Public reaction to information release for crisis discourse by organization: Integration of online comments

This study explores how online comments influence public reactions to organizational crisis discourses based on five scenarios depicting typical online comment patterns. Through an empirical study involving 621 participants, several key findings are obtained. First, online comments have a significant effect on post-crisis reactions involving emotions, attitudes and behavioral intentions. However, except in the case of perceived comment manipulation, public reaction patterns associated with overwhelmingly positive and non-overwhelmingly positive comments are not significantly different and are friendlier to the crisis organization than the other three patterns. Moreover, reactions associated with the pattern in which there are no online comments are quite similar to those associated with the pattern of non-overwhelmingly negative comments. Second, positive emotions enhance perceived organizational integrity, whereas negative emotions reduce this perception. Third, perceived comment manipulation has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between positive emotion and perceived organizational integrity and a positive moderating effect on the relationship between negative emotion and perceived organizational integrity. Finally, emotions and perceived organizational integrity are found to be predictors of loyalty and boycott intentions. The findings of the study extend the present knowledge on crisis communication by highlighting the impact of online comments on the post-crisis reactions of the public and also provide crisis managers with guidelines on how to deploy appropriate crisis communication strategies.

► Investigating public post-crisis reactions based on five scenarios depicting typical online comment patterns.
► An empirical study involving 621 participants is conducted to test the hypotheses.
► Affirmative and overwhelming level of online comments has a significant effect on public reactions.
► Perceived comment manipulation has a moderating effect on the relationship between emotions and perceived integrity.