti and Belluci (2016); Manetti et al. (2017); Jung et al. (2018).
T_NT_CUR	Number of likes referring to ESG information	Jung et al. (2018); Manetti e Belluci (2016); Zhang (2015).
T_NT_COM	Number of comments referring to ESG information	Manetti and Belluci (2016); Manetti et al. (2017); Jung et al. (2018).
T_NT_USE	Natural log of the number of users following the company	Zhang (2015); Manetti and Belluci (2016); Manetti et al. (2017); Jung et al. (2018); Giordani et al. (2019).
T_NT_UES	Natural log of the number of users the company follows	Manetti and Belluci (2016); Manetti et al. (2017); Jung et al. (2018); Giordani et al. (2019).
T_TA	Number of years the company has used Twitter	Zhang (2015); Jung et al. (2018); Giordani et al. (2019).
Panel B - SM variables used in regression models
D_TT	Dummy: 1 if you have social media and 0 if you don’t	Lee et al. (2015); Zhang (2015); Jung et al. (2018).
D_TTESG	Dummy: 1 if used the media to disseminate ESG information and 0 otherwise	Zhang (2015); Jung et al. (2018).
S_TT	Twitter usage score formed by the MOORA method	Self-elaboration.
Panel C - Value Relevance Model
Composition of the S_TT variable
Variables	Description	Authors
Retit	15-month return on shares of the company i, 3 months after the end of year t	Francis and Schipper (1999)
EARNit	Profit before extraordinary items divided by the market value t-1 of the company i in period t
∆EARNit	Profit before extraordinary items t minus profit before extraordinary items t-1, divided by the market value t-1 of company i in period t
Panel D - Value Relevance Model
MTBit	Market-to-book - market value of equity divided by the book value of equity of company i in period t	Cormier and Magnan (2016)
PAit	1 divided by the net worth per share of the company i in period t
ROEit	Return on equity - net profit divided by the total equity of company i in period t

The MOORA method, used to generate the score for corporate use of Twitter, is characterized as a multi-criteria decision analysis tool, consisting of evaluating companies so that the variables considered have the same weight or relevance in the final score, being calculated as follows: the data set is squared and then divided by the sum of the data presented squared as denominators. The indices used are between zero and one and are added when the index aims to maximize or subtract when the objective is to minimize (Brauers & Zavadskas, 2006).

Furthermore, collecting social media variables made it possible to identify companies with Twitter (D_TT) and those that used it to publicize their ESG practices (D_TTSG). Finally, a score regarding companies’ corporate use of this media (S_TT) was developed. Thus, this study’s three variables of interest were determined, as shown in Table 3 (Panel B).

The value relevance models (Panels C and D) used are those developed by Francis and Shipper (1999) and Cormier and Magnan (2016). Such models aim to analyze changes in economic agents about future results through the informative content of published accounting numbers. We chose to use such models so that it was possible to observe the value relevance of ESG publications in short and long-term factors. Therefore, accounting information and ESG publications are considered relevant when they reflect on the price of shares or their market value.

In data analysis, the financial variables were first winsorized. Subsequently, the Shapiro-Francia normality test, which demonstrated that the residuals are not normal (Z=7.194; z<0.000), this assumption was relaxed when considering the Central Limit Theorem due to the number of observations (Gujarati, 2006; Stevenson, 2001). Carrying out robust regression is justified, as the White test was significant (P=27.78; p<0.001 - Francis and Shipper; P=104.99; p<0.000 - Cormier and Magnan), indicating the presence of heteroscedasticity. Furthermore, multicollinearity between the varia-bles was tested using the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) test and the autocorrelation of residuals using the Durbin-Watson test, presented in the results analysis section. The empirical models used are given in Equations 1 and 2:

Equation 1 $${\text{Ret}}_{it}={\propto }_1+{\beta }_{1}EAR{N}_{it}+{\beta }_2\mathrm{\Delta }EAR{N}_{it}+{\beta }_3{\mathit{S}}_{-}\mathit{T}{\mathit{T}}_{it}+\mathrm{\Sigma }{\text{sector\_fixed\_effect}}_{it}+\mathrm{\Sigma }yea{\text{fixed\_effect}}_{it}+{\epsilon }_{it}$$

Equation 2 $${\text{MTB}}_{it}={\propto }_1+{\beta }_{1}P{A}_{it}+{\beta }_{2}RO{E}_{it}+{\beta }_3{\mathit{S}}_{-}\mathit{T}{\mathit{T}}_{it}+\mathrm{\Sigma }{\text{sector\_fixed\_effect}}_{it}+\mathrm{\Sigma }{\text{year\_fixed\_effect}}_{it}+{\epsilon }_{it}$$

The β3 of both equations is expected to be positive and significant. Finally, robustness tests were carried out. Notably, these tests only conside-red the model in Equation 2, as this model proved more efficient in measuring value relevance in the analyzed context.

The first test aimed to capture the effect of the company’s Twitter account (D_TT) on value relevance. The second test aimed to capture the impact of using Twitter to communicate ESG information (D_TTESG) on value relevance. Therefore, it is expected that just the fact that the company has Twitter or even discloses ESG information in this media will be enough to increase its value relevance.

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

Table 4 contains the descriptive analysis of the variables. The results shown in Panel A demonstrate that, on average, the companies analyzed have a positive return on their shares, although lower than that found by Degenhart et al. (2017), 0.209. The MTB indicates that such companies have a market value almost twice as high as their book net worth, although lower than that observed by Silva et al. (2018).

Table 4
Descriptive statistics

Panel A -Total Sample
Variable	Average	Standard Deviation	Percentile 25	Median	Percentile 75
RET	0,166	0,594	-0,266	0,086	0,493
EARN	-0,267	0,889	-0,102	0,040	0,097
∆EARN	0,012	0,460	-0,063	0,003	0,074
MTB	1,811	2,018	0,434	1,140	2,568
PA	0,172	0,210	0,044	0,101	0,226
ROE	0,074	0,249	-0,000	0,088	0,180
S_TT	0,096	0,381	0	0	0
Panel B - Companies with Twitter
RET	0,224	0,596	-0,257	0,116	0,564
EARN	-0,018***	0,256	-0,018	0,048	0,115
∆EARN	0,005	0,235	-0,049	0,008	0,071
MTB	2,145**	2,238	0,638	1,231	2,969
PA	0,202**	0,220	0,056	0,114	0,268
Panel B - Companies with Twitter
Variable	Average	Standard Deviation	Percentile 25	Median	Percentile 75
ROE	0,053	0,225	-0,013	0,088	0,174
S_TT	0,306	0,632	0	0	0,415
Panel C - Companies without Twitter
RET	0,143	0,598	-0,272	0,062	0,438
EARN	-0,544***	1,639	-0,190	0,034	0,088
∆EARN	0,025	0,647	-0,072	0,001	0,074
MTB	1,652**	1,873	0,356	1,096	2,425
PA	0,159**	0,203	0,036	0,095	0,209
ROE	0,083	0,259	0,001	0,088	0,181

• Notes: Mann-Whitney Test significance levels:
• ^**
  p<0,05;
• ^***
  p<0,01.
• RET = Return on shares; EARN = Profit before extraordinary items; ∆EARN = Profit variation before extraordinary items; MTB = Market-to-book; PA = 1 divided by Net equity per share; ROE = Return on equity; S_TT = Corporate Twitter Usage Score.

In panels B and C, it is highlighted that companies with Twitter present, on average, have higher returns on their shares, which can be explained by the average negative profits being significantly lower for companies that use this social media.

When analyzing the corporate use of SM with the market performance of Brazilian companies, Giordani et al. (2020) identified distinct abnormal returns between companies that had Twitter (0.002) and those that did not (-0.006). Another highlight related to the samples in Panels B and C is the companies’ MTB, which was significantly higher when compared to companies without Twitter. Based on this, it can be said that the 57 Brazilian companies with this social media have the highest market value and that around 44% of these companies use it for ESG disclosures. The Mann-Whitney Test indicates that companies with Twitter have significantly higher profits and market value and use this media to publicize their ESG practices. However, it is important to highlight that it is not possible to say, a priori, that the fact that the company has Twitter means it has more significant economic, financial, and market performance. It is worth warning the reader that it could be just the opposite; companies with better performance seek to engage on Twitter to signal this to their stakeholders.

The Pearson correlation matrix was created to analyze the association between the variables (Table 5). This analysis indicates, preliminarily, that the return on shares (RET) is positively correlated with profits before extraordinary items (EARN) and with the variation in profits (∆EARN). These variables measured value relevance using the Francis and Schipper (1999) model and were statistically significant at the 1% level. The same can be observed in the Cormier and Magnan (2016) model variables.

Table 5
Pearson correlation

Variable	RET	EARN	∆EARN	MTB	PA	ROE	S_TT	D_TT	D_TTESG
RET	1
EARN	0,232*	1
∆EARN	0,128*	0,345*	1
MTB	0,080*	0,200*	0,101*	1
PA	0,053	0,146*	0,102*	0,353*	1
ROE	0,128*	0,261*	0,072**	-0,198*	-0,097*	1
S_TT	0,083**	0,053	0,039	0,124*	0,060	-0,039	1
D_TT	0,067*	0,067*	0,022	0,131*	0,072**	-0,029	0,482*	1
D_TTESG	0,085**	0,051	0,026	0,136*	0,075**	-0,036	0,817*	0,591*	1

• Notes: Significance levels:
• ^*
  p<0,01;
• ^**
  p<0,05.

RET = Return on shares; EARN = Profit before extraordinary items; ∆EARN = Profit variation before extraordinary items; MTB = Market-to-book; PA = 1 divided by Net equity per share; ROE = Return on equity; S_TT = Corporate Twitter Usage Score.

It is also worth highlighting the existing correlation at levels of 1% and 5%, respectively, between the use of Twitter to disseminate ESG information (S_TT) and stock returns (RET), as well as with market value (MTB). This result demonstrates that in addition to corporate use for disclosing financial information being correlated with the market performance of Brazilian companies (Giordani et al., 2020), its use to inform its ESG practices is associated with higher stock returns and your MTB.

Subsequently, Table 6 presents the results of the relevance of the corporate use of Twitter for disclosing the ESG performance of the companies analyzed. The model by Francis and Shipper (1999) proved significant at the 1% level, presenting an explanatory power of 22.71%. The ESG information disclosure score (S_TT) showed a positive but not significant relationship with the stock returns of the companies analyzed.

Table 6
Relevance of corporate use of SM in Brazilian companies

Variable	Dependent variable: Return on shares			Dependent variable: Market-to-book
	Coefficient	Statistic t	VIF	Coefficient	Statistic t	VIF
Constant	-0,079	-0,81	-	-0,544	-1,82	-
EARN	0,120***	5,02	1,18	-	-	-
∆EARN	0,121**	2,55	1,14	-	-	-
PA	-	-	-	5,983***	19,69	1,03
ROE	-	-	-	0,635***	2,76	1,07
S_TT	0,039	0,92	1,12	0,197**	2,05	1,12
EF Sector e Year	Yes			Yes
Model sig	0,000			0,000
R2	22,71%			47,70%
Adjusted R2	21,32%			46,76%
Durbin Watson	1,888			2,012
Nº of observations	905

• Notes:
• ^***
  significance at 1% level;
• ^**
  5%;
• ^*
  10%. OLS regression with robust standard errors and controlling for industry and year-fixed effects. Value relevance: Francis and Schipper Model (1999) and Cormier and Magnan Model (2016). VIF = Variance Inflator Factor; EARN = Profit before extraordinary items; ∆EARN = Profit variation before extraordinary items; PA = 1 divided by Net equity per share; ROE = Return on equity; S_TT = Corporate Twitter Usage Score.

The results of the Cormier and Magnan (2016) Model demonstrate an explanatory power of 47.70% and significance at the 1% level. Unlike previous results, the positive relationship between the relevance of accounting information, measured by Market-to-book, and the ESG information disclosure score (S_TT) proved significant at the 5% level. Therefore, it is inferred that Brazilian companies use Twitter as a communication channel with their stakeholders to share accounting information (Giordani et al., 2019) and inform them of their engagement with ESG practices.

It is noted that the use of Twitter to disseminate ESG information may be associated with an average increase in Market-to-book of 4% (0.197*0.381/1.811 (Table 4 - Panel A)) in cases of variation of one standard deviation in the index of this disclosure. This result corroborates the literature (Zhang, 2015; Jung et al., 2018), demonstrating that value is generated for organizations by adopting new technologies to disseminate ESG information to their stakeholders.

Both value relevance models confirmed the predicted positive relationship between the corporate use of Twitter to disclose ESG information (S_TT) and the market reaction to such disclosures. However, this relationship was only significant for MTB. This result suggests that the financial market reacts to information organizations disclose regarding their ESG practices in SM. It is also noteworthy that, as shown in Table 6, the model by Cormier and Magnan (2016) proved to be more effective in analyzing such a relationship in the context of this study since it presents an explanatory power twice as high as that of Francis and Schipper (1999).

To reinforce the results obtained, some sensitivity tests were carried out. To capture the relevance of Brazilian companies’ adherence to Twitter, the Dummy variable (D_TT) was included in the value relevance model of Cormier and Magnan (2016). This test aimed to identify whether the simple fact that companies have social media would affect the relevance of their information. Furthermore, the second sensitivity test was carried out to capture the relevance of the corporate use of Twitter for disclosing ESG information (D_TTESG) in the value relevance of the companies analyzed. Therefore, the market is expected to notice the use of Twitter to disclose ESG practices, regardless of the volume of ESG information disclosed. The results of these analyses are shown in Table 7.

Table 7
Sensitivity test-Cormier and Magnan Model (2016)

Variables	Dependent variable: Market-to-book
	Coefficient	Statistic t	VIF	Coefficient	Statistic t	VIF
Constant	-0,560	-1,99	-	-0,514	-1,86	-
PA	5,919***	19,60	1,04	5,933***	19,44	1,04
ROE	0,651***	2,79	1,07	0,639**	2,79	1,07
D_TT	0,352***	2,93	1,09	-	-	-
D_TTESG	-	-	-	0,341**	2,22	1,14
EF Sector e Year	Yes			Yes
Model sig	0,000			0,000
R2	48,18%			47,88%
Adjusted R2	47,24%			46,94%
Durbin Watson	1,998			2,027
Nº of observations	905

• Notes:
• ^***
  significance at 1% level;
• ^**
  5%;
• ^*
  10%. OLS regression with robust standard errors and controlling for industry and year-fixed effects. Value relevance: Cormier and Magnan Model (2016). VIF = Variance Inflator Factor; PA = 1 divided by Net equity per share; ROE = Return on equity; D_TT = Dummy Twitter; D_TTESG = Dummy Twitter for ESG disclosure.

The first test’s results showed that the presence of Brazilian companies on Twitter is perceived by stakeholders, proving to be positively associated with their MTB. The variable representing Twitter membership (D_TT) was significant at the 5% level. Analyzing economically, it is highlighted that companies that own this media, representing 31.4% of the population analyzed, are associated with an increase of 19.4% (0.352:1.811 (Table 4 - Panel A)) in the MTB average.

As already observed in the analysis of Table 4, a warning to readers is in order here. This result does not necessarily mean companies with active Twitter accounts can achieve better market performance (higher MTB). It is possible that such companies, as they are more valued in the market, are more active in SM to publicize this condition more widely to the market.

Regarding the results of the second test, it can be noted that the corporate use of Twitter to disseminate ESG information is positively and significantly related, at the 5% level, with the MTB of the Brazilian companies analyzed. In economic terms, companies that use Twitter to disclose ESG information have their market value increased by around 18.8% compared to the average (0.341:1.811 (Table 4 - Panel A)). Thus, it is possible to highlight that SM, especially Twitter, plays a relevant role in the financial market since both the participation of companies in this media and its corporate use for the dissemination of ESG information are perceived by investors and other stakeholders so that they relate positively to your MTB.

Of the 57 companies in the sample using this social media, around 44% use it to disseminate ESG information. This finding is in line with the study by Teoh (2018), which demonstrated that the resources contained in Twitter, such as expanding the reach of information via retweets, can affect organizations in the capital market, thus encouraging companies to use this platform.

Thus, according to the analyses in Tables 6 and 7, the relationship between the corporate use of Twitter and the relevance of the accounting information of the companies in the sample is positive. Therefore, the hypothesis formulated in this research cannot be rejected. However, only the model by Cormier and Magnan (2016) showed significance in this relationship.

Ohlson (1995) highlights R² as the primary criterion for measuring the value relevance of organizations. When Twitter added the ESG information disclosure score to the regression model, there was a modest increase in R². However, the relationship demonstrates positive effects in signaling ESG information to the Brazilian financial market. With this, it can be inferred that as these disclosures increase, as well as in their reach through retweets and feedback from stakeholders, there is an increase in the relevance of accounting information.

The results regarding the corporate use of Twitter contribute to the international literature, which investigates the relationship between SM and accounting, by demonstrating that Brazilian companies tend to use it as a means of communicating with their stakeholders (Blankespoor et al., 2014; Jung et al., 2018). Furthermore, it adds to the national literature by noting that, besides using SM to disseminate accounting information (Giordani et al., 2020), Brazilian organizations use it to disseminate ESG information, as a positive relationship was identified with its MTB.

Such results allow us to consider signaling in SM as efficient since the signals issued in the form of publications regarding ESG practices by managers, who occupy the role of signalers, are observed by their stakeholders, as receivers, in a way that is reflected in the value relevance of organizations. It can also be inferred that feedback occurs in comments, likes, and retweets, representing the interaction between signalers and receivers.

The results showed that information on ESG practices disseminated through Twitter is perceived by its stakeholders as relevant information. Therefore, by engaging in ESG practices, they hope to meet society’s expectations concerning their organizational stance and guarantee possible benefits, such as the generation of market value. Furthermore, the importance of voluntary disclosure stands out since the disclosure of these practices reinforces the organizations’ commitment to such behavior.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

This research analyzed the relationship between the corporate use of MS to disseminate ESG practices, specifically Twitter, and the relevance of accounting information from Brazilian companies. To this end, descriptive, documentary, and quantitative research was conducted on a sample of 181 Brazilian companies listed on B[3] from 2015 to 2019, resulting in 905 observations.

Regarding the dissemination of ESG information carried out by organizations on Twitter, it was found that only 13% of the analyzed sample uses this media for this purpose. However, there has been an increase in the number of publications in recent years, suggesting that organizations increasingly use Twitter to communicate. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that the corporate use of Twitter to disseminate ESG information positively and significantly affects the relevance of accounting information of Brazilian companies, so hypothesis H1 cannot be rejected. Thus, it was found that the social media investigated is value relevant for market participants, as it is positively related to the MTB of the companies analyzed.

Based on the findings, it is possible to infer that Brazilian companies tend to increasingly signal their engagement in ESG practices to market participants through new means of communication, such as SM. In this way, organizations, in addition to demonstrating their commitment to ESG practices, which can reduce their cost of capital and generate value, can reduce the costs involved in voluntary disclosure.

Because of the above, this study contributes to the literature by highlighting that information regarding ESG practices signaled through Twitter can increase the visibility of such information, influencing investors and analysts and thus maximizing the relevance of accounting numbers. Furthermore, it contributes to the literature investigating the corporate use of SM, as it was found that Twitter can be a platform used to disseminate corporate information, whether related to accounting information or ESG practices. Furthermore, the study contributes to the value relevance literature, as the findings demonstrate that the disclosure of ESG information in SM can be relevant to the market, in addition to traditional profit and equity information.

As professional contributions, it is noteworthy that the results of this study allow both investors and shareholders to pay attention to the disclosure of ESG information in new media, such as Twitter. It is also concluded that SM can be an efficient communication channel as a transmitter of signals to the market, including for disseminating ESG information carried out by organizations. It should also be noted that the study findings can serve as a warning to organizations so that their managers include disclosure in such media in their strategic models to align the disclosures with what stakeholders expect.

This study has some limitations, among which it can be highlighted that in the analysis of value relevance, future research may use other models as a means of measurement. Furthermore, it is suggested that other SM, such as Facebook, be included to increase the analysis period of the information considered. It is also recommended that the possible effects of the pandemic period be considered in these analyses. Finally, a qualitative study of the information disclosed in SM would be relevant so that it is possible to identify whether there is a difference in the effect of this information, depending on its content.

AVAILABILITY OF DATA:

Not applicable

• RAM does not have permission from the authors or evaluators to publish this article’s review.
• RAM does not have information about open data regarding this manuscript.
• Inaê de Sousa Barbosa is now an alumnus at the Center for Applied Social Sciences at Fundação Universidade Regional de Blumenau; Roberto Carlos Klann is now a professor at the Center for Applied Social Sciences at Fundação Universidade Regional de Blumenau.

REFERENCES

• Balboa, M., & Martí, J. (2007). Factors that determine the reputation of private equity managers in developing markets. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(4), 453-480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.05.004
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.05.004
• Blankespoor, E., Miller, G. S., & White, H. D. (2014). The role of dissemination in market liquidity: Evidence from firms’ use of Twitter^TM The Accounting Review, 89(1), 79-112. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-50576
  » https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-50576
• Brauers, W. K. M., & Zavadskas, E. K. (2006). The MOORA method and its application to privatization in a transition economy. Control and Cybernetics, 35(2), 445-469.
• Cade, N. L. (2018). Corporate social media: How two-way disclosure channels influence investors. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 68-69, 63-79 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2018.03.004
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2018.03.004
• Connelly, B. L., Certo, S. T., Ireland, R. D., & Reutzel, C. R. (2011). Signaling Theory: A review and assessment. Journal of Management, 37(1), 39-67. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310388419
  » https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310388419
• Cormier, D., & Magnan, M. L. (2016). The Advent of IFRS in Canada: Incidence on value relevance. Journal of International Accounting Research, 15(3), 113-130. https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-51404
  » https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-51404
• Crişan, C., & Zbuchea, A. (2015). CSR and social media: Could online repositories become regulatory tools for CSR related activities’ reporting? Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Age (Vol. 7, pp. 197-219). Emerald Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2043-052320150000007011
  » https://doi.org/10.1108/S2043-052320150000007011
• Daugaard, D. (2020). Emerging new themes in environmental, social and governance investing: A systematic literature review. Accounting & Finance, 60(2), 1501-1530. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12479
  » https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12479
• Degenhart, L., Mazzuco, M. S. A., & Klann, R. C. (2017). Relevância das informações contábeis e a responsabilidade social corporativa de empresas brasileiras. Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da Unisinos, 14(3), Artigo 3.
• Dunn, K., & Harness, D. (2018). Communicating corporate social responsibility in a social world: The effects of company-generated and user-genera-ted social media content on CSR attributions and scepticism. Journal of Marketing Management, 34(17/18), 1503-1529. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2018.1536675
  » https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2018.1536675
• Eberle, D., Berens, G., & Li, T. (2013). The impact of interactive corporate social responsibility communication on corporate reputation. Journal of Business Ethics, 118(4), 731-746. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1957-y
  » https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1957-y
• El Ghoul, S., Guedhami, O., Nash, R., & Patel, A. (2019). New evidence on the role of the media in corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 154(4), 1051-1079. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3354-9
  » https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3354-9
• Francis, J., & Schipper, K. (1999). Have financial statements lost their relevance? Journal of Accounting Research, 37(2), 319-352. https://doi.org/10.2307/2491412
  » https://doi.org/10.2307/2491412
• Gaganis, C., Pasiouras, F., & Voulgari, F. (2019). Culture, business environment and SMEs’ profitability: Evidence from European Countries. Economic Modelling, 78, 275-292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2018.09.023
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2018.09.023
• Galati, A., Sakka, G., Crescimanno, M., Tulone, A., & Fiore, M. (2019). What is the role of social media in several overtones of CSR communication? The case of the wine industry in the Southern Italian regions. British Food Journal, 121(4), 856-873. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-07-2018-0437
  » https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-07-2018-0437
• Giordani, M. da, Soschinski, C. K., & Klann, R. C. (2019). Uso corporativo de mídia social e a responsabilidade social corporativa. Revista Gestão Organizacional, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.22277/rgo.v12i3.5192
  » https://doi.org/10.22277/rgo.v12i3.5192
• Giordani, M. da S., Barbosa, I. de S., & Klann, R. C. (2023). Uso de mídia social pelo CEOs e o gerenciamento de resultados. Revista de Educação e Pesquisa em Contabilidade, 17(3), Artigo 3. https://doi.org/10.17524/repec.v17i3.3225
  » https://doi.org/10.17524/repec.v17i3.3225
• Giordani, M. da S., & Klann, R. C. (2022). Uso corporativo de mídias sociais e a relevância da informação contábil. Advances in Scientific and Applied Accounting, 026-053. https://doi.org/10.14392/asaa.2022150102
  » https://doi.org/10.14392/asaa.2022150102
• Giordani, M. da S., Lunardi, M. A., & Klann, R. C. (2020). Uso corporativo de mídias sociais e o desempenho de mercado. Revista de Contabilidade e Organizações, 14, e169560-e169560. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1982-6486.rco.2020.169560
  » https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1982-6486.rco.2020.169560
• Gujarati, D. N. (2006). Econometria básica (4th ed.). Elsevier.
• Gupta, A. K., Govindarajan, V., & Malhotra, A. (1999). Feedback-seeking behavior within multinational corporations. Strategic Management Journal, 20(3), 205-222. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199903)20:3<205::AID-SMJ17>3.0.CO;2-H
  » https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199903)20:3<205::AID-SMJ17>3.0.CO;2-H
• Jha, A. K., & Verma, N. K. (2023). Social media sustainability communication: An analysis of firm behaviour and stakeholder responses. Information Systems Frontiers, 25(2), 723-742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-022-10257-6
  » https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-022-10257-6
• Jung, M. J., Naughton, J. P., Tahoun, A., & Wang, C. (2018). Do firms strategically disseminate? Evidence from corporate use of social media. The Accounting Review, 93(4), 225-252. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51906
  » https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51906
• Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003
• Kim, E. H., & Youm, Y. N. (2017). How do social media affect analyst stock recommendations? Evidence from S&P 500 electric power companies’ Twitter accounts. Strategic Management Journal, 38(13), 2599-2622. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2678
  » https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2678
• King, R. A., Racherla, P., & Bush, V. D. (2014). What we know and don’t know about online word-of-mouth: A review and synthesis of the literature. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28(3), 167-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2014.02.001
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2014.02.001
• Lee, L. F., Hutton, A. P., & Shu, S. (2015). The role of social media in the capital market: Evidence from consumer product recalls. Journal of Accounting Research, 53(2), 367-404. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.12074
  » https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.12074
• Lee, Y.-J., Yoon, H. J., & O’Donnell, N. H. (2018). The effects of information cues on perceived legitimacy of companies that promote corporate social responsibility initiatives on social networking sites. Journal of Business Research, 83, 202-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.09.039
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.09.039
• Manetti, G., & Bellucci, M. (2016). The use of social media for engaging stakeholders in sustainability reporting. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 29(6), 985-1011. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2014-1797
  » https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2014-1797
• Manetti, G., Belluci, M., & Bagnoli, L. (2017). Stakeholder engagement and public information through social media: A study of Canadian and American public transportation agencies. The American Review of Public Administration, 47(8), 991-1009. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074016649260
  » https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074016649260
• Mavlanova, T., Benbunan-Fich, R., & Koufaris, M. (2012). Signaling Theory and information asymmetry in online commerce. Information & Management, 49(5), 240-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2012.05.004
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2012.05.004
• Muninger, M.-I., Hammedi, W., & Mahr, D. (2019). The value of social media for innovation: A capability perspective. Journal of Business Research, 95, 116-127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.10.012
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.10.012
• Odoom, R., Anning-Dorson, T., & Acheampong, G. (2017). Antecedents of social media usage and performance benefits in smalland medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 30(3), 383-399. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-04-2016-0088
  » https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-04-2016-0088
• Ohlson, J. A. (1995). Earnings, Book Values, and Dividends in Equity Valua-tion. Contemporary Accounting Research, 11(2), 661-687. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1911-3846.1995.tb00461.x
  » https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1911-3846.1995.tb00461.x
• Russo, S., Schimperna, F., Lombardi, R., & Ruggiero, P. (2021). Sustaina-bility performance and social media: An explorative analysis. Meditari Accountancy Research, 30(4), 1118-1140. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEDAR-03-2021-1227
  » https://doi.org/10.1108/MEDAR-03-2021-1227
• Silva, A., Heinzen, C., Klann, R., & Lemes, S. (2018). Relação entre o conservadorismo contábil e a relevância das informações. Advances in Scientific and Applied Accounting, 11, 502-516. https://doi.org/10.14392/ASAA.2018110308
  » https://doi.org/10.14392/ASAA.2018110308
• Smits, M., & Mogos, S. (2013). The Impact Of Social Media On Business Performance Publisher.
• Spence, M. (2002). Signaling in retrospect and the informational structure of markets. American Economic Review, 92(3), 434-459. https://doi.org/10.1257/00028280260136200
  » https://doi.org/10.1257/00028280260136200
• Stevenson, W. J. (2001). Estatística aplicada à administração Harbra.
• Taj, S. A. (2016). Application of Signaling Theory in management research: Addressing major gaps in theory. European Management Journal, 34(4), 338-348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2016.02.001
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2016.02.001
• Tench, R., & Jones, B. (2015). Social media: The Wild West of CSR communications. Social Responsibility Journal, 11(2), 290-305. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-12-2012-0157
  » https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-12-2012-0157
• Teoh, S. H. (2018). The promise and challenges of new datasets for accounting research. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 68-69, 109-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2018.03.008
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2018.03.008
• Wong, J. B., & Zhang, Q. (2022). Stock market reactions to adverse ESG disclosure via media channels. The British Accounting Review, 54(1), 101045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2021.101045
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2021.101045
• Zhang, J. (2015). Voluntary information disclosure on social media. Decision Support Systems, 73, 28-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2015.02.018
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2015.02.018
• Zhang, Q., Cao, M., Zhang, F., Liu, J., & Li, X. (2020). Effects of corporate social responsibility on customer satisfaction and organizational attractiveness: A signaling perspective. Business Ethics: A European Review, 29(1), 20-34. https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12243
  » https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12243

Edited by

• EDITORIAL PRODUCTION
  Publishing coordination
  Andreia Cominetti
  Editorial intern
  Bruna Silva de Angelis
  Copy editor
  Andy Benson and Irina Migliari (Bardo Editorial)
  Layout designer
  Emap
  Graphic designer
  Emap

• EDITORIAL BOARD
  Editor-in-chief
  Almir Martins Vieira
  Associated editor
  David Ferreira Lopes Santos
  Technical support
  Gabriel Henrique Carille

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  16 Feb 2026
• Date of issue
  2026

History

• Received
  14 Mar 2023
• Accepted
  07 May 2024