Hyejoon Rim

Mobile News Adoption among Young Adults Examining the Roles of Perceptions, News Consumption, and Media Usage

Using the frameworks of innovation diffusion and technology acceptance model, this study examines the predictors of mobile news consumption among young adults. The results show that the perceived relative advantage (especially content), utility, and ease of use of mobile news are positively related to its adoption. The young adults’ news consumption patterns and preferences, as well as media usage, all play a role in the adoption of mobile news. This study also validates the importance of examining the adoption outcome from multiple perspectives.

The Ability of Corporate Blog Communication to Enhance CSR Effectiveness: The Role of Prior Company Reputation and Blog Responsiveness

The purpose of this study is to determine what constitutes effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication in the corporate blog setting. This study examines the effects of a companys prior reputation and blog responsiveness on public perception of CSR motives, attitudes, and intention to engage in word-of-mouth (WOM) communication. The results show that prior company reputation has a strong effect on the publics interpretation of CSR motives, their attitudes towards the company, and their intentions to engage in WOM communication, while blog responsiveness influences the publics attitudes towards and perception of CSR motives. The interaction effect between prior reputation and blog responsiveness on WOM communication was confirmed, meaning that for a company with a negative reputation, responsiveness is critical when communicating CSR practices. We suggest that responding to the publics comments or questions about a companys CSR activities may convince them about the companys sincere motives whereas no response engenders suspicion toward a companys motives.

Dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) skepticism and their impacts on public evaluations toward CSR

ABSTRACT This study attempts to examine the dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) skepticism and to identify the strongest predictor by testing the relationships between the skepticism constructs and public responses. The study further examines the role of cynicism either as an antecedent, a moderator, or a component of CSR skepticism. Through a series of model tests, three factors of CSR skepticism were identified to better predict public responses to CSR: (a) skepticism toward a company’s altruism, (b) disbelief of CSR messages and CSR activities, and (c) skepticism toward CSR informativeness. Skepticism toward a company’s altruism was identified as the strongest predictor in determining negative public response to CSR, whereas cynicism did not have much predictive power to explain public response to CSR; as a result, it was excluded from the final dimensions of CSR skepticism.

The evidence of compelling arguments in agenda building: : Relationships among public information subsidies, media coverage, and risk perceptions during a pandemic outbreak

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the links among health authorities’ public relations efforts, news media coverage, and public perceptions of risk during the H1N1 pandemic outbreak. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a triangulation of research methods by comparing public relations materials, media coverage, and public opinion. The data were collected from a federal government web site, national newspapers, and national polls. Findings – The data revealed a positive relationship between information subsidy attention and media attention to the H1N1 disease as well as the severity attribute. The salience of the severity attribute in information subsidies was linked with increased H1N1 salience in media coverage, extending the testing of the compelling-arguments hypothesis to an agenda-building context. However, there was no association between salience of the severity attribute and public risk perceptions. Research limitations/implications – The study provides evidence for public relations ef...

Corporate message strategies for global CSR campaigns: The mediating role of perceived altruism

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine multinational corporations’ (MNCs) response strategy in social media to effectively communicate their international CSR practices. Design/methodology/approach An experiment was conducted by adopting a case of an MNC’s globalized CSR campaign in United Arab Emirates. The interaction effects of corporate communication strategy and company’s response sidedness were examined as well as a mediating role of the perceived altruism. Findings The current study suggests how two-sided response strategy can be applied and benefits MNCs’ international CSR campaigns. The findings demonstrate that a company’s two-sided response helps to increase people’s attitude toward the company and word-of-mouth intention through enhanced perceived altruism when the company has no prior CSR experience in a host country. Practical implications The current study provides insights on how to respond to negative publicity in social media. MNCs are suggested to use different response strategies based on their prior CSR experience in a host country. Originality/value The success of CSR depends on how consumers take the message and perceive a company’s motive of CSR. The current study examines how to best respond to the consumers’ criticism by utilizing message sidedness strategies depending on the company’s presence of CSR.

Trust and distrust in society and public perception of CSR: a cross-cultural study

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate cross-cultural perspectives of corporate social responsibility (CSR) based on Carroll’s (1979, 1991) hierarchical CSR model. The present study examines the role of government and business trust in shaping publics’ expectations of business responsibility. Design/methodology/approach The primary data were derived from a cross-sectional survey in the USA, UAE and South Korea (N = 1,121). This paper compares publics’ prioritizations of business responsibilities across countries and examines how public trust in the government and business is related to CSR perceptions. Findings The paper presents evidence that publics’ perception of CSR differs significantly across the countries. Moreover, in a trusting society like the UAE, publics tend to put more emphasis on economic and philanthropic duties for business, whereas in a distrusting society like South Korea, publics consider legal and ethical responsibility to be important. Originality/value This study adds to the current understanding of diverse publics’ perception of CSR across culture and societies by highlighting the role of public trust in government in defining CSR.

Company–Nonprofit Partnerships, Negative Spillover, and Response Strategies

ABSTRACT This study explored whether, in the context of a company–nonprofit partnership, there are negative spillover effects when a crisis strikes a partner organization and what effective response strategies to such a crisis would be for the principal organization. We conducted an online experiment (N = 445) with a 2 (duration of partnership: long-term vs. short-term) × 4 (response strategy: denial, ending partnership, continuing partnership, vs. no response) between-subject design, with two no-crisis control groups. The results confirmed the existence of negative spillover effects; when respondents were exposed to crisis information about a partner organization, their attitude toward the principal organization became less favorable. We found that, regardless of the partnership’s duration, announcing a decision about the partnership—either ending the partnership or continuing the partnership—was not effective in restoring the principal organization’s image. Denial strategies, however, significantly improved the image of the principal organization, up to its precrisis level. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications.

Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Content Analysis of United States Magazine Advertising, 1980–2009

ABSTRACT There has been widespread and growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR). This study examines how CSR practices have changed, corresponding to the changes in social issues by tracking back to the prevalence of CSR advertising in print magazines from 1980 to 2009 when CSR had thrived. Our findings from content analyses of print CSR advertising with Time Magazine and Better Home and Garden suggest that there are significant relationships between social issues and CSR practices by year, target audiences, and industry types. With recent increasing needs for CSR practices in society, this study lays the theoretical and practical groundwork for strategic CSR communication by documenting historical data on CSR advertising.

Watch out when expectancy is violated: An experiment of inconsistent CSR message cueing

ABSTRACT Applying the expectancy violation theory, the study examines how a company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) interacts with the timing of receiving inconsistency message cues (i.e., presentation order), and how they affect the consumer evaluation of the CSR campaign. The results reveal that presentation order affects consumers’ inference about CSR motives and their attitudes toward a company when the company shows low commitment. However, the order effects disappeared when a company perceived to be dedicated to the CSR campaign. The findings also suggest that lowered expectancy minimizes the negative impacts resulting from expectancy violation. The company’s promotional CSR message can generate positive impacts when the message aligns with the company’s genuine motives and the message is further confirmed by other informational cues. Moderated mediation reveals that the mediating role of altruistic mGotives is observed only when a promotional CSR message preceded the commitment information.

Media use and political learning: Comparing Trump supporters to celebrity candidate voters

ABSTRACT This study examines whether political media use behaviors of voters who supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election align with those of “celebrity candidate voters” portrayed in the literature. The study used a national online survey (N = 1,608) conducted during the 2016 primary, and findings reveal that Trump supporters, more than other voters, are driven by entertainment motivations and follow campaign news using entertainment media: specifically, the video-sharing site YouTube. Although Trump voters are interested in the campaign, their level of political knowledge is lower than other voters, and no one media outlet made a significant contribution to their learning. A comparison group of other voters showed significant knowledge gains from news websites and Twitter. Results for Trump voters are consistent with scholars’ characterization of the celebrity candidate audience, particularly in studies suggesting that celebrity politicians may increase citizens’ engagement through entertainment gratifications rather than by a desire to become informed.