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The research objective of the paper is twofold. First, it scrutinises the current state of the art concerning adopting the most popular social media by European port managing bodies (PMBs). Second, it investigates the use of social media in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication strategies of European PMBs.

The paper carries out online field research on the use of social media by the top-25 European ports. Then, it provides an in-depth case study of the use of Twitter by the Port of Rotterdam for CSR communication. Finally, a content analysis of the tweets published in the 2017–2019 timeframe is performed.

Empirical results demonstrate the extensive use of social media by European PMBs to reach a wider array of stakeholders. Uneven approaches emerge considering port sizes and cultural clusters. The content analysis shows that one-third of tweets published by the Twitter account of the Port of Rotterdam address CSR issues, especially green initiatives, advocating the use of social media to communicate CSR.

The study focuses on the European domain. A broader sample of ports worldwide should be examined to further investigate the drivers affecting PMBs' strategic adoption and use of social media, mainly to communicate CSR.

The paper provides port managers with insights to strengthen CSR communication. Given the increasing pressure of the public opinion on environmental and social issues, the ability of European PMBs to communicate their CSR commitment through social media represents a key driver when searching for consensus of stakeholders and “licence to operate”.

The paper adds to the existing maritime logistics literature by introducing a promising field of research.

The purpose of this paper is to review extant literature on social media marketing (SMM) in B2B service markets, by scrutinizing and categorizing potential benefits for firms. The study, in particular, empirically investigates the adoption of social media (SM) tools by firms operating in two conservative B2B service industries.

A systematic literature review is carried out driving to a deeper understanding of the current state of knowledge on SM in B2B services. Leading peer-review international journals are scrutinized performing ad-hoc queries on the Scopus database using pre-defined keywords. Moreover, a quantitative research is conducted on 60 firms, i.e. tanker shipping companies and ocean carriers, providing empirical insights on their SM activity on three SM platforms, i.e., Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

The outcomes from sample firms shed lights on the adoption rate of the most diffused SM tools, the size of the digital networks of stakeholders (number of followers), the intensity of the communication activity (number of posts, shares, photos, videos), and the level of customer engagement (number of likes and shares).

Research findings suggest to managers that SMM might be an easy-accessible and low-cost option for keeping the pace of sectorial transformations and creating a competitive advantage even in conservative sectors.

The paper, by investigating B2B service sectors, addresses an interesting gap in SMM literature as prior studies mostly focused on B2C industries and manufacturing contexts.

This paper aims to use Bayesian network (BN) methodology complemented by machine learning (ML) and what-if analysis to investigate the impact of digital technologies (DT) on logistics service quality (LSQ), employing the service quality (SERVQUAL) framework.

Using a sample of 244 Italian firms, this study estimates the probability distributions associated with both DT and SERVQUAL logistics, as well as their interrelationships. Additionally, BN technique enables the application of ML techniques to uncover hidden relationships, as well as a series of what-if analyses to extract more knowledge.

This study was funded by the European Union—NextGenerationEU, in the framework of the GRINS-Growing Resilient, INclusive and Sustainable project (GRINS PE00000018—CUP B43C22000760006). The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, nor can the European Union be held responsible for them.

This research delves into the influence of DTIE and DTA on SERVQUAL logistics, thereby filling a gap in the existing literature in which no study has explored the intricate relationships between these technologies and SERVQUAL dimensions. Methodologically, we pioneer the integration of BN with ML techniques and what-if analysis, thus exploring innovative techniques to be used in logistics and supply-chain studies.