Arno Scharl • Irene Pollach • Michael Pieber • Horst Treiblmaier
www.greenmoney.at

Socially responsible investment (SRI) integrates social and environmental values into the investment decision-making process, grounded in the observation that the corporate sector fundamentally influences both communities and ecosystems. With the increasing popularity of the field, a new awareness is dawning that environmentally sustainable portfolios actually represent better investments from an economic point of view as well.

Numerous Web sites pertaining to both traditional and SRI have emerged in recent years, seeking to help investors make more informed decisions. To gain insights into online SRI communication, a comparative study of SRI sites and traditional investment sites was conducted focusing on persuasive appeals, audience communication and site navigation. The study has revealed that SRI sites and traditional sites differ in their argumentative patterns and in their strategies for accommodating the information needs and interests of their audiences.

The findings of the study were used to refine the Web communication strategies of ECOInvest.org, an independent SRI site. In a joint project with the Austrian Society for Environment and Technology, the prototype of ECOInvest.org was then integrated with the content of GreenMoney.at, an established SRI site that targets the Austrian investment market.