Corporate Crises in China: Publics’ Institutional Associations of Government Ability and Social Responsibility

• In Event: Interventions of Strategic Communication and Public Relations in China

Abstract

This study newly conceptualizes publics’ institutional associations of government ability and social responsibility associations as unique characteristics of China in times of corporate crisis. By implementing a national survey in China, the study empirically tests how government associations are affected by publics’ perceptions of a crisis and a crisis-involved company. By integrating publics’ corporate and government associations into the situational factors of publics, this study further depicts a comprehensive post-crisis socio-psychological mechanism of publics. The findings of this study shed light on how the problem, constraint, involvement recognitions of publics influence their active communicative action, and in turn, affect post-crisis corporate associations and government associations.

Authors

• Yingru Ji, The Chinese U of Hong Kong

• Sora Kim, The Chinese U of Hong Kong