Resumen de Campaign and corporate goals in conflict: Exploring company-issue congruence through a content analysis of Coca-Cola’s twitter feed

Barbara Miller Gaither, Lucinda Austin

• Abstract This study explored the role of company-issue congruence in regard to public response to CSR social media messages through the unique case study of Coca-Cola, the world’s largest beverage company, which includes sustainability commitments demonstrative of both high and low company-issue congruence. Counter to existing recommendations for CSR, the findings suggest that CSR initiatives that are highly congruent with a company’s products or services, but to which corporate products or manufacturing processes contribute negatively, are likely to be criticized more heavily and elicit more public skepticism.