Organisations' conversations in social media: applying dialogue strategies in times of crises

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Romenti ◽  
Grazia Murtarelli ◽  
Chiara Valentini
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
The Body ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Crisis Communications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Body Of Knowledge

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to develop and test a theoretical framework, grounded in managerial and organisational theories of dialogue, through which organisations can take decisions in relation to the most appropriate crisis response strategies for handling social media stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical framework is developed through a conceptual analysis of literature on dialogue, social media and crisis communication. The theoretical framework is then tested in eight different international organisations experiencing a crisis. For each case, different web contents, such as organisations' status updates/posts, links, videos published on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, were analysed using a rhetorical research approach. Findings – The analysed organisations apply different online dialogue strategies according to crisis types and in combination with specific crisis response strategies. Most of the organisations investigated carry on those dialogue strategies suitable to develop consensus (concertative), guide conversations on specific topics or issues (framing), find solutions to the crisis collectively (transformative). Concertative strategies were often associated with informative crisis response strategies, framing strategies with denial and justification crisis response strategies and transformative strategies with corrective actions. Research limitations/implications – By using a dialogic perspective in setting up online conversations with their external stakeholders, the paper proposes a theoretical model to explain companies' decisions in carrying on online dialogues during critical situations and thus contribute to the body of knowledge on online crisis communications. Practical implications – The proposed model can support crisis communicators to manage dialogue's aims and dimensions differently by taking into account both contextual and situational conditions. Originality/value – By integrating management studies on dialogue into crisis communication and social media literature, the authors intend to offer an alternative thinking of organisations' decision-making in relation to crisis response strategies and social media stakeholders.

How publics react to crisis communication efforts

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Timothy Coombs ◽  
Sherry Jean Holladay
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Online News ◽  
Organizational Crisis ◽  
Crisis Communications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
Media Channels ◽  
Crisis Responses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a rationale and framework for examining stakeholder reactions to crisis communication messages in various social media channels. Stakeholders can become crisis communications by entering various sub-arenas of the larger rhetorical arena. The concept of sub-arena is presented and a case analysis used to illustrate the application and value of examining stakeholder crisis communicators during a crisis. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis was used to evaluate publicly available social media messages posted on the Livestrong blog and the Huffington Post online news site. Findings – The paper demonstrates that monitoring reactions of stakeholders can reveal how individuals can act as crisis communications in social media messages can serve as barometers the effectiveness of an organization's crisis response. The importance of examining multiple sub-arenas is considered due to the influence of supportive stakeholders in organizational social media. Research limitations/implications – Only two sub-arenas were analyzed using one crisis response during a crisis that extended over a number of months. Practical implications – The paper includes implications for the examination of social media messages from supportive stakeholder and neutral sub-arenas. The results provide indicators of the effectiveness of an organization's crisis response and how stakeholder messages in social media may contribute to or undermine the crisis response. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates the value of monitoring social media comments to gauge reactions to organizational crisis responses and demonstrates how stakeholders can function as informal crisis managers. It also begins the discussion of the value and conceptualization of sub-arenas.

Brand crisis communication through social media

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Brand Management ◽  
The Body ◽  
Advertising Campaign ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Brand Crisis ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Corporate Crisis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how companies make use of social media communication to turn crises into opportunities and how consumers respond to this brand management strategy, and evaluate the effects of this kind of advertising campaign. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses the textual analysis method to examine the verbal fight between two brand competitors on Sina Weibo. An interpretative analysis approach is adopted to analyze a series of micro-blog messages and relevant responses and comments. A statistical analysis is conducted to reveal the public opinion on this case. Findings – The brand crisis due to trademark dispute has been successfully turned into an advertising campaign, which received eager and favorable responses from the consumers. In the name of making apologies, the company in crisis availed itself of the Weibo platform to make a veiled protest against the verdict of the Court. The technique “acting cute” was proved to be effective in diminishing the negative effect of a brand crisis and winning public sympathy and support. Research limitations/implications – The research findings may provide insights into the interplay between brand advertising and corporate crisis communication on the platform of social media. Practical implications – This study can inform practitioners of useful techniques to deal with brand crises via social media. Originality/value – The value of this study lies not only in its contribution to the body of knowledge on online crisis management with a case of Chinese companies, but also in its validation of the interplay between crisis communication and advertising.

Barriers to the use of integrated project delivery (IPD): a quantified model for Malaysia

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 186-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serdar Durdyev ◽  
M. Reza Hosseini ◽  
Igor Martek ◽  
Syuhaida Ismail ◽  
Mehrdad Arashpour
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
The Body ◽  
Project Delivery ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Integrated Project Delivery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Integrated Project ◽  
European Corporate Sustainability Framework

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to quantify the barriers to the use of integrated project delivery (IPD), as assessed by 115 construction professionals in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach Barriers recording highest citation amongst researchers worldwide were collated in the form of a conceptual model. This model was validated via a partial least squares structural equation modelling technique. Findings Findings advance the body of knowledge on IPD by providing original insights into the nature of key barriers, quantifying the relative importance of each barrier. Research limitations/implications Despite the above-mentioned contributions, and before drawing any conclusion, it is prudent to acknowledge limitations, particularly the chosen research approach in focusing on the Malaysian context. Therefore, caution must be exercised in direct application of findings to other contexts; research findings should be seen through the lens of moderatum generalisations (see Payne and Williams, 2005). Practical implications Apart from contributions to the body of knowledge, for the world of practice, conditions impacting a transition to IPD are discussed, with a recommendation for change management through a tested mechanism like the European Corporate Sustainability Framework. Originality/value Being the first empirical study undertaken to quantify the relationship among the identified barriers and IPD, the present study contributes to the field by addressing the gap in IPD research in Malaysia, as an exemplar of a developing country; it creates knowledge to inform further improvements in project performance through facilitating IPD use. The study also offers insight to construction stakeholders in other developing countries for tackling issues that hinder the adoption of an IPD approach, and it also points to major barriers such that resources for tackling barriers may be allocated properly.

Refuting fake news on social media: nonprofits, crisis response strategies and issue involvement

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michail Vafeiadis ◽  
Denise S. Bortree ◽  
Christen Buckley ◽  
Pratiti Diddi ◽  
Anli Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Consumer Privacy ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Issue Involvement

Purpose The dissemination of fake news has accelerated with social media and this has important implications for both organizations and their stakeholders alike. Hence, the purpose of this study is to shed light on the effectiveness of the crisis response strategies of denial and attack in addressing rumors about consumer privacy when non-profit organizations are targeted on social media. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypotheses, a 2 (response type: denial vs attack) × 2 (privacy concerns: low vs high), between-group online experiment was conducted via Qualtrics. Findings The results indicated that one’s involvement level in the issue determines the effectiveness of the crisis response strategy. Data showed that attacking the source of fake news (as a crisis response) reduces the message’s credibility more than denying fake news. Furthermore, highly involved individuals are more likely to centrally process information and develop positive supportive intentions toward the affected non-profit brand. High issue involvement also predicted organizational and response credibility. Conversely, an attack rebuttal message increased the credibility of the circulated malicious rumors for low involved individuals. Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that issue involvement plays a key role in message perceptions of false information regarding consumer privacy in social media. Practical implications Practically, this study offers insights for organizations that are developing response strategies in the current environment of fake news. Findings from this study suggest that organizations need to consider the degree to which audiences are currently involved in an issue before deciding how aggressively to respond to perpetrators of fake news. Originality/value The present study examines the intersection of fake news and crisis management in the non-profit sector, with an emphasis on various response strategies and issue involvement. This is one of the first attempts to experimentally investigate how social media strategies can defend and protect non-profit reputation in the fake news era.

scholarly journals When is silence golden? The use of strategic silence in crisis communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phuong D. Le ◽  
Hui Xun Teo ◽  
Augustine Pang ◽  
Yuling Li ◽  
Cai-Qin Goh
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Communication ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communication Theory ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Organizational Image ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Image Repair Theory ◽  
Future Events

Purpose Scholars have discouraged using silence in crises as it magnifies the information vacuum (see Pang, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to argue for its viability and explore the type of silence that can be used. Design/methodology/approach Eight international cases were analyzed to examine how silence was adopted, sustained and broken. Findings The findings uncovered three intention-based typologies of strategic silence: delaying, avoiding and hiding silences. Among such, avoiding/hiding silence intensified crises and adversely affected post-silence organizational image when forcefully broken, while delaying silence helped preserve/restore image with primary stakeholders if successfully sustained and broken as planned. Research limitations/implications First, these findings may lack generalizability due to the limited number of cases studied. Second, local sentiments may not be fully represented in the English-language news examined as they may be written for a different audience. Finally, a number of cases studied were still ongoing at the time of writing, so the overall effectiveness of the strategy employed might be compromised as future events unfold. Practical implications A stage-based practical guide to adopting delaying silence is proposed as a supporting strategy before the execution of crisis response strategies. Originality/value This is one of the few studies to examine the role of silence in crisis communication as silence is not recognized as a type of response in dominant crisis theories – be it the situational crisis communication theory or the image repair theory (An and Cheng, 2010; Benoit, 2015; Benoit and Pang, 2008; Xu and Li, 2013).

scholarly journals Covid-19 Crisis Communication Management in Morocco: Investigating Male and Female Publics’ Perceptions and Assessments of Moroccan Public Authorities’ Crisis Response Strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Hanane Aboulghazi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Communication Management ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Internet Users

The present research paper examines how Moroccan political public authorities’ communication strategies influence Moroccan male and female publics’ feedback, and the perception of government’s crisis response strategies in light of a new atmosphere, a new condition at the pandemic time of the coronavirus Covid-19. The  data is collected  from 132 Moroccan internet users via online survey. It was conducted between May and June, 2020, after the declaration of the state of emergency, the present study gathered concrete information and viewpoints regarding Moroccan male and female internet users’ feedback about political leaders’ communication strategies, trust in different sources and media channels, and perception of the Moroccan political leaders’ crisis communication management.  The findings of the study have revealed that younger male and female publics, who got news from social media, had negative views of authority messages, and expressed more negative opinions of the government’s crisis response and communication strategies as weeks went by. Therefore, trust in public authorities’ decreased as the crisis evolves. Other age group, 60 years or older of the respondents get information about the crisis from institutional political sources and mainstream news media, which have been more aligned with authorities’ information at the start of the health crisis. In addition, women have used multiple media platforms, but they have less direct access to information than do men. While some  progress has been made in  women’s political use of information and news consumption during the outbreak on social media,  on  the  overall,  the  participation  of  women  in both feedback and news consumption is still very limited in Morocco.

scholarly journals An empirical investigation of banks employees’ interactions and workflow influence during social media advent: a case study of two commercial banks

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 90-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khulekani Yakobi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Team Management ◽  
Body Of Knowledge

The primary aim of this study is to investigate commercial banks employee’s interactions in the advent and eminence of social media, thus, depict the major influence which is made by social media in two commercial banks (ABSA and Standard Bank) workflow. This study has employed a quantitative research approach whereby structured questionnaires were distributed respectively to two commercial banks’ employees. A self-developed and administered questionnaire was distributed to a population size of 194 employees with 102 returned and completed successfully, thereby generating a response rate of 53%. Findings in this study revealed the extent to which social media has changed workflow in commercial banks (54% agree, 23% were undecided, and 24% disagreed). Among other major findings that this study reflected, social media among commercial banks employees’ has totally transformed channels of communication (60% agreed, 25% were undecided, and 24% disagreed). Despite the positive advancements revealed in this study, social media has not allowed openness of emotions among commercial banks employees’ (49% agreed, 28% were undecided, and 24% disagreed). This study is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge, as there is a paucity of published studies on commercial banks employee’s interactions in the advent of social media. This study will also help the bank managers to intensify online team management and supervision. Keywords: collaboration, communications, employees’ emotions, human interaction, supervision, team management. JEL Classification: G21, M30, M54

scholarly journals Social Media and COVID-19: a global study of digital crisis interaction among Gen Z and millennials

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Volkmer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
World Health ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Media Space ◽  
Continuous Interaction ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Health Experts

The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing that global big tech platforms and social media are core sites for continuous engagement with crisis content for young citizens. This study included twenty-four countries from all continents at the time of the heightened COVID-19 crisis, and our survey targeted 18-40 year olds, Millennials and Gen Zs – overall n = 23,483 respondents. Outcomes show that for young citizens across continents, crisis communication is not just about press briefings. Instead, crisis communication is continuous interaction and engagement across their multiple source environments. Young citizens navigate social media, national media, search sites and messaging apps, they engage with peer communities, science and health experts and – across all countries – substantially with the social media content of the World Health Organization (WHO). Overall, they create their own individual crisis narrative based on the sources they use and the insights they select. This report outlines these new crisis communication dimensions within a transnational social media space and offers numerous suggestions for incorporating social media in crisis response strategies.

Role of Social Media in Terrorism Crisis Communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-82
Author(s):  
Stephen Gichuhi Kimotho ◽  
Carolyne Nyaboe Nyarang'o
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Intangible Asset ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
The Government ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Terrorism targeting corporate bodies remains one the greatest risks to the most critical intangible asset of any organization: reputation. Thus, effective crisis communication is critical during and after terror crisis to mitigate further damage on the reputation. To date, many studies around the globe have tended to focus on the role of the traditional media during terror crisis, paying minimal attention to organisations' use of social media during terror crisis. Using a descriptive qualitative case study, this study examined the role of social media during 2013 Westgate Mall terror attack, in Nairobi, Kenya. Findings revealed that the Interior Ministry (IM) used Twitter as the preferred social media platform to communicate with various stakeholders. Accommodative crisis response strategies were the most used by the IM. However, the ministry was plagued with inaccuracies and inconsistencies in its responses on social media compromising reputation of the government further. Balancing the need for speedy response, accuracy and consistency, remained the greatest challenge for the IM.

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