Using Twitter in crisis management for organizations bearing different country-of-origin perceptions. Issue 3 (3rd August 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xu, Jie; Wu, Yiye
• Is Part Of: Journal of communication management. Volume 19:Issue 3(2015)
• Page Start: 239
• Page End: 253
• Publication Date: 2015-08-03
• Subjects: Communication in management -- Periodicals; Communication in marketing -- Periodicals; Business communication -- Periodicals; 658.45
• DOI: 10.1108/JCOM-06-2013-0050
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1363-254X

Abstract

<abstract> <title> <x content-type="archive" xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Purpose</title> <p> – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of using Twitter on American stakeholders' crisis appraisal for organizations originated from two foreign countries with distinctively different perceptions. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Design/methodology/approach</title> <p> – This study uses a 2 (medium: Twitter vs news release)×2 (country-of-origin: China vs France) factorial experiment. The participants (<italic>n</italic>=393) are recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk system (Mturks). </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Findings</title> <p> – The findings suggest that using Twitter substantially mitigates participants' negative evaluation of the organization undergoing a crisis. Country-of-origin affects how individuals perceive the organization after it has experienced a crisis. In addition, participants' product involvement intensifies the reputational threat specifically for the organization with a less favorable country-of-origin perception. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Originality/value</title> <p> – This study is one of the few empirically based studies in international public relations research, using an experiment to extrapolate the effects of social media and country-of-origin on consumers' crisis appraisal. This investigation reinforces the need to consider social media not just at the individual level, but also as a form of communication that can have broader consequences at the organizational level. In addition, it is important for company leaders to understand that the organization's home country image may exacerbate the negative management outcomes during a crisis. It is expected that this study yields theoretically indicative, empirically informative, and culturally relevant results.</p> </sec> </abstract>