Jiayu Gina Qu , Jingjing Yi , Wanjiang Jacob Zhang , Charles Yu Yang
{"title":"Silence is golden? Mitigating different types of online firestorms of Fortune 100 corporations on Twitter","authors":"Jiayu Gina Qu , Jingjing Yi , Wanjiang Jacob Zhang , Charles Yu Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102391","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102391","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Guided by crisis communication literature, the study addresses the importance of sentiments in corporate online firestorms, with a focus on the effectiveness of different immediate response strategies (explanatory vs. sympathetic response vs. silence) on mitigating the negative sentimental discussions and engagement behaviors. It also aims to clarify the relationship between different types of online firestorms (ability vs. social responsibility online firestorms) and intensity of negative sentiments from the online public. Leveraging unobtrusive data and computational methods, we employed a DID design to test the causal effects of response strategies on 335 online firestorms on Twitter to answer the concerned questions. Results showed that silence strategy functioned better than the other two strategies in reducing the negative sentiments and engagement behaviors in online firestorms on Twitter. Moreover, sympathetic response strategy would rather elicit more likes and retweets engagement behaviors in social responsibility-online firestorms than in ability-online firestorms. This study also revealed that there were generally more social responsibility online firestorms than ability-related ones on Twitter, whereas no sentiment differences were identified in the two types of online firestorms. Theoretical advancement, practical implications, and methodological contribution were discussed in detail.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48263,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50181551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Protecting organizational reputation during a para-crisis: The effectiveness of conversational human voice on social media and the roles of construal level, social presence, and organizational listening","authors":"Miaohong Huang , Eyun-Jung Ki","doi":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102389","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102389","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study examines the efficacy of conversational human voice (CHV) in protecting organizational reputation during a para-crisis on social media. Using a 2 × 2 experimental design, the study manipulates tone of voice (CHV vs. organizational voice) and construal level (concrete vs. abstract) to identify the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions. The findings demonstrate that CHV surpasses organizational voice in bolstering social presence and perceived organizational listening, ultimately fostering a positive impact on organizational reputation amidst para-crises on social media. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of CHV is contingent upon the construal of crisis messages. Specifically, CHV becomes particularly effective in reputation management solely when crisis messages are conveyed in a concrete manner. The study highlights the importance of incorporating CHV into crisis communication strategies and offers practical guidance for organizations to communicate effectively on social media during a crisis.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48263,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2023-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50181553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The constant report: Everything, everywhere, all at once?","authors":"Delaney Harness","doi":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102387","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102387","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This article critically examines the contemporary notions of sustainability reporting in the digital ecology. Using an extended case study of IKEA’s sustainability communication, the article scrutinizes authenticity in CSR<span> efforts and investigates how digital ubiquity transforms sustainability reporting. The article advances the concept of the constant report, a kind of communication infrastructure comprised of four key features—visibility, connectedness, personalization, and pluralization—that enable organizations to curate and manage sustainability efforts. The study then delves into the consequential outcomes of the constant report, namely performativity and promotionalism as integral byproducts. The article concludes by discussing the complex interplay between authenticity and promotionalism within this evolving landscape, creating a kind of authentic babble that emphasizes appearance and curation over quality and substance in an era of digital ubiquity.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":48263,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2023-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50181554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Linjuan Rita Men , Alvin Zhou , Jie Jin , Patrick Thelen
{"title":"Shaping corporate character via chatbot social conversation: Impact on organization-public relational outcomes","authors":"Linjuan Rita Men , Alvin Zhou , Jie Jin , Patrick Thelen","doi":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102385","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102385","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>As an empirical effort to explore the public relations potential of AI-enabled technologies such as chatbots, this study examined how chatbot social conversation—a communication strategy that encompasses both social presence and conversational human voice and is conceptualized in consideration of chatbots’ mediated communication environment—can contribute to organization-public relational outcomes (i.e., OPRs). To understand how this process works, we incorporate the personification approach to organizations, and also investigate the impact of chatbot social conversation in shaping public perceptions of corporate character (i.e., agreeableness, enterprise, competence, and ruthlessness). A survey of 778 Facebook users in the United States was conducted, where participants were randomly assigned to have a guided conversation with an AI-enabled social chatbot utilized by real companies on Facebook. Results confirm that chatbot social conversation can serve as a strong antecedent of the corporate character of the organization that deployed it and OPRs. Perceived corporate character also directly influences the quality of OPRs, demonstrating the potential of using AI-enabled social chatbots for public relations purposes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48263,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2023-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50181555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julie O’Neil , Jacque Lambiase , Ashley E. English
{"title":"“OK at the moment”: The important role listening plays in the relationship between black residents and local government","authors":"Julie O’Neil , Jacque Lambiase , Ashley E. English","doi":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102382","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Researchers surveyed 501 Black U.S. residents to examine the impact of listening on trust, satisfaction, commitment, and attitude toward participants' hometowns. Results indicate listening plays an important role in organization-public relationship (OPR) outcomes, and that satisfaction mediates the impact of listening on city attitude and likelihood to recommend a city. Qualitative responses reveal a tenuous relationship between Black residents and local government. Listening should be prioritized in future OPR scholarship and city government communicators’ practice.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48263,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50181556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Grand strategy and public diplomacy: A case study on China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its reception in the Australian press","authors":"Mitchell John Hobbs , Jolynna Sinanan , Mei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102384","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102384","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This article examines China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a public diplomacy grand strategy at the macro-level of inter-state relations. It does so from the perspective of Australia, where the Andrews Labor government in the state of Victoria was, for a period, a signatory to the program. Specifically, this study uses content analysis to consider the reception of the BRI in the Australian press and the complex interactions of news values and ideologies that influenced its representation. This study shows that the effectiveness of the BRI as a grand strategy was undermined by the two interacting news cultures dominating media coverage in Australia, one of which stems from the liberal traditions of the press and the other from the conservative ideological proclivities of the Executive Chair of News Corp, Rupert Murdoch. In so doing, this study contributes to research on the different communication strategies mobilized by states in their geopolitical wrangling, as well as how contextual variables can pre-determine the success or failure of specific public diplomacy campaigns.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48263,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50181557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The state of public relations research addressing Latin America: Analysis of published articles in the region's official languages between 1980 and 2020","authors":"Ángeles Moreno , Clara Eugenia Argüello-González , Noelia Zurro-Antón , Andréia Athaydes","doi":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102383","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102383","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This research aims to evaluate the scientific production on public relations addressing Latin America through a quantitative content and bibliometric analysis of articles and special issues published between 1980 and 2020, written in the official languages of the region: Spanish and Portuguese. The results of 123 articles confirm a substantial increase of studies since 2011, and some limitations of scientific dissemination. Although almost half of the authors were based in Brazil (40%), 17 base countries were counted. This work complements the latest studies on the object of study in English (Thelen, 2021) and provides the scientific community with recognition and access to native production.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48263,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50181558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Consumer rewarding mechanism in global corporate activism: An experiment using the Russia-Ukraine War","authors":"Ivy Wai-yin Fong , Sora Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102381","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102381","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study explores public responses to large-scale, global corporate activism in which many companies departed the Russian market over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It aims at understanding how publics decide which company deserves to be rewarded when many of them take part in corporate activism. Using an experiment, this study specifically examines the impact of proactiveness<span> (act before others) and commitment (complete and permanent exit) news information on motive attribution and subsequent consumer buycott and related communicative efforts. Our findings suggest that proactiveness and commitment in corporate activism reduce egoistic and strategic motive attribution while they increase value-driven motive attribution. Stakeholder-driven motive is not reduced by commitment, only by proactiveness. Proactiveness and commitment also have significant direct effects on public intention to participate in political consumerism. Three specific details emerge. First, how proactiveness and commitment impact reward intention is mediated by perceived egoistic and value-driven motives. Second, how proactiveness impacts strategic and stakeholder-driven motive attribution is moderated by commitment. Only when commitment is high does proactiveness significantly reduce perceived strategic motive and stakeholder-driven motive. Third, the indirect effect of proactiveness on publics’ “buycott” intention through stakeholder-driven motive attribution is contingent on corporate commitment such that the effect is stronger when commitment is high.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":48263,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50181559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Participatory culture’s role in advancing critical PR ideals through community placemaking for UK City of Culture 2021 (UKCoC) bids","authors":"Jenny Gibson","doi":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102380","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102380","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>What was participatory culture’s role in advancing critical PR ideals through community placemaking for UK City of Culture 2021 (UKCoC) bids? To answer this question, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted across five UKCoC contender locations, paying particular attention to presentation of professional self. Reported events were theorised using the academic concepts of critical PR and participatory culture. It is argued that two elements to proceedings created conditions for critical PR ideals to be advanced at intervals. The first was a low barrier to inclusion and artistic expression – although this had the opposite effect for some arts people. The second was, due to the low barrier, the possibility for the emergence of autonomous space for participants, facilitated by the organisational, cultural curator, PR role. The low barrier is key to the definition of participatory culture. However, its relevance to critical PR has been un-theorised until now, despite growing interest in the intersection between the disciplines of participatory culture and critical PR. This is the first such work to examine UKCoC using critical PR and participatory culture theories. The community placemaking activities under scrutiny are presented as embodiments, in parts, of critical PR ideals, made possible by participatory culture. In summary, it is demonstrated that the PR role provided the potential for residents to be empowered, and to gain an enhanced love of place or topophilia. This was a bottom-up and anti-neoliberal effect of the top-down and time-limited undertaking of bidding for UKCoC status, highlighting the value of participatory culture principles to critical PR.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48263,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48312695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dissecting moral judgements: Using moral foundation theory to advance the contingency continuum","authors":"Mengyao Xu, Fritz Cropp, Glen T. Cameron","doi":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102370","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102370","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Incorporating Moral Foundation Theory, this study introduces an enhanced Contingency Continuum to advance the Contingency Theory<span> of Strategic Conflict Management by dissecting the origins of conflict formation. The enhanced Contingency Continuum treats conflict as a function of moral judgment based on which people judge right and wrong. This study explores how an event’s moral implication could be deconstructed into the enhanced Contingency Continuum and contribute to the formation of a conflict through a case study of Harvey Weinstein’s scandal. Our analysis and findings of the case were then validity-tested in an extensive verification interview with a practitioner/educator who has been in the PR field for more than 40 years. Three attributions of how the enhanced Contingency Continuum could advance the Contingency Theory are identified and summarized as a three-step-cyclic model, Moral Attitude Dynamic Model (MADM) to fully exploit the potential of the enhanced Contingency Continuum on managing not only moral conflicts but also conflicts that lack resolution such as long-standing social controversial issues.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":48263,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41937473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}