Impact of social media adoption on stakeholder engagement and trust

Purpose This paper examines how the strategic adoption of social media, when aligned with institutional logics, fosters stakeholder engagement and builds trust. It introduces the Digital Engagement for Stakeholder Trust (DEST) Framework, which conceptualizes trust-building across six dimensions: transparency, communication effectiveness, customer feedback integration, brand visibility, knowledge sharing and privacy and security. Design/methodology/approach The study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining a systematic literature review and a case study of HCL Technologies. A total of 78 peer-reviewed articles were systematically drawn, following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were sourced from academic databases and documents related to HCL Technologies, collected from multiple secondary sources, including corporate reports, official communications, and digital content, with thematic coding applied for analysis. This methodology ensures both conceptual robustness and practical relevance in validating the DEST Framework. Findings The study finds that organizations strategically aligning social media adoption with institutional logics such as civic accountability, regulatory compliance and normative expectations effectively foster stakeholder engagement and cultivate trust. The DEST Framework demonstrates that trust emerges through dimensions such as transparency, communication effectiveness and customer feedback integration. The case study of HCL technologies validates the framework, showcasing how cohesive digital strategies aligned with institutional logics enhance stakeholder relationships and organizational legitimacy. Research limitations/implications This research advances digital engagement scholarship by developing the DEST Framework, which integrates institutional logics with social media strategies constructs to explain how stakeholder trust emerges in digitally mediated organizational contexts. Practical implications The DEST Framework offers a strategic roadmap for organizations aiming to enhance stakeholder trust and engagement through social media, aligned with institutional logics. Social implications By aligning social media strategies with societal norms and values such as transparency, participatory governance and ethical data stewardship organizations contribute to strengthening the social license to operate and public trust. Originality/value This study has introduced the DEST Framework, an integrative model for aligning institutional logics with digital communication strategies, which fosters stakeholder trust. It conceptualizes how six key variables, transparency, communication effectiveness, customer feedback integration, brand visibility, knowledge sharing and privacy and security, collectively drive stakeholder trust in organizational contexts. A key contribution of this research lies in the integration of digital trust-building strategies, namely discursive, episodic, systemic and temporal strategies that offer a dynamic and multifaceted approach to understanding how trust is constructed, maintained and institutionalized over time in digital environments.