Corona Virus Crisis and Corporate Social Responsibility Mismanagement: Analyzing the Reaction of Social Media Users to Negative News about CSR Issues

The Corona virus crisis and its biological, social, and economic effects have had a profound effect on most businesses. Meanwhile, the mismanagement of businesses in term of their social responsibilities and the spread of negative news on social media can have serious consequences for them. Social networks allow users to spread content and create negative e-WOM about companies. To identify the causes of this behavior, a fake news about the Corona virus and Mahan Airlines was distributed among Instagram users to explain their intention to comment or share. Based on this, a set of explanatory variables was examined, which included Social awareness, Environmental awareness, Utilitarian value, and Attitude toward comment and sharing about negative CSR news. This research was descriptive and survey and the statistical population of the study included student of university of Tabriz and Tehran who are Instagram users. The questionnaires were distributed electronically and in an accessible manner and a total of 460 questionnaires were collected. Data analysis by SPSS and PLS software showed that social awareness has a positive effect on environmental awareness. However, despite the positive impact of social and environmental awareness on the utilitarian value, it failed to show a significant relationship with attitudes toward comment and sharing. Finally, although attitudes had a significant effect on users' behavioral intent, the effect of utilitarian value on behavioral intent was not confirmed. The findings of this study can help different by analyzing the behavior of their customers and the practical suggestions that will be provided.