Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis research explores how consumers react in a crisis situation that happens to a brand with which they disidentify. Consumer–brand disidentification (CBD) is a state of self‐categorization regarding the separation from and rejection of a brand. It predestines individuals to move away from and go against the misbehaving company because the failure of the object of disidentification provides a perfect opportunity for them to validate their identity. We argue that disidentification is closely related not only to a person's propensity to behave but also to feel in a specific way. Surveys data were collected in the United States and Germany to answer the research question regarding the role of emotions in the relationship between CBD and consumers' intention to demonstrate brand‐opposition behavior. Volkswagen, which experienced a crisis related to its manipulation of emission tests, served as the brand stimulus. The results show that CBD can stimulate hostile emotions and schadenfreude, which can function as mediators of the influence of disidentification on brand opposition (negative word‐of‐mouth, brand avoidance, punishing the brand). This research contributes to the growing body of research on the "dark side" of consumer‐brand relationships and its perils for brands. It also enhances understanding of the role of emotions in (dis)identification and social identity research and widens the scholarship on emotions in crises. Managerial implications include to thoroughly consider trade‐offs of creating a strong and unique brand that may give rise to disidentification; monitoring negative voices, especially online; and differentiating disidentified consumers from other types of opposing stakeholders.

This article reports two studies conducted in the United States, Germany, South Korea, and China to examine how online content providers (OCPs) exercise their responsibility in dealing with harmful online communication (HOC) by moderating user‐generated content. The first study employed content analysis of 547 HOC policy documents. In the second study, 41 representatives of OCPs were interviewed regarding the implementation of these policies. We show that HOC policies are most often communicated through user‐unfriendly terms of service. Only Korean OCPs present their policies very vividly. Few organizations, mainly United States and German, encourage counter‐speech. The most common organizational actions against HOC mentioned in the policies are deleting posts or blocking accounts. The interviews reveal, however, that organizations—apart from those from China—are cautious in implementing such reactive actions. They fear accusations of censorship and acknowledge the tension between free speech and their content moderation practice. What emerged as the "gold standard" for identifying HOC was manual inspection. However, organizations operating large platforms widely apply machine‐learning technology or artificial intelligence. In sum, our research suggests that OCPs are not proactive enough in their communication for HOC prevention and often focus more on avoiding legal ramifications than on educating users when handling HOC.

By drawing on the German Longitudinal Election Study the following questions are answered: Who actually received political news/campaign information from social media during the 2009 federal election campaign? And, even more important from our theoretical point of view, who posted campaign information on his/her network? Parties still invest heavily in agencies and professional consultants when it comes to elections. With a shrinking number of party members, however, a change in election (street) campaigns towards more engagement in social media is very likely. Hence, parties are looking for ways to support engaged citizens and make them part of their election campaigns. They will be taking advantage of the heterogeneity of networks in which citizens communicate. Adapted from the source document.

This paper aims to uncover blind spots in research on employee communication regarding LGBT+ to provide guidance for future research. To this end, we conducted a scoping review following the PRISMA-guidelines. A systematic literature search in four databases yielded 3,055 records. Our final sample included 164 publications reporting on 178 quantitative studies (207,181 participants and 3,740 organizations). We extracted information regarding publication details, the content of the record, and the sample from eligible records. Blind spots relate to lacking research (a) outside the U.S., (b) in communication journals, (c) from strong author networks, (d) regarding single LGBT+ dimensions and intersectionality, (e) regarding less obvious forms of employee communication, (f) regarding longitudinal, experimental, research synthesizing, and observational approaches, (g) on other variables than job satisfaction, well-being, or commitment, and (h) on communication theories including LGBT+. For research in the field to thrive, we provide guidance for tackling these blind spots.

AbstractUsing the United Airlines "bumpgate" crisis as example, this research analyses how reporting of irrelevant information on a crisis victim's bad character impacts on empathy towards the victim, the victim's reputation as well as the reputation of the news medium that published the information. A one‐factorial experiment was conducted with two conditions manipulating the reporting on the crisis victim's character plus a control condition. Respondents were 245 online‐panel participants from the UK. The findings show that when journalists violate the code of ethics by reporting irrelevant negative information on the character of a crisis victim, they harm not only the reputation of the victim, but also that of their news organization. This study contributes to the scarce research on the impact of media reporting during a crisis on victims of the crisis and on the reputation of the newspaper. Journalists must be aware that violating the journalistic code of ethics by reporting on irrelevant negative characteristics of a victim is not only detrimental for the victim but can also significantly hurt the reputation of their organization.

Corporate stakeholders from the general public to politicians increasingly expect corporations to reflect the diversity that exists in society within their workforce. The increasing recognition and influence of movements such as Black Lives Matter and ChooseToChallenge has reinforced public awareness and emphasized the need to manage diversity and inclusion (D&I) within organizations. A research team from the University of Vienna explored success factors and the role of communication in establishing and promoting diversity and inclusion within organizations based on the following questions: Why should companies invest in diversity and inclusion? How can companies establish effective D&I management? How can communications promote an inclusive corporate culture? ; Immer mehr Anspruchsgruppen von Organisationen - von Mitarbeitenden über Kunden und Kundinnen bis hin zu Politikern - erwarten, dass Unternehmen die Vielfalt der Gesellschaft in ihrer Belegschaft widerspiegeln. Die zunehmende Anerkennung und der Einfluss von Bewegungen wie Black Lives Matter und ChooseToChallenge haben das öffentliche Bewusstsein gestärkt und die Notwendigkeit des Managements von Vielfalt und Inklusion (D&I) innerhalb von Organisationen betont. Ein Forschungsteam der Universität Wien hat Erfolgsfaktoren und die Rolle der Kommunikation bei der Etablierung und Förderung von Diversität und Inklusion in Unternehmen anhand von folgenden Fragen untersucht: Warum sollten Unternehmen in Diversität und Inklusion investieren? Wie können Unternehmen ein effektives D&I-Management aufbauen? Wie kann Kommunikation eine inklusive Unternehmenskultur fördern?

This study explores the concept of character assassination in the field of corporate communication. We examine the perception of character traits and personal values of chief executive officers in Austria and Germany during corporate crises. Results suggest that character attacks mostly focus on a chief executive officer's integrity, while a positive public perception of charisma seems to be related to a chief executive officer's remaining in office. Furthermore, personal values were under more intense public scrutiny when the chief executive officer in question had to leave their office. Thus, the study suggests that character traits and values are antecedents which influence the outcomes of the process of character assassination.

Dieser Beitrag widmet sich den verschwimmenden Grenzen zwischen Journalismus, Public Relations und Werbung und der Zunahme von hybriden Kommunikationsformen. Anhand ausgewählter Literatur werden Veränderungen bei der klassischen Aufgabentrennung in der Kommunikationspraxis und damit einhergehende Herausforderungen aufgezeigt. Schließlich werden mögliche Rollen- und Interessenkonflikte beleuchtet, die Praktiker:innen aufgrund von verschwimmenden Grenzen erleben. Der Beitrag schließt mit der Diskussion von Möglichkeiten, Praktiker:innen für diese Konflikte und Herausforderungen zu sensibilisieren und beim Umgang damit zu unterstützen.

Abstract
Due to increasing consumer skepticism towards promotional messages, companies are looking for new ways to communicate with their target audiences in a less obtrusive way than traditional advertising. Sponsored content disseminated on the online portals of newspapers (i. e., online advertorials) is regarded as a promising way to promote products and brands. Regulations require communicators to inform consumers about the commercial nature of this 'masked' persuasion attempt by including an explicit sponsorship disclosure (i. e., a 'Sponsored' label). This study demonstrates that such an explicit advertising cue may not be enough to alert recipients. Furthermore, this study investigates the effects of promotional messages by means of a 2 (no disclosure vs. disclosure) x 2 (no forewarning vs. forewarning) experiment. Results show that both (i) foregoing instructions aimed at activating consumers' persuasion knowledge (i. e., an additional forewarning message) and (ii) recipients' prior media literacy can foster the effect of sponsorship disclosures in triggering situational distrust towards brand-related content, and in turn, increasing consumers' reactance.