Identifying and responding to social media risks: towards an organizational paracrisis communication framework

Abstract

PurposeThis paper seeks to advance paracrisis research by clarifying paracrises’ distinct features and developing typologies of paracrises and response strategies with strong external validity.Design/methodology/approachA case series study of 143 paracrises systematically selected from various news and trade sources was conducted to build an organizational paracrisis communication framework that connects paracrisis clusters with paracrisis response strategies.FindingsResults of the study attest to the validity of the paracrisis concept by demonstrating refined paracrisis clusters’ connections with refined paracrisis response strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThis study enriches paracrisis research by refining the paracrisis definition, paracrisis clusters and response strategies. Its rigorous descriptions of how organizations address paracrises distinguish paracrisis response strategies from traditional crisis response strategies and generate rich possibilities for future analytic investigations.Originality/valueAs perhaps the first empirical attempt to build a comprehensive framework of organizational paracrisis communication, this descriptive study lays the groundwork for the burgeoning paracrisis communication research.

Watchful waiting: public relations strategies to minimize and manage a fake news crisis

“…Findings of the present study suggest otherwise, indicating that an initial assessment must be made of the kind of issue it is, the status of the individual sharing and the practitioner’s level of autonomy. The slower emergence of a paracrisis would seem to enable the determination of a “mention or momentum”, in line with Chen and Holladay (2022) suggested response strategies. This study also supports Coombs’ (2007) consideration of stakeholder power and story legitimacy.…”

“…The study finding that practitioners must evaluate the status of the individual sharing fake news to determine whether and when to respond builds upon Chen and Holladay’s (2022) assertion that paracrisis CSR risk is dependent on the organization’s perceived social obligation. An organization might be perceived as socially or morally obligated to respond if the individual sharing fake news is an advocate for a nonprofit or NGO.…”

“…Coombs and Holladay (2012) describe a paracrisis as a reputational threat that functions as indirect communication with an organization. While Chen and Holladay (2022) agree with this description, they specify that not all crisis risks made visible by social media are paracrises. Rather, Chen and Holladay (2022) clarify that a paracrisis is a crisis risk to corporate social responsibility.…”

“…Coombs and Holladay (2012) define a paracrisis as “a publicly visible crisis threat that charges an organization with irresponsible or unethical behavior” that can “escalate into a crisis” (p. 409). Similarly, Chen and Holladay (2022) define paracrisis as a corporate social responsibility risk that is dependent on the organization’s perceived social obligation. In their study, the scholars clarify the distinct features of paracrises by developing Coombs’ (2017) paracrisis typologies to address varying response strategies.…”

“…Public and private organizations alike have experienced myriad disruptions from fake news. For instance, the Crock-Pot company faced waves of online criticism about product safety when its slow cooker was accused of causing a fire that resulted in the death of a beloved character on the ABC drama This is Us (Bruner, 2018; Chen and Holladay, 2022). Fans engaged in robust online discussions and threatened to toss their appliances.…”