Elmie Nekmat

Situational crisis communication and interactivity: Usage and effectiveness of Facebook for crisis management by Fortune 500 companies

Abstract Through the lens of situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) and interactivity, this study examined the Facebook usage of Fortune 500 companies and the effectiveness with which these companies employed the platform for crisis management. Findings indicated that ‘justification’ and ‘full apology’ were the most commonly used crisis response strategies. Results also show instances where companies inappropriately match their responses to crisis situations. An analysis of 7080 messages further revealed a significant relationship between an organization’s involvement in two-way communication and the overall positivity of audience tone in reaction to the organization in question and its handling of crises. Suggestions are provided for organizations intending to employ social media for crisis communication.

Multiple Opinion Climates in Online Forums: Role of Website Source Reference and Within-Forum Opinion Congruency

Through the Spiral of Silence framework, this study examines the online opinion climate effect on individual willingness to post messages in forums, using a 2 × 2 experiment manipulating website source (mainstream news/ideologically homogeneous activist group) and opinion congruency (minority/majority opinion). Individuals’ willingness to post was affected only by their opinion congruency with those expressed in forums. Analysis revealed instances of individuals “speaking up” as compared to “speaking out.” Other deterrents to willingness to post were also uncovered.

Status of Image Management Research in Public Relations: A Cross-Discipline Content Analysis of Studies Published Between 1991 and 2011

This study reviews the status of image management research published in public relations-specific journals, as well as broader management, business, strategic communication, and communication journals, to extrapolate important trends for future research and practice. A content analysis of relevant research (n = 261) was conducted based on several criteria (area focus, application group, country of study, methodology, application of theory or conceptual framework, type of focus on image, communication type and medium). Findings suggest two considerations for the strategic communication of organizational image: 1) image as outcome, and 2) image as social influence in online communication.

Source effects in the micro-mobilization of collective action via social media

Research has shown that micro-mobilization efforts that invoke social media rely heavily on the influence of personal networks to motivate collective action participation. This study examines whether this trend applies (a) to networks of different levels of personalness, (b) to causes and organizations which people are either unaware of or not affiliated with, and (c) how personal networks affect peoples willingness to participate in online versus offline forms of collective action, when personal dispositional factors (activism- and issue involvement, perceived self-, technological-, and group efficacies) are considered. An experiment (N = 315) tested whether calls-to-action by different sources via social media (close personal networks v. distant social networks v. organization officials) influence individuals’ willingness to publicly express support online through social media-based collective activities (e.g. commenting, hyperlinking, ‘Liking’, etc.) and offline activities (e.g. demonstrations, donning campaign materials, etc.). Findings are leveraged to provide practical insight and to inform theoretical development in these domains.

Connective-Collective Action on Social Media Moderated Mediation of Cognitive Elaboration and Perceived Source Credibility on Personalness of Source

Taking the logic of online connective action from an information-processing viewpoint, an online experiment (N = 208) was done to examine whether individuals’ cognitive elaboration on messages received from different sources (personal: friends, family, vs. impersonal: organization) mediates their willingness to engage in connective-type collective activities on social media (e.g., commenting, “Liking”); and whether this indirect influence is biased by perceived source credibility. Results revealed significant influence from personal sources. Cognitive elaboration positively mediates this influence and was conditionally affected by high source credibility. Direct influence from personal issue involvement and perceived self and technological efficacy was also observed. Theoretical contributions (i.e., cognitive demands at individual level) and practical implications (i.e., enhancing organizational credibility, popularity of easy-to-do acts) are discussed.

Facts Over Stories for Involved Publics: Framing Effects in CSR Messaging and the Roles of Issue Involvement, Message Elaboration, Affect, and Skepticism

This project investigated how issue involvement and positive affect are related to attitude and behavioral intention in the context of episodically and thematically framed corporate social responsibility (CSR) messages. We examined mediation effects of message elaboration on issue involvement and affect as well as moderation effects of dispositional skepticism on the relationships between affect, and attitude and behavioral intention. Results from two message-embedded surveys show that for the two types of messages used, issue involvement was positively correlated with positive affect and, consequently, with attitude and behavioral intention. However, for episodically framed messages, route-of-information processing mediated the relationship between issue involvement and affect. Dispositional skepticism moderated the relationship between positive affect and attitude toward the organization for these messages but did not affect behavioral intention. Overall, the findings suggest that prioritizing fact-based messaging over story-based messaging for involved publics could improve communication of the impact of CSR programs.

Applying the Modified Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking to Online Health Information Seeking in the Context of India

This study extends the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS) to online health information seeking in the context of India. This study considers the Internet (i.e., media) use an antecedent factor and the personal relevance factor salience is separated into two dimensions – susceptibility and severity. Structural equation modeling analysis (N = 990) tested the associations between health-related antecedents, information-carrier factors, and their direct effects on online information seeking. The results among online health information seekers in India showed significant relationships between length and frequency of media use and self-efficacy to engage in preventive behavior to the information carrier utility. As predicted, demographics have no significant relationship with utility of the Internet, and direct experience with illness resulted in negative relationship with the Internet utility. Contrary to expectations, susceptibility and severity produced negative relationships with the Internet utility. Result shows that both information-carrier factors – characteristics related to trust and utility related to perceived usefulness and relevance of information – directly affect online health-information-seeking behavior. Unlike the original CMIS that primarily focused on specific illnesses, the current modified CMIS can be adapted and tailored to general online health-information-seeking behavior.

Asian mobile communication research: current status, enduring issues and future trends

ABSTRACT With a total of 2.5 billion subscribers, Asia’s leadership in worldwide mobile communication calls for a systematic review of the academic research on mobile communication in Asian countries. By reviewing 120 articles published in 18 top-ranking refereed journals from 1995 to 2015, this study identified a prominent increase in research output covering multiple subfields over the past 20 years, marked by accelerated growth beginning from 2005. This rise appears to be a product of global scholarship. Limitations in the current Asian mobile communication literature were also discussed, regarding the overemphasis on East Asian countries, the lack of a unified theoretical framework, and the reliance on one-shot research designs. Directions are provided for future research to refine the scholarly understanding of Asian mobile communication.