Engaging stakeholders through Facebook: A study of German and Austrian public utility companies

German and Austrian utility companies are confronted with dramatic changes in the European energy sector. Concrete examples of this challenging environment are the increasing competition as well as the exit from nuclear and fossil-fuel energy. In this context stakeholder theory emphasises the importance for utility companies to actively manage the relationships with the relevant stakeholders. Nowadays a considerable amount of these stakeholders might be addressed by using Facebook. Regarding the European energy sector there still exist little empirical evidence about the engagement of stakeholders through Facebook. Consequently this paper addresses the research question to which extent German and Austrian utilities use Facebook. Furthermore the objectives of the Facebook account, the addressed stakeholders as well as the provided information of sites are observed. The quantitative study includes 88 German and Austrian utility companies.