Symbolic visibility and substantive impact of CSR communication on social media: financial performance and environmental commitment

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication on social media has become an important strategy for firms seeking to enhance transparency, reputation, and sustainability. However, prior research has focused predominantly on financial outcomes and has provided limited evidence on whether digital CSR communication is also associated with firms’ environmental commitment, particularly in emerging markets. This study examines the effects of CSR communication on social media on firms’ financial performance and environmental commitment, proxied by environmental expenditures, with social media engagement as a proposed intervening mechanism. Using panel data from non-financial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange between 2020 and 2024, this study analyzes CSR-related Twitter communication, stakeholder engagement metrics, and firm-level performance indicators. A fixed-effects panel regression approach is employed to control for unobserved firm heterogeneity and time-specific effects. The results indicate that CSR communication does not directly improve financial performance but is positively associated with stakeholder engagement, while engagement is positively associated with financial performance. However, additional bootstrapping results do not confirm a statistically significant indirect effect. Conversely, CSR communication is negatively associated with environmental commitment, and social media engagement does not function as a significant intervening mechanism in this relationship. These findings demonstrate the asymmetric impact of digital CSR communication, with stronger relevance for financial outcomes than for environmental commitment. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the symbolic nature of engagement-driven legitimacy in the environmental domain and distinguishing reputational benefits from substantive sustainability outcomes in emerging markets.