Exploring business and SDG discourse on X: topics, users and engagement

PurposeThis paper examines thematic discourses concerning business and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on X (formerly Twitter), aiming to uncover active user groups and evaluate engagement levels across various topics. The study also explores the engagement patterns among different user categories, ultimately seeking deeper insights into platform discourse regarding business and the SDGs.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing unsupervised machine learning technique Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), we perform exploratory topic modeling on X data referencing business and the SDGs, generating 16 thematic clusters. Subsequently, we analyze user descriptions to categorize users involved in these discussions. Finally, we employ binomial logit models to assess the relationship between topics and engagement and chi-squared test to evaluate the relationship between users and topics.FindingsThe exploratory research identifies 16 business and SDG topics, while the analysis of users reveals 6 stakeholder groups contributing to these discussions. Business groups emerge as the most frequent contributors, posting on topics related to partnership, action advocacy, and economic outcomes. Topics about updates on progress and transformative initiatives garnered strongest support for engagement.Originality/valueThis research not only sheds light on the current state of business and SDG discourse on X, but also underscores the significance of engaging external stakeholders in driving positive social change globally.