Earticle

The purpose of this study is to identify activists, their communicative behaviors, and the effects of these behaviors on crisis communication in the new media landscape. Adopting a new theoretical framework based on problem-solving characteristics, openness, activeness, and time or history, in the situational theory of problem solving, the current study demonstrates that activists in a crisis situation are more likely to actively engage in information acquisition, selection, and transmission than other publics. In addition, this study finds that activists in a crisis could affect an organization negatively in terms of strong attribution of crisis responsibility to the organization, negative reputation, and less supportive behavioral intentions. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

The study aimed to test the influence of a certified seal indicating corporate social responsibility (CSR) on perceived CSR, attitude, and supportive behavioral intention. To test the hypotheses of the study, a post-test-only experiment with two conditions (presence vs. absence of CSR-certified seal) was executed using an online experiment, and we recruited participants (n = 157) across the United States. The results indicated that the presence of the CSR-certified seal in the annual report was more effective in generating better perceived CSR evaluation, positive attitude toward the corporation, and behavior intention among the participants than the absence of the CSR-certified seal in the same annual report. A serial mediation test showed that a CSR-certified seal led to increased behavioral intention through perceived CSR and attitudes. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

Understanding why the public seeks and forwards information is critical for effective information management during a public health crisis. This study investigated how information seeking and forwarding in a health crisis are affected by involvement, constraint recognition, anxiety, and distrust in traditional media. The survey of 1,148 respondents was conducted during an infectious disease outbreak in Korea. The results indicated that involvement, anxiety, and distrust in traditional media had positively influenced the crisis information seeking and forwarding. However, constraint recognition negatively affected them.