Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.) supports its social media business through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that address stakeholders’ interests. In Archie B. Carroll’s theory of corporate citizenship, businesses affect stakeholders, and vice versa. In this business analysis case of Facebook, the stakeholders are diverse because of the global reach and nature of the social network. As one of the largest social media businesses in the international market, Meta affects billions of online users as stakeholders. These online users include individuals, groups, and businesses. Facebook needs to ensure that its corporate social responsibility programs and policies are satisfactory in addressing stakeholders’ concerns. Doing so supports customer loyalty and business competitive advantages, such as the strengths identified in the SWOT analysis of Facebook (Meta). The company needs corporate citizenship initiatives that prioritize the most significant of these stakeholders. In this way, the corporate social responsibility approach recognizes resource limits while strategically enhancing business image and competence.
This stakeholder analysis of Facebook underscores the significance of comprehensive corporate social responsibility initiatives and programs. The company’s corporate citizenship strategy satisfies stakeholders’ concerns while also supporting Facebook’s business strategic objectives in the multinational online social media market. This corporate social responsibility approach helps protect Meta’s business against the effects of competitors, such as the social media and online advertising services of Google (Alphabet), Microsoft, Snap (Snapchat), and X (Twitter), as well as the marketplaces of Amazon, eBay, and Walmart Marketplace.
Facebook’s (Meta’s) Stakeholder Groups & CSR Initiatives
Facebook’s social media business affects stakeholders around the world. This situation requires global standards for the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives to satisfy stakeholders’ interests. For example, Meta must maintain privacy policies that satisfy various standards and expectations among users and governments. Facebook has the following stakeholder groups relevant to corporate citizenship, arranged according to importance in its corporate social responsibility strategy:
- Users/Members (most important)
- Advertisers
- Employees
- Governments
- Communities
Users/Members. Facebook’s online social media and marketplace service has billions of monthly active users. These users or members of the social network are the stakeholder group that receives the company’s top prioritization in corporate citizenship, considering Facebook’s (Meta’s) mission statement and vision statement. Users are significant in corporate social responsibility strategy because they determine the popularity and attractiveness of Meta’s display advertising services. For example, advertisers are more likely to pay for such services as the online social network gains more users or members. Thus, alongside this CSR strategy, the business aims to continually grow its user base, aligning corporate citizenship with Facebook’s (Meta’s) generic competitive strategy and intensive growth strategies.
As stakeholders, users are interested in the ease of using the firm’s social media services and in the privacy and security of personal information. Meta’s corporate social responsibility strategy faces criticism regarding the ethics of addressing this stakeholder group because of data privacy and security concerns. However, Facebook’s corporate citizenship approach continues to improve its social networking websites and mobile apps to make it easier for users to protect the privacy of their accounts. Moreover, Meta faces criticism regarding net neutrality affecting the company’s platform and online resources. Thus, even though Facebook’s corporate social responsibility strategy satisfies the main interests of users or members as stakeholders, further improvement is needed in this area.
Advertisers. Advertisers are the chief source of Facebook’s income. Thus, this stakeholder group is significant because it directly influences the company’s financial status. The CSR interests of these stakeholders include effective and efficient advertising service, as well as accurate data from Meta. In its corporate social responsibility efforts, Facebook addresses these interests through automated reporting to minimize human intervention in the advertising process. Also, the provision of options for advertisers to target specific audiences on the online social network maximizes the benefits of the advertising service and contributes to the fulfillment of corporate citizenship in this area. Facebook’s (Meta’s) operations management facilitates advertisers’ satisfaction, such as through quality management. Therefore, Facebook’s corporate social responsibility strategy addresses the interests of this stakeholder group.
Employees. Facebook values employees in terms of their contributions to the social media business. These corporate citizenship stakeholders are significant in affecting Meta’s evolution, especially in developing and improving products. The CSR interests of employees include high compensation and career development. Facebook’s corporate social responsibility programs directly address these interests through competitive human resource policies. For example, Meta gives some of the highest salaries in the industry, especially as a way of attracting talent while competing in the labor market with technology firms, like Google. Such efforts show that the company satisfies corporate social responsibilities in considering the interests of employees as a major stakeholder group. Addressing this stakeholder group’s concerns influences Facebook’s (Meta’s) organizational culture (work culture), which shapes employees’ behaviors.
Governments. Governments are significant CSR stakeholders that impose requirements on the social media business, as shown in the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis of Facebook (Meta Platforms). This influence keeps the company in compliance with governmental policies and interests, which include regulatory requirements. Facebook’s corporate social responsibility strategy involves negotiations and partnerships with governments to show support for governmental efforts and programs.
Communities. Facebook’s corporate citizenship efforts give the least priority to communities as a stakeholder group. These stakeholders significantly affect the company by influencing the perception of users/members and advertisers. Communities are interested in business sustainability and developmental support from companies. Facebook addresses such corporate social responsibilities through green technology and Internet.org, which aims to increase online access in developing countries. However, critics argue that Internet.org violates net neutrality and is just another way to promote Meta’s online social network over competitors. On the other hand, a limited PhD fellowship program allows students to work with the company and enables the corporation to find new hires. These efforts show that Facebook’s corporate social responsibility strategy is limited in satisfying the interests of communities as a stakeholder group.
Facebook’s (Meta’s) CSR Performance in Addressing Stakeholders’ Interests
As a leading social media company, Facebook has corporate social responsibility policies and programs that satisfy the interests of some of its major stakeholders. For example, the interests of advertisers, employees, and governments are satisfied. These CSR programs partly support public relations in Facebook’s (Meta’s) marketing mix or 4P. However, the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy neglects to provide satisfactory support for the interests of communities as stakeholders. Also, Meta faces issues in fulfilling corporate citizenship goals pertaining to the users/members of its social network. Facebook, together with other firms, launched Internet.org, but this effort is criticized as a violation of net neutrality and as having hidden proprietary motives.
Based on these CSR challenges, it is recommended that Facebook enhance its corporate citizenship initiatives to satisfy the concerns of communities, especially through sustainability and ecological community development programs, which are two of the firm’s corporate social responsibilities. In addition, it is recommended that Meta develop more stringent data privacy and security policies for strict compliance. This recommendation addresses the interests of users/members and communities, while contributing to business competitive advantages to counteract the competitive forces shown in the Five Forces analysis of Facebook (Meta Platforms).
References
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