Using social media and qualitative and quantitative information scales to benchmark corporate sustainability

Sustainability issues have received considerable attention from corporations that embrace corporate sustainability, which focuses on the triple bottom lines of societal, environmental and financial returns or impacts. However, although corporate sustainability has been studied in depth by analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, no studies have involved social media as part of the decision-making process to evaluate a Taiwanese-printed circuit board manufacturing focal firm. This study proposed appropriate attributes and developed the following hybrid method: (i) evaluate the weights of the aspects and attributes as described by qualitative and quantitative data and (ii) analyze how the use of social media modifies their decision-making process. The findings demonstrate that to acquire benefits from sustainable design, code of conduct and eco-products, firms must increase their exchange across corporate functions when dealing with these unexplored sustainability activities. In conclusion, this study compared the results of the above-described data using the Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) weighted average method with vague sets and presents the managerial and theoretical implications for operations management studies. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.