1,721,012 research outputs found
A question of trust : Exploring trust concepts, experiences, and early observations from Europe
No full textIn times of global crises, such as those that originated from novel infectious diseases, people lack knowledge to understand how to cope with them. Because of potential life-threatening situations caused by these diseases, people will start seeking information to increase their knowledge on the matter and improve the quality of their decisions. Not all information is equally credible. Why, then, do people gauge some sources of information as more credible than others? Research shows that it all depends on one key factor: trust. Trust is an essential coping mechanism people use when they lack sufficient information or expertise to make an objective decision such as following health recommendations. In health crises, it has been repeatedly shown that trust in the source of risk information highly influences people’s willingness to follow public health rules and guidelines. This chapter seeks to clarify the concept of trust and the mechanisms as well as outcomes it produces. As trust is attributable to relationships at all levels of society, within and among social groups, this chapter structures the discussion of trust focussing on the micro, meso and macro levels and offers some illustrative examples from Europe of its relevance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that are both translatable and applicable in different geographical contexts as well as forms and types of crisis.peerReviewe
A reputation measurement model for online stakeholders: concepts, evidence and implications
No full textIn today’s global markets, corporations are daily competing for visibility, investments, brand positioning. Reputation plays a key role in these aspects, as a favourable corporate reputation attracts investors, customers, suppliers, employers and consumers. Reputation is an exclusive and rare intangible asset and by cultivating it companies can attain competitive advantage over competitors (Peteraf &Barney, 2003), and ultimately affect financial performance (Roberts & Dowling, 2002). While reputation per se is not a controllable asset, some elements that compose it can be. Among these, communication is considered a crucial element for the development of a good reputation. Beyond informing stakeholders on institutional, strategic and market contents (Fombrun &Shanley, 1990), organizations are more and more using communication as a way to convey corporate identity and values as well as to engage and manage stakeholder relations. Van Riel and Van Halderen (2006) argue that the main functions of communication are enhancing so-called corporate expressiveness, boosting organizational transparency and sincerity, and contributing to the maintenance of coherence across corporate activities. Yet, because of the deep collective and social nature of reputation, through the use of communication, organizations can influence the collective and social definition of corporate reputation by employing specific relational cultivation strategies and stakeholder engagement processes (Romenti, 2010) . Reputation can be conceived as a meta-construct formed at a collective level through social relations, rather than a set of perceptions possessed by individuals. In other words, communications among individuals in the form of conversations construct a collective understanding of a corporate reputation.
Around the world, the increasing spread of social media for private and professional uses challenges the management of corporate reputation because corporate messages are not only generated by organizations but also by online influencers that, through the use of social media, can converse with current and potential stakeholders about corporate behaviours, products and services . The volatility of today’s markets and the presence of cyclical crises have enhanced the amount of online conversations and rumors among stakeholders, and that can rapidly lead to the formation and sharing of erroneous opinions and attitudes towards organizations which can easily spread outside digital environment. Thus online conversations can have significant impact of corporate reputations, and on companies’ performance. Most previous research on corporate reputation has focused on how offline reputation can be effectively measured. What is less known, however, is a solid framework for online reputation measurement that provides relevant indicators, sampling criteria and scales’ assessment of online reputation.
The scope of this paper is to offer a theoretical framework based on offline reputation measurement models, theories of stakeholder relations and social network analysis (SNA) with the aim of offering a practical framework for online corporate reputation measurement. Starting from a discussion on what can be learned from the offline environment for what concerns the measurement of reputation and which the crucial implications for online environment are, we discuss existing models of online reputation measurement, their strengths and weaknesses and propose stakeholders’ identification and segmentation as a pivotal element for measuring online reputation. Following this, we offer a practical approach to measure online reputation with some examples of large corporations
COVID-19 communication management in Europe: A comparative analyses of the effect of information-seeking in the public’s sense making in Italy, Spain and the UK
Full text linkGovernments around the world have shown poor capabilities in responding effectively to the COVID-19 health emergency outbreaks. After the declaration of COVID-19 as an international pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 31st of January 2020, three countries experienced the greatest initial impact in Europe. Sequentially Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom (UK) were hit by the highest numbers of contagion and death in the first few months in Europe. The aim of this paper is to assess how information channels and sources influenced the public’s evaluation of the three government’s communication response strategies. An online survey was conducted between March 14 and April 14, 2020, during the first wave of lockdowns and declarations of States of Emergency in the three countries. Findings show particularities for the different countries, but also similarities in response and reactions of the public in the three scenarios. The response strategy of the UK Government was the most untrusted and criticized by citizens. In contrast the Italian and Spanish Governments, which both chose to respond with the severest restrictions, attracted more support from citizens, especially in Italy, which was the first to close borders and impose lockdowns for the population. Despite the national differences in the preference of information channels and sources, overall, an empirical relationship between government communication assessment and media use were found in all the scenarios. This empirical study has theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, findings will add evidence of implications of the Channel Complementary Theory to the field of risk, crisis and emergency communication. The results also provide insights for communication practitioners in the public sector of how forms of information and trust in sources influence the public’s assessment of authorities’ communication. Implications for theory and empirical research about communication during a health pandemic are identified and discussed
Public Relations in the World of Finance
No full textThis chapter explores the ways that public relations is conducted in financial markets, on behalf of many special interests – some opposing, some overlapping. Public relations in the world of finance continues to evolve as new financial centres emerge, and as technology and increased regulation continue to transform financial communication. The chapter reviews communication requirements in both retail and wholesale financial markets, unpacking techniques such as ‘choice editing’, third party endorsement and thought leadership. The chapter considers the implications of the global financial crisis, and probes the public relations profession’s lack of probity regarding its own contribution to the crisis and its aftermath
'Public Relations in the World of Finance'
Full text linkPublic relations in financial markets came into its own after many Western economies liberalised during the 1980s. Public relations became an important means of building credibility in and shaping attitudes toward financial markets. This chapter explores PR activity throughout the world of finance - from wholesale finance (the 'factory floor') to retail finance (the 'shop window'). The chapter examines critiques of PR activity in both areas
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