Websites for stakeholder relations by corporations and non-profits: A time-lag study in Singapore

Abstract

Purpose: This longitudinal study aims to analyze the use of websites by a sample of 78 corporations and non-profits five years apart. In particular, it studies organizational use of interactive and social media features and use of web sites for building relationships with six stakeholder publics. Design/methodology/approach: The authors studied the websites of 78 for-profit and not-for-profit organization seeking to learn how they used this new medium as a communication tool to build and maintain relationships with six key stakeholders: the mass media, consumers, investor/donors, employees, the government, and the community in 2004 and in 2009. They also explored for differences in the way for-profit corporations and non-profits used their web sites for relationship building given their different missions and cultures. Findings: First, there was a marked difference in how corporations and non-profit organizations used their websites. Second, a significant number of organizations used social media applications such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube through their websites in 2009. Third, aside from increased use of social media, in 2009 more organizations used feedback mechanisms such as e-surveys and e-polls embedded in their websites, enhancing interactions with a variety of stakeholders. Both corporations and non-profit organizations generally utilized their websites as information-dissemination tools, where the information flow is one-way, although the percentage of both corporations and non profits that used interactive features offered by new media has increased slightly between 2004 and 2009. Originality/value: This study is among the few that compare web page use by corporations vs non-profits. A second unique feature of this study is that it is longitudinal in nature, studying web site use five years apart by the same organizations. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.