标题：Public Relations Crisis and Social Media : An Investigation into Extant and Prospective Consumers’ Perceptions through the Lens of Attribution Theory
期刊名称：Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research
印刷版ISSN：0718-1876
电子版ISSN：0718-1876
出版年度：2015
卷号：10
期号：2
页码：33-52
语种：English
出版社：Universidad de Talca
摘要：Online social media has shifted the balance of power fro m businesses to consumers, with consumers now being able to share information almost unrestrictedly in rea l - time. As a result, an effort to suppress what may be considered as harmful information can easily backfire, causing the information to instantly spr ead through user ties. However, what is considered important in such occasions is the way extant and prospective customers may interpret such crises. In this paper, we discuss the case of a Greek Apple authorized service provider and the manner in which it responded to a customer’s complaint in a blog post. The company, instead of using social media to reach out to its customers, chose to move legally against the disgruntled customer, aiming to suppress the relevant blog post, which quickly resulted to the company’s viral defamation. Building upon attribution theory and employing a content analysis of user postings in social media, our study explores stakeholders’ perceptions regarding the company’s reaction and response strategy, seeking to investigate attr ibutions of cause and responsibility. Our results show that, in the initial stages of a crisis, hostile behaviour or refraining from comments altogether, can lead to negative outcomes in relation to a company’s reputation.
其他摘要：Online social media has shifted the balance of power fro m businesses to consumers, with consumers now being able to share information almost unrestrictedly in rea l - time. As a result, an effort to suppress what may be considered as harmful information can easily backfire, causing the information to instantly spr ead through user ties. However, what is considered important in such occasions is the way extant and prospective customers may interpret such crises. In this paper, we discuss the case of a Greek Apple authorized service provider and the manner in which it responded to a customer’s complaint in a blog post. The company, instead of using social media to reach out to its customers, chose to move legally against the disgruntled customer, aiming to suppress the relevant blog post, which quickly resulted to the company’s viral defamation. Building upon attribution theory and employing a content analysis of user postings in social media, our study explores stakeholders’ perceptions regarding the company’s reaction and response strategy, seeking to investigate attr ibutions of cause and responsibility. Our results show that, in the initial stages of a crisis, hostile behaviour or refraining from comments altogether, can lead to negative outcomes in relation to a company’s reputation.
关键词：E - WOM; Microblogging; O nline social networks; R eputation management ; A ttribution theory.
其他关键词：E - WOM; Microblogging; O nline social networks; R eputation management ; A ttribution theory.
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