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PurposeThe aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of corporate web sites – of which corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship and sustainable development (CSR/CC/SD) issues are included – which stakeholders are privileged, and which mechanisms of inner and outer control are referred to in these web sites.Design/methodology/approachA specific tool was developed to monitor the treatment of CSR/CC/SD issues on corporate web sites. Content analysis was applied to the complete spectrum of enterprises within the IBEX‐35, which is the selective index of the Spanish Stock Exchange.FindingsThe research reported herein shows that the web has become an essential instrument for the communication of CSR/CC/SD issues, although its use is limited to certain content. There is also a disparity between the volume of information and its dispersion; communication is primarily unidirectional/expositive; and companies do not sufficiently use eternal criteria to guarantee the corporate behaviour they report.Research limitations/implicationsThe IBEX‐35 company sample analysed in this study represents the companies on the Spanish Stock Exchange that have the most capital. Thus, its results cannot be extended to other top companies or to smaller firms. This research could be expanded by extending the survey to other companies and/or to other countries. It would be especially interesting to compare different external international evaluation criteria to add to the debate on the risks of the present CSR/CC/SD agenda.Originality/valueThis study represents the first investigation of this topic amongst Spanish companies, and a specific tool to monitor the treatment of CSR/CC/SD issues on corporate web sites has been developed.

How to cite this article: Moreno, Ángeles; Fuentes-Lara, Cristina; Navarro, Cristina (2020). "Covid-19 communication management in Spain: Exploring the effect of information-seeking behavior and message reception in public's evaluation". El profesional de la información, v. 29, n. 4, e290402.

PurposeThe main objective of this study is to examine the presence and organization of information on corporate responsibility that is on the corporate web sites of companies that belong to the index of the Spanish stock market.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have designed a specific tool to identify corporate responsibility issues and to analyse how information on such issues is organized and presented on corporate web sites. A content analysis methodology was applied to the web sites of the companies under study.FindingsThe results suggest that the companies that were studied assign great importance to corporate responsibility on their web sites, even though they disseminate on those sites a limited conception of what corporate responsibility is and focus mainly on the topics of social and environmental action. Another relevant finding is the highly dispersed nature of the information that is related to corporate responsibility on corporate web sites.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted on a sample of companies from the Spanish stock market, and therefore the results are not necessarily representative of the entire Spanish stock market or of companies that do not trade on it.Originality/valueThis paper offers a specific methodology for the analysis of information on corporate responsibility and the organization of that information on the corporate web sites of all types of companies. The methodology and the results may be of utility to other researchers and will facilitate international comparisons of organizations regarding corporate responsibility and the manner in which information on this topic is disseminated to various stakeholders.

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