This paper aims to systematically examine credibility, trust and trustworthiness, as interrelated yet distinct constructs, in corporate social media communication on the basis of existing literature. It aims to identify antecedents, decisions and outcomes while mapping theoretical, contextual and methodological trends in the field.
Using data consisting of 71 studies (2015–2024) from Web of Science, this study conducts a systematic literature review, using integrated framework of Theory, Context, Method (TCM) and Antecedents, Decisions, Outcomes (ADO).
The TCM analysis revealed dominance of communication theories (e.g. commitment-trust theory), quantitative methods and contextual focus on platforms like Facebook in markets such as the USA and China. The ADO framework identified seven antecedent categories (e.g. content-related), three decision variables (credibility, trust, trustworthiness) and three outcome types (consumer, brand and business related outcomes). Gaps persist in cross-cultural studies, artificial intelligence (AI) ethics and linguistic analyses of trust dynamics.
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review is the first to integrate TCM and ADO frameworks for a multilayered synthesis of trust-related constructs in corporate social media communication. It rigorously disentangles credibility, trustworthiness and trust as distinct yet interrelated concepts, providing actionable insights for content strategy and crisis management. The study advances future research agendas by highlighting underexplored areas, including AI-driven content ethics and cross-platform trust mechanisms.
