Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish a categorization of corporate websites as tools of online communication, in accordance with how they apply usability to the content they present, and to determine the indicators of the content and usability variables which mark the differences between each group of websites. Design/methodology/approach: The present study analyses how 754 firms manage the usability of the content they provide through the channels of their corporate websites. To this end, a cluster analysis was applied to distinguish the types of firms according to the usability and content of their websites, followed by a discriminant analysis to determine which variables differentiate the groups. Findings: The work has presented a list of the indicators that the literature has considered to be determinant aspects of firms’ use of their websites for corporate strategic communications. These indicators can be applied in forming an instrument to measure the quality of company websites in this area. Originality/value: The present paper has attempted to clarify the panorama of corporate online communication via websites, understanding the issue as being not just a mere technicality but addressing it from the perspective of the emitter of the communication as a strategic instrument.

This paper shows how the leading Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking communicate their environmental sustainability policies through their websites. Specifically, this paper analyses the presence of sustainability‐related sustainable development goals on the websites of the top 100 universities in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking (2021). In the area of university social responsibility, sustainability is less commonly communicated, hence the need to delve deeper into the presence of these messages, carrying out a descriptive study using content analysis as a form of data extraction. The conclusion is that neither position in the ranking nor geographic area are decisive for developing better communication about sustainability. In terms of content, sustainability features on the websites are in three key dimensions of the communication of HEIs worldwide (Climate change, Efficiency of sustainable cities and communities and Striving for peace and justice). Thus, the areas for improvement are around the positioning of this sustainability‐related content on their home pages, improving location and format (especially video). Moreover, reinforcing reputational messages, through plans or programmes, as well as improving engagement working on the multi‐directionality to other social media, is required.

La inteligencia artificial y la evolución de las redes sociales ha permitido la aparición de los influencers virtuales de apariencia humana sobre todo en Instagram. Estos se pueden definir como figuras diseñadas por ordenador que muestran en redes sociales una imagen similar a los humanos. Este artículo aplica un diseño exploratorio-descriptivo que tiene como objetivo analizar, mediante un estudio cualitativo que sigue el método de casos, la definición de qué son y cómo actúan en Instagram los influencers virtuales de apariencia humana. Además, también se ha analizado cómo funcionan estas figuras al trabajar con marcas como recursos publicitarios. Los resultados de este estudio ponen de manifiesto la forma en que estas figuras se comportan, y permiten a las marcas entender su funcionamiento como potentes soportes de comunicación empresarial. Además, se aporta un primer instrumento de estudio a través de dos fichas de análisis que parten de la literatura y de la observación del fenómeno en Instagram y que son aplicables a otros casos.

This study aims to determine the maturity of the websites of Portuguese small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a basic form of digital communication in the sequential process of incorporation of e-commerce. The starting premise is that there is a relationship between the level of maturity reached in the SMEs’ websites as digital tools that allow firms to communicate effectively, and the adoption of e-commerce. To study this, a representative sample of 381 SMEs located in Portugal and selected through stratified random sampling was analysed. To assess the degree of maturity of the websites, a sequential validation model, the extended model of internet commerce adoption (E-MICA), was applied. This information was crossed with some descriptive variables such as the volume of business, the location, the number of employees, and the sector of activity of the SMEs. The results showed that, in general terms, there predominant websites that limit their interaction to promoting products and services thus present a low level of maturity. While the sector of activity, the volume of income, and the location of the firm are decisive for the maturity of the websites as a form of digital communication in the process of incorporating e-commerce, the number of employees is not.