Greening the citizenship: role of social media in promoting environmental engagement

Abstract

PurposeSocial media platforms (SMPs) enable municipalities and public organizations to communicate effectively, raise awareness on sustainability, share municipal service information and engage with the community. This study aims to examine how online engagement with SMPs of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality enhances attitude, information value and environmental concern. In addition, the study develops a model to examine how online engagement contributes to environmental citizenship behavior (ECB).Design/methodology/approachThis study uses survey data from 316 citizens of Istanbul and employs structural equation modeling techniques using AMOS and SPSS software packages.FindingsEmpirical results reveal that online engagement has a positive and significant relationship with attitude, information value and environmental concern. The study further shows that online engagement is positively related to ECB. Moreover, the findings suggest that attitude, information value and environmental concern positively and significantly impact ECB.Originality/valueThis study provides insights into the body of knowledge in the field by examining the underlying mechanisms of how online engagement promotes ECB in a sustainable environment.