Drivers of Twitter as a strategic communication tool for non-profit organizations

Abstract

Purpose In view of the increased impact of social media, non-profit organizations (NPOs) should review their management model for stakeholder relationships. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of factors on the use of Twitter by NPOs as a mechanism for disclosing information and dialogue with their stakeholders, and in particular: “donor dependence,” “fundraising expenses,” “organizational age,” “organizational size,” “online community size,” “network activity” and “board size.” Design/methodology/approach A content analysis of Twitter use as a strategic communication tool was conducted and a multivariable linear regression analysis was performed. Findings Smaller organizations and those with a larger online community are the most interested in implementing Twitter as a one or two-way communication strategy. Likewise, the NPOs with the highest degree of donor dependence strive most in the use of contents of Twitter as one-way communication mechanism. Social implications This study contributes to a better understanding of social media implementation in the NPO sector and advances the identification of the main causes that motivate NPOs to improve their accountability through social media. Originality/value The paper’s subject is relatively innovative due to the scarce studies focussing on social media used by NPOs. In spite of the advantages offered by Twitter, few studies have specifically addressed NPOs’ current use of this platform, and fewer still have analyzed the factors that motivate them to use this tool.