Crafted Responsibility: How Handmade Language Shapes Social Media Engagement for Socially (Ir)Responsible Luxury Fashion Brands

Abstract

This research examines how the disclosure of production cues interacts with corporate social responsibility cues to influence social media engagement in luxury fashion. Two complementary field studies analyse marketer‐generated Facebook posts from luxury fashion brands, providing large‐scale empirical evidence of a real‐world impact on consumer engagement. The results show that handmade language cues, positioned as signals of artisanal craftsmanship, and CSR information interact to shape engagement. Study 1 employs a natural experiment to examine how handmade language cues in marketer‐generated content on Facebook shape social media engagement, specifically during periods of heightened reputational risk caused by corporate social irresponsibility events. It demonstrates the value of combining validated linguistic dictionaries, LIWC‐based text analysis with Google Trends indicators. Study 2 extends the analysis across multiple luxury brands, testing the interaction between handmade language cues and employee‐focused CSR messaging. The findings highlight the context‐sensitive power of brand language in shaping consumer responses. While handmade language cues buffer the negative impact of CSR scandals on social media engagement, they strengthen social media shares when paired with positive employee‐focused CSR messaging. This dual effect highlights how luxury brands can strategically use handmade language cues to sustain engagement during CSR scandals, and to further enhance engagement with positive employee‐related CSR messaging.