Messages in Conflict: Examining Leadership Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the U.S.

One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. had lost over a half million lives to the virus. Organizations had to shift the way they operated, requiring effective communication to help employees transition. This study examines two important time periods during the pandemic: early May, just after stay-at-home orders began to be lifted, and late November, as infection rates soared. This study quantitatively examines the role of perceived severity, organizational trust, reputation, and credibility on participants employed during the pandemic expectations of leadership at the organizational, state, and federal levels. Then, participants were interviewed to understand perceptions of leadership. Results illustrate the relationship between perceived severity of the threat and trust in leadership and uncertainty about mitigation measures from state and federal levels.

Editor’s Essay: The Multi-Disciplinary and Diverse Field of Crisis and Risk Communication Research

The field of crisis and risk communication research has always been multidisciplinary bringing together researchers from many fields like business, public relations, political science, sociology, psychology, journalism, tourism, and public health. However, there is often a common perception outside the fields of crisis communication that is a corporate discipline focused mostly on helping organizations manage their reputations. As the pieces in this issue demonstrate, our field serves the public interest in many ways and is a growing global field of study.

Gift im Bier: A Context-sensitive Analysis of Culturally-rooted Messages and Humor in Risk Communication on Glyphosate in Germany

Glyphosate is the world’s most used and controversially debated herbicide. Its approval in the European Union (EU) is expiring in 2022. At the time of its last approval procedures in the EU in 2016/2017, there was a heated public debate in Germany about the carcinogenic risk of glyphosate. In this context, the Munich Environmental Institute published a study which concluded there were chemical residues of glyphosate in the 14 most-popular German beers. In this article, I analyze the “Gift im Bier” (poison in beer) case by examining central stakeholders’ reactions using a message-centered approach for risk communication and reflect on culturally-rooted messages, including the use of humor, within risk communication. Ultimately, I will argue for a contextsensitive and message-centered approach to risk communication analysis.

Gift im Bier: A Context-sensitive Analysis of Culturally-rooted Messages and Humor in Risk Communication on Glyphosate in Germany

Glyphosate is the world’s most used and controversially debated herbicide. Its approval in the European Union (EU) is expiring in 2022. At the time of its last approval procedures in the EU in 2016/2017, there was a heated public debate in Germany about the carcinogenic risk of glyphosate. In this context, the Munich Environmental Institute published a study which concluded there were chemical residues of glyphosate in the 14 most-popular German beers. In this article, I analyze the “Gift im Bier” (poison in beer) case by examining central stakeholders’ reactions using a message-centered approach for risk communication and reflect on culturally-rooted messages, including the use of humor, within risk communication. Ultimately, I will argue for a contextsensitive and message-centered approach to risk communication analysis.

Evolving Best Practices in Crisis Communication: Examining U.S. Higher Education’s Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic started in January 2020 and has rapidly spread around the globe. Among the institutions at the forefront of responding to COVID-19 are U.S. colleges and universities. These institutions frequently face crises, but they have not always managed these episodes successfully. Given the gravity of the pandemic, best practices research can help higher education institutions combat public health crises and other threats. This study examines and assesses the crisis communication of U.S. colleges and universities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic using the best practices framework. Findings indicate that higher education institutions have employed communication consistent with best practices, with some important modifications. Findings also answer calls to contextualize crisis communication best practices within specific organizational contexts and as a values-based framework.

Misinformation and Government Crisis Management in South Korea: Understanding Active Publics’ Belief in Misinformation about the Yemeni Refugee Issue and Its Effect on Active Communication Behaviors

This study aims to investigate how situationally motivated publics respond to misinformation in the context of the Yemeni refugee issue in South Korea. In particular, this study examined how situational motivation in problem-solving on the issue is associated with belief in misinformation and active communication behaviors in the framework of situation theory of problem-solving (STOPS). The results of this study showed that individuals with a high level of situational motivation are more likely to believe misinformation on a given issue. In addition, the result found that belief in misinformation mediates between situational motivation in problem-solving and information forwarding. The results of this study contribute to government crisis management dealing with refugee issues.

Unintended Effects of Risk Communication: Impacts of Message Fatigue, Risk Tolerance, and Trust in Public Health Information on Psychological Reactance

How individuals experience unintended effects of risk messages is an understudied area. Focusing on three types of unintended effects (i.e., message fatigue, risk tolerance, and psychological reactance) associated with health risk communication, we conducted an online survey among Italian adults (N = 507) to investigate how perceived message fatigue and risk tolerance might induce psychological reactance and whether trust in public health information might mediate this relationship. Results from mediation models revealed: (a) greater message fatigue and risk tolerance increased psychological reactance; (b) greater message fatigue and risk tolerance led to distrust in government-shared health information; (c) trust in public health information mediated the effects of message fatigue and risk tolerance on psychological reactance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Examining the Role of Transparent Organizational Communication for Employees’ Job Engagement and Disengagement during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria

This study provides an understanding of how employees’ perception of organizational transparency during the long-lasting situation of the COVID-19 pandemic engendered their job engagement as well as job disengagement. Data were collected by means of an online survey among 410 employees in Austria during March 2021. Results show that employees’ perception of their organization’s approach to transparency directly influenced their job engagement and disengagement. Importantly, the relationship between transparency and job engagement was also mediated through organizational trust, and job-specific state anxiety mediated the relationship between transparency and job disengagement. The results imply the importance of transparency during times of great uncertainty and emphasize the necessity to closely consider employees’ emotional states and worries during a crisis.

Managing COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis: The Case of Greece

This qualitative study analyzes the Greek government’s crisis management practice and public communication efforts during two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Integrating both crisis management theories and the World Health Organization’s pandemic control plans, discourse analysis and case study approaches were taken to analyze how Greek’s key government and public health authorities communicated with the public using different frames and crisis response strategies. Evaluations were conducted to assess the Greek government’s crisis communication procedures and the effectiveness of different rhetorical strategies used as evidenced in public briefings and public speeches.