Accounting department research seminar: "The use of social media by New Zealand charities to discharge accountability to downward stakeholders" by Angelitsa Nekelo

With recent advancements in technology and the rapid diffusion of social media applications, the capabilities of societal communication has increased dramatically. The nature of these social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter, provide opportunities for organisations to address accountability online for users which include the public. Through a content analysis of three months’ worth of two Tier-2 charities’ social media posts, this research examines how and at what extent charities in New Zealand are utilizing social media to discharge accountability to downward stakeholders.

From a review of existing literature, this research focuses on two distinct dimensions of online accountability: dialogue and disclosure. The results reveal that whilst NZ charities’ presence on social media is prolific, they are indeed failing to take advantage of the dialogic capabilities that both Facebook and Twitter allow. This research differs from existing key literature in that, the discharge of accountability is being looked at specifically from the viewpoint of downward stakeholders. Through this, downward stakeholders such as clients, beneficiaries and communities will each benefit from this research.

The presentation will be approximately 20 minutes followed by a question and answer session.