CSR communication, social media and consumer engagement: evidence from the airline industry

Purpose
Airlines use social network sites (SNSs) to share CSR, yet engagement is uneven. The sector faces heavy environmental scrutiny, especially in developing countries, making CSR signals salient. This study aims to address who engages with airlines’ CSR posts and why, an area where prior work has optimised message content but underexplored person-side drivers.

Design/methodology/approach
This study tests a model linking perceived value, satisfaction, perceived service quality (PSQ), positive/negative electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and consumer ethnocentrism to engagement, integrating customer satisfaction and social identity theories. A cross-sectional survey of social-media-active air travellers in Oman (n = 356) was analysed using validated scales and structural modelling.

Findings
Perceived value increased the negative, but not positive, eWOM; satisfaction affected neither. PSQ increased both positive and negative eWOM. Positive eWOM raised ethnocentrism and engagement; negative eWOM raised ethnocentrism and, more strongly, engagement. Ethnocentrism also increased engagement.

Research limitations/implications
The study refines satisfaction theory and extends social identity theory by showing how eWOM valence activates identity that drives engagement. Practically, airlines should align CSR with operations, manage comment climates, invest in PSQ touchpoints and localise CSR without excluding international stakeholders. While the Oman-based cross-sectional design limits causality and generalisation, future research will pair surveys with behavioural traces, test moderators, compare markets and exploit disruptions as quasi-experiments.

Originality/value
This study develops a person-side CST–SIT model explaining airline CSR engagement via eWOM and ethnocentrism in a developing-country context.