Framing of Opposing Corporate and Activist NGO Website Communications: Impacts on Perceptions of Tripartite Sustainability Values and Joining Online Networks

This research investigated the impacts of the diverse framings of corporate and activist NGOs website communications of a proposed Canadian oil-sands pipeline on participants' perceptions of a) the tripartite sustainability values of environmental safety, economic benefits and community social relations and b) the willingness to join the corporate and activist NGOs online networks. Given the importance of sustainability issues in business education curricula and research, the participants were drawn from a population of undergraduate students. They were exposed online to either neutral information (control group), or randomly exposed initially to either the Corporate or Activist NGOs website communications. These exposures were subsequently reversed creating a combined group exposed to both agenda framings. Results demonstrated the persuasive power of both communication framings. The Corporate communication created positive perceptions of tripartite sustainability values, whereas the Activist NGOs' created negative perceptions. After exposures to the opposite communications, the Corporate group's perceptions changed from positive to negative, whereas the Activist NGOs perceptions only became somewhat less negative. Also there was a stronger willingness to join an Activist NGO rather than the corporate online action network. The empirical findings reflect the powerful diverse impacts of agenda framing on a highly controversial societal issue. Concerned citizens, researchers, politicians and academics should not restrict their website consultation to just one framing of such complex wicked issues. The present findings also have important implications for developing a more balanced and ethical business curriculum in the area of sustainability and common good.