This study explored how companies use Facebook to communicate
environmental risk and how message communication strategies, online
comments, and corporate environmental efficacy or hypocrisy shape public
perception. As suggested by results from 484 experimental surveys,
collective efficacy shows significant differences among four types of textual
messages used. Communication message strategies and positive/negative
comments had a significant interaction effect on perceptions of corporate
citizenship image, with exposure to rhetorical strategy + negative comments
clearly resulting in the greatest negative effect. Perceived corporate
hypocrisy negatively affected public perception of corporate
trustworthiness, corporate citizenship, and eWOM.