Redefining sewardship: Examining how Fortune 100 organizations use stewardship with virtual stakeholders

Although Kelly's (2001) stewardship strategies have been discussed conceptually in public relations literature, they have not been examined through scholarly inquiry outside the fundraising realm despite repeated suggestions in relationship management literature. Through content analysis of the Fortune 100 organizations’ websites, this study examines how the four stewardship strategies are used by for-profit corporations. Results indicate that the current conceptualization of stewardship strategies for virtual behavior may be a better representation of relationship cultivation strategies than relying on the adaptation of interpersonal communication strategies to organizations.

► Public relations scholars routinely discuss stewardship in corporate, media, and government settings but have not measured them.
► Stewardship is as applicable to corporate organizations as it is to nonprofit organizations.
► Reporting, largely a one-way communication function, was most often used by the Fortune 100.
► Two-way stewardship strategies were used more often than similar studies have found when measuring the interpersonal communication strategies proposed by relationship management scholars.