This mixed-method study examines (1) how Korean companies communicate AI in strategic communication, (2) how publics respond to such communication, and (3) how practitioners perceive AI adoption, related challenges, and governance mechanisms. This study combines computational analysis of corporate social media posts (Study 1) with in-depth interviews with practitioners (Study 2). Study 1 shows that corporate AI communication is predominantly instrumental, framing AI primarily as business value, an operational enabler, or a means of brand positioning, while giving limited emphasis to its societal and ethical implications. Although AI communication generally receives positive public sentiment, it attracts less engagement and fewer positive comments than non-AI communication. Yet framing AI within the context of CSR mitigates this engagement penalty. AI communication is better received in conventional industries where AI remains relatively novel than in high-tech industries where it is more expected. Study 2 reveals that, despite practitioners’ awareness of AI’s ethical implications, corporate communication continues to prioritize instrumental messaging and remains cautious about integrating CSR into AI communication. These findings advance understanding of strategic AI communication by highlighting the interplay among instrumental and normative communication, public responses, and organizational practice in the high-tech, state-guided context of Korea.

This study introduces a platform social responsibility concept and a platform-public relationship perspective, identifying two crucial warning label features-source agent and communication style-to explore their impact on perceived misinformation credibility, platform credibility, platform social responsibility, and platform support behavior. Using a 2 source agents (AI vs. human) x 2 communication styles (direct vs. indirect) between-subjects online experiment conducted in the U.S. (US) and China, the study finds that warning labels generated by human factcheckers are more effective than those from AI fact-checkers in reducing misinformation credibility and enhancing platform credibility, social responsibility, and platform support behavior. The study also reveals distinct mechanisms underlying warning label effectiveness in the US and China. In the US, disaster responsibility attribution functions as a boundary condition, influencing how warning labels function as veracity signaling, primarily affecting misinformation credibility. In contrast, in China, AI heuristics serve as a boundary condition, extending the impact of warning labels beyond misinformation credibility to strengthen platform-public relationships through enhancing platform credibility, social responsibility, and platform support behavior. These findings provide new insights into the role of warning labels in combating misinformation, highlighting the importance of cultural differences and the need for tailored platform interventions.

An atmospheric dispersion model was used to assess the global transport and deposition of 131I and 137Cs released into the air during the Fukushima accident in 2011. Simulations results showed that the radionuclides traveled eastward across the Pacific by the westerlies. The radioactive plume estimated to reach the U.S. West Coast approximately 5 days after the accident, Europe after about 12 days, and Mongolia and China after around 16 days. It subsequently dispersed across the entire Northern Hemisphere approximately within 17 days. The calculated concentrations of radionuclides were generally consistent with observations, including monitoring data from CTBTO and Korea. A substantial portion of the released radionuclides was deposited into the Pacific Ocean, with about 54% of 131I and 76% of 137Cs settling on the sea surface. Further analysis confirmed that the 137Cs detected in seawater samples from the central Pacific and U.S. West Coast in April and May 2011, originated from atmospheric deposition onto the ocean rather than direct release into the sea from the Fukushima accident.

This study introduces a dialogic, Islamically sensitive conceptual framework and corresponding scale for ESG communication, based on two waves of online surveys in the MENA region, where Islam is the predominant religion. It shifts from traditional one-way reporting to a dialogic and culturally sensitive approach. The findings reveal that Muslim participants shared expectations that multinationals' ESG communication should cover environmental sustainability, align with Islamic business ethics, and involve dialogic communication. The study also identifies preferred communication sources, channels, and content formats for Muslims, highlighting differences between frequent stock traders and non-traders. The scale was validated by assessing its relationship with ESG knowledge and corporate reputation.

Chapter 27 Crisis Communication Research in South Korea Sora Kim, Sora KimSearch for more papers by this author Sora Kim, Sora KimSearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):Andreas Schwarz, Andreas SchwarzSearch for more papers by this authorMatthew W. Seeger, Matthew W. SeegerSearch for more papers by this authorClaudia Auer, Claudia AuerSearch for more papers by this author First published: 22 April 2016 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118516812.ch27 AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Summary Most crisis communication research in South Korea investigates the perspectives of organizations and audiences, such as how organizations respond to crises and how publics react to such crisis communication. Quantitative research methodology, especially experimental, is the most popular. Coombs' work has most frequently been used as a theoretical framework, followed by Benoit's. Various samples including crisis managers and the general public are widely used in the research. Over time, corporations' crisis preparedness level has increased across all industry types. While Korean companies employ silence, denial, and justification crisis communication strategies most often, Koreans prefer accommodative strategies such as apology and corrective actions to defensive strategies, regardless of crisis type. The Handbook of International Crisis Communication Research RelatedInformation

The atmospheric dispersion of radioactive materials and the resulting radiation dose were assessed for a hypothetical accident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The release quantities of 131I and 137Cs were assumed to be the same as those released into the atmosphere in the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The evaluation utilized atmospheric dispersion and dose assessment models, both of which are key components of the Radiological Accident Preparedness System in Korea (RAPS-K) developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Simulation results showed that radioactive plumes initially moved to the western across Europe, and later, some plumes were transported to the Asia due to westerly winds. Dose assessments revealed that effective radiation doses were showed above 1 mSv in certain areas near the Zaporizhzhia plant, while radiation exposure remained below 0.1 mSv across the rest of Europe, Asia, and North America. Especially, the thyroid dose due to 131I was presented about 19 mSv and 29 mSv, respectively in Kyiv and Odesa of Ukraine.

This chapter defines corporate online communication and provides a critical review on the key findings of related extant research. Three main research streams on corporate online communication are identified: research focusing on (1) the status of corporate online communication practices; (2) the effectiveness of corporate online communication; and (3) stakeholder responses (e.g., attitudes, beliefs, and reactions) to it. Among these, the first research stream has been dominant, indicating the needs for expanding the research to focus more stakeholder centric. The chapter finally addresses challenges to advance related research and recommends future research directions.

Situated within the context of online firestorms on Chinese social media platforms, this study combines crisis communication literature and connective action logic, to examine what factors contribute to public engagement in negative word-of-mouth (n-WoM) behaviors in online firestorms. In doing so, this study uses a computational method to leverage large-scale longitudinal data of social media users’ digital traces on Sina Weibo and conceptualizes two dimensions of collective legitimacy sources of online firestorms—message and information network legitimacy, revealing their multilayered functional roles in escalating n-WoM engagement. Specifically, our findings suggest that the negativity of social media posts functions as an intensifier of collective message legitimacy escalating publics’ n-WoM engagement, while the observation of a greater cumulative number of negative comments functions as a downtoner for n-WoM engagement. In addition, collective legitimacy is contributed by authority and endorsement sources of information networks. Posts from authoritative sources (KOL, media, and corporation) tend to trigger more subsequent public engagement in n-WoM than posts from endorsement sources (ordinary users). Ability-related online firestorms are more likely to have more n-WoM commenting from netizens than social responsibility-related ones. Distinct differences are found between ability- and social responsibility-related firestorms in terms of the impacts of collective legitimacy sources on eliciting n-WoM engagement.

Through a cross-sectional online survey, this study examines the moderated mediation model of public skepticism toward organizational altruism and public distrust of CSR messages in the process of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. Focusing solely on CSR communication elements rather than CSR practice, this study sheds light on the significant role that effective CSR communication elements play in attenuating public skepticism and further inducing positive public evaluations of an organization. Our results suggest that skepticism toward altruism is significantly reduced by the six effective CSR communication elements-CSR informativeness, transparency, objectivity, consistency, personal relevance, and a less promotional tone. In turn, an organization is able to restore the publics' positive evaluation of it. Although this study confirms the moderating role of public distrust in the process, it also reveals this moderating role to move in an unexpected direction. That is, the positive effects of effective CSR communication elements are much greater for people who have stronger distrust of CSR messages than those with less distrust. This indicates that public distrust of CSR messages (developed over time) may be overcome with quality CSR communication.

Incorporating social information processing theory and literature on organizational learning, this study explores the process approach to internal communication by theorizing and empirically testing a framework of employees' adaptive communication amidst the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. A cross-sectional survey on full-time employees (n = 983) in Mainland China demonstrated how followers' perception of leadership inclusiveness was related to the two dimensions of adaptive communication behaviors (i.e. internal voicing and external scouting). Results also showed the two mediating appraisals of inclusive leadership, i.e. psychological empowerment and psychological safety, functioned differently for followers with lower-level positions versus with higher-level ones. Theoretical and practical implications on internal communication, crisis communication, and public relations were elaborated in detail.

This study explores public responses to large-scale, global corporate activism in which many companies departed the Russian market over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It aims at understanding how publics decide which company deserves to be rewarded when many of them take part in corporate activism. Using an experiment, this study specifically examines the impact of proactiveness (act before others) and commitment (complete and permanent exit) news information on motive attribution and subsequent consumer buycott and related communicative efforts. Our findings suggest that proactiveness and commitment in corporate activism reduce egoistic and strategic motive attribution while they increase value-driven motive attribution. Stakeholder-driven motive is not reduced by commitment, only by proactiveness. Proactiveness and commitment also have significant direct effects on public intention to participate in political consumerism. Three specific details emerge. First, how proactiveness and commitment impact reward intention is mediated by perceived egoistic and value-driven motives. Second, how proactiveness impacts strategic and stakeholder-driven motive attribution is moderated by commitment. Only when commitment is high does proactiveness significantly reduce perceived strategic motive and stakeholder-driven motive. Third, the indirect effect of proactiveness on publics’ “buycott” intention through stakeholder-driven motive attribution is contingent on corporate commitment such that the effect is stronger when commitment is high.

이 연구는 코로나 이후 소비자들이 가지고 있는 공유경제에 대한 다양한 인식의 이해와 유형화를 통해 포스트 코로나 시대의 공유경제 활성화 방안을 제시하고자 한다. 이를 위해 위드 코로나 사회에 소비자들이 지각하는 공유경제에 대한 인식의 유형은 무엇이며, 공유경제에 대한 인식의 유형별 특성은 어떠한지 살펴보았다. 주관적 인식에 대한 접근을 위해 Q방법론을 활용하여 수집된 자료는 PC용 QUANL 프로그램을 사용하여 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 도출된 4가지 유형은 부정적 인식 유형, 문화적‧환경적 가치 고평가 유형, 비용 효율성 가치 고평가 유형, 시장경제 가치 고평가 유형으로 분류되었다. 부정적 인식 유형은 전반적으로 공유경제에 대해 부정적인 인식을 지니고 있으며 특히 공유경제 서비스에 대해 신뢰하지 않는 경향이 강하게 나타났다. 문화적‧환경적 가치 고평가 유형은 공유경제가 지닌 문화적 가치와 친환경적인 특성에 대해 긍정적으로 인식하고 있었으며, 비용 효율성 가치 고평가 유형은 개인적 관점에서 경제적 가치를 높게 인식하고 있었다. 마지막으로 시장경제 가치 고평가 유형은 시장경제의 건전한 발전차원에서 공유경제를 긍정적으로 평가하고 있는 것으로 나타났다.

Drawing on two representative online surveys in Hong Kong (HK) and the United States (US) during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study investigates, from a public-centric perspective, public expectations of effective government pandemic-crisis communication. The study looks specifically at what the publics want to be communicated in times of a global pandemic and how. In each region, the findings identify four significant dimensions. Three are culturally universal dimensions-basic responsibility, locus of pandemic-crisis responsibility, and disfavour of promotional tone. The fourth is culture-specific-personal relevance for HK and frequency for the US. Among the significant dimensions, the most highly expected is what people consider to be the government's basic responsibility in pandemic communication, that is, a basic responsibility dimension. This includes providing instructing and adjusting information and securing accuracy, timeliness, and transparency in pandemic communication. In both regions, respondents preferred by far traditional media and nongovernmental sources to social media and governmental sources.

In the social media era, a growing number of corporate crises are entwined with salient social issues. To address such crises, publics may demand their government take action with regulations, legislation or public policy remediation. Through two online experiments in China, this study investigates how social media bandwagon cues contribute to public demand for regulatory intervention during corporate crises. This study finds that a social media post collecting a great number of likes, comments and shares (i.e., high levels of bandwagon cues) can directly lead to increased public demand. This study also reveals significant mediating roles of perceived crisis severity and publics' responsibility attributions to dual agents-an in-crisis company and social systems wherein the company operates. When publics are exposed to a post with high levels of bandwagon cues, they perceive greater crisis severity, which in turn increases their responsibility attribution to the company and to social systems. The heightened responsibility attribution then spills over to public demand. Moreover, crisis blame frames of the post content moderated the effects of bandwagon cues on publics' attribution to social systems and subsequent public demand.

Using a national online survey in South Korea, this study examines the underlying psychological mechanisms of online keyword activism in supporting a politician. Findings show that when perceived like-minded opinion is extremely negative toward the politician, the like-minded opinion perception mitigates the effects of perceived majority opinion on crisis blame attribution and pro-politician activism. Government controllability intensifies the effects crisis blame has on pro-politician activism when it is extremely low. What drives more pro-politician activism is their perception of like-minded opinion through blaming external parties; what makes people refrain from pro-politician activism is their perception of low government controllability through blaming the politician.

Through two representative surveys—one in Beijing the other in Hong Kong (HK)—this study empirically validates an existing U.S.-based model of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication process. The study also extends the model by adding government trust as a second moderator and government involvement as a unique dimension of CSR communication. The perceived presence of CSR communication factors results in increases in consumers’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. In turn, these increases improve favorable corporate reputation perception. Such results demonstrate the significant contributions of CSR communication dimensions to positive consumer outcomes in Chinese contexts. The process of CSR communication has significantly different features in Chinese contexts than in Western ones. Chinese consumers (both Beijing and HK) revealed a very high tolerance and acceptance of CSR communication with a self-promotional tone. The trust levels of HK consumers in the government tended to negatively moderate the effectiveness of CSR communication, while those of Beijing consumers did not.

Through two studies conducted with cross-cultural samples (the United States and China), this research examines the psychological mechanism of consumer hoarding during COVID-19. Findings from Study 1 suggest that consumer hoarding is differently affected by legacy and social media information seeking, perceived scarcity, and scarcity attributions in the United States versus China. For China, while social media information seeking has a negative downstream relationship to hoarding, legacy media information seeking has a positive relationship with hoarding. In the United States, only social media information seeking has a positive relationship with hoarding. Further, these effects are significant when consumers attribute the scarcity responsibility to insufficient supply but not high demand. Study 2 shows that when the cause of scarcity is stated directly, perceived scarcity increases hoarding intention for Chinese consumers when the scarcity cause is due to supply but not demand, whereas U.S. consumers’ hoarding intention does not vary with the scarcity cause. The findings underscore cross-cultural differences in how legacy and social media information seeking influence consumer hoarding and highlight implications for situations in which hoarding is likely.