Public engagement and dialogic accounting through social media during COVID-19 crisis: a missed opportunity?

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this exploratory study is to investigate why and how public health agencies employed social media during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak to foster public engagement and dialogic accounting.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analysed the official Facebook pages of the leading public agencies for health crisis in Italy, United Kingdom and New Zealand and they collected data on the number of posts, popularity, commitment and followers before and during the outbreak. The authors also performed a content analysis to identify the topics covered by the posts.FindingsEmpirical results suggest that social media has been extensively used as a public engagement tool in all three countries under analysis but – because of legitimacy threats and resource scarcity – it has also been used as a dialogic accounting tool only in New Zealand. Findings suggest that fake news developed more extensively in contexts where the public body did not foster dialogic accounting.Practical implicationsPublic agencies may be interested in knowing the pros and cons of using social media as a public engagement and dialogic accounting tool. They may also leverage on dialogic accounting to limit fake news.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to look at the nature and role of social media as an accountability tool during public health crises. In many contexts, COVID-19 forced for the first time public health agencies to heavily engage with the public and to develop new skills, so this study paves the way for numerous future research ideas.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the creative industries: A literature review and future research agenda

“…Websites and social media played an important role in the digital safety net while lockdown restrictions were in place and physical contact between people was limited (Connected Commerce Council, 2020 , Landi et al, 2021 , Marabelli et al, 2021 ). Businesses increased their use of remote services via social media tools and platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tik-Tok) ( Bae et al, 2021 , Marabelli et al, 2021 ; Cifuentes-Faura, 2020; Kaya, 2020 , Ferrara et al, 2020 ).…”

Engaging social media users with attitudinal messages during health crisis communication

“…Online platforms offer an ideal place to reach an ever-expanding audience whose reliance grows stronger in crisis circumstances ( Procopio and Procopio, 2007 , Stephens and Malone, 2009 ). Due to its interactive and participatory nature, social media also provides great potential for public engagement during crisis situations ( Agostino and Arnaboldi, 2016 , Bonsón et al, 2019 , Chen et al, 2020 , Guidry et al, 2017 , Landi et al, 2021 ). Social media can thus be used not only as a complementary channel to release crisis information, but also a tool to monitor public opinions, promote social cohesion, and foster support ( Alexander, 2014 , Zhang et al, 2019 ).…”

“…For such interventions to be successful, effective messaging is needed to foster public trust and enhance the willingness to participate ( World Health Organization, 2005 , World Health Organization, 2020b ). It follows that an important communication goal during crises is public engagement ( Landi et al, 2021 ), which involves the solicitation of public response and participation (e.g., public feedback, input, and opinion) beyond one-way information delivery from the sender ( Chen et al, 2020 , Rowe and Frewer, 2005 ).…”

Dynamic accountability and the role of risk reporting during a global pandemic

“…Internal and external stakeholders play a role in improving the quality of risk reporting (Abraham and Shrives, 2014). More than merely disclosing, companies may want to strive at dialogic accounting (Landi et al, 2021;Dillard and Vinnari, 2019;Bellucci et al, 2019;Brown and Dillard, 2015), i.e. a multi-sided communication with relevant stakeholders.…”

“…The pandemic has increased the attention on risk recognition as companies are not only affected by the risk of infection but can become a significant driver of it. In this condition, companies are accountable to many internal and external stakeholders to inform them about the adequacy of their pandemic-adjusted risk management processes and mitigation measures (Landi et al, 2021). Since a pandemic bears unforeseeable risks that materialise on an enormous scale with great speed (Kaplan et al, 2020), companies need to consider revising their risk recognition and assessment practices.…”