Stakeholder Engagement and Social Media Communication in Banking Industry: Monte dei Paschi di Siena Case Study

In these days, social media are increasingly used to engage stakeholders in different corporate activities, playing a fundamental role in obtaining credibility and social acceptance. The study aims to investigate the influence of these media on stakeholders' participation in corporate activities, in order to ensure a long-term and sustainable profit. The analysis draws together the relevant literature from different, but related disciplines in order to highlight social media influence on banking activities and in particular on company-stakeholders' relationship. To better understand the main aspect of stakeholder engagement and the influence of social media on this phenomenon, it has been analyzed Monte dei Paschi di Siena case study, one of the main Italian financial institutions. According to the achieved results, these media seem to play an essential role in corporate reputation and stakeholder relationship management, even if organizations and in particular financial institutions are still not aware about their strategic importance. In fact, these organizations are used to consider social media mere promotional tools, ignoring their strategic influence not only on stakeholders' participation, commitment, and even engagement, but also on corporate reputation and competitiveness.