Environmental marketing communication on corporate website: Stakeholder audiences' expectations and needs

Abstract

ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING COMMUNICATION ON CORPORATE WEBSITE: STAKEHOLDER AUDIENCES’ EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main purpose of this thesis is to explore the needs and expectations of the target audiences of company‘s environmental communication on corporate websites. The research was practical, geared towards solving a managerial problem of what is relevant environmental communication on corporate website from stakeholder audiences‘ point of view. This study was motivated by the general lack of understanding the needs and expectations of the various stakeholders regarding environmental communication. Consequently, the main research question that the study set out to answer was: What are the information needs and expectations of various stakeholder audiences regarding environmental communication via company websites?

METHODOLOGY This thesis draws upon a qualitative study of a Finnish oil refining company, Neste Oil. Empirical data were collected through 12 semi-structured qualitative interviews totaling approximately 8 hours and an email enquiry with selected target groups. Stakeholder groups investigated in this study were regulatory stakeholders including policy makers, community stakeholders including environmental organizations, media including journalists and organizational stakeholders including customers, investors and partner company representatives. The empirical research set out to answer three questions regarding the channels of environmental communication, the role of corporate website among other channels and finally the information needs and expectations of target groups regarding the content, structure, format and source of environmental marketing communication on corporate websites.

RESULTS The findings of this study suggest that companies‘ actual environmental behavior determines the possibilities of environmental communication. Environmental communication on corporate websites should address the risks and opportunities that are specific to the company in question. Moreover, communication has to be oriented towards the future and express concrete objectives and milestones regarding how the company is planning to improve its environmental performance. In addition, websites should present evidence provided by impartial third parties. It is crucial that the website has clear visuals and is organized with well-known and understandable logic to make it easy for various target audiences to navigate. Lastly, the findings of this thesis indicate that in addition to effective communication on corporate websites, offline channels are also of crucial importance.