Beyond Negative Emotions: The Effects of Positive Emotions and Stealing Thunder on Organizational Outcomes After a Crisis

Abstract

Although negative emotions are well-studied in crisis communication research, the impact of positive emotions, particularly hope, on crisis outcomes remains underexplored. Therefore, this study examines how emotional framing and message timing interact to shape publics' responses during a victim crisis. A 2 (message framing: hope vs. rational) × 2 (timing: stealing thunder vs. thunder) between-subjects experiment was conducted with 401 participants recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Results indicate that hope-based messages, compared to rational framing, significantly increased forgiveness, enhanced organizational reputation, boosted purchase intentions, and led to more favorable evaluations of the crisis spokesperson. Stealing thunder also produced more positive outcomes than the thunder strategy. The pairing of hopeful framing with proactive disclosure consistently produced the most favorable outcomes across all variables. These findings suggest that hope, as a hybrid emotion with both affective and cognitive dimensions, may function not only as emotional reassurance but also as a signal of strategic competence and long-term vision. By demonstrating how the future orientation of hope aligns with proactive disclosure strategies, this study contributes to crisis communication theory and challenges traditional dichotomies between emotional and rational messaging. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.