Underlying processes of SCCT: Mediating roles of preventability,blame, and trust

Despite the prevalence of the situational crisis communication theory (SCCT; Coombs, 2007) in crisis communication research, few SCCT-based studies have examined how different crisis types affect post-crisis reputation. This study, therefore, attempts to uncover the underlying processes of SCCT. Specifically, this study examined preventability, blame, and trust as potential mediators of crisis type and organizational post-crisis reputation. A between-subjects experimental study (crisis type: victim vs. accidental vs. preventable) was conducted with 329 college students. The results revealed that crisis type had no direct effects on reputation, but it did affect preventability, blame, and trust. More significantly, the results showed that crisis type indirectly affected reputation in two distinct ways: (1) via a sequence of preventability and blame and (2) via trust. The study includes a discussion of theoretical and practical implications.     

Crisis perceptions,relationship, and communicative behaviors of employees: Internal public segmentation approach

This study examines when and why employees engage in external communicative behaviors during the periods of a corporate crisis. Combining a cross-situational factor (i.e., pre-crisis relationship quality) and a situational factor (i.e., crisis-specific perceptions), this study segments internal publics to understand employees’ motivations of becoming advocates for or adversaries of their organization. The results of an online survey demonstrated that employees’ pre-crisis relationship to their organization plays a critical role in encouraging them to advocate for their company; meanwhile, their crisis-perception—whether they feel fewer constraints in solving a crisis—is more likely to make them share negative information externally. Segmented groups of employees with high levels of both relationship and activeness are most likely to engage in both positive and negative external communication behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications for public relations and internal crisis communication are suggested.     

The quest for legitimacy and the communication of strategic cross-sectoral partnership on Facebook: A big data study

Nowadays, many wicked problems such as environmental issues require organizations from multiple sectors to form cross-sectoral alliances. Cross-sectoral alliance networks can transfer resources and signal affiliations and value alignment between strategic partners. The communication of cross-sectoral alliances is a form of CSR communication that serves organizations’ strategic goals and objectives. Drawing on the literature on digital CSR communication and legitimacy theory, this article examines which legitimacy needs shape the formation of cross-sectoral ties on Facebook in addressing environmental and sustainable development issues in the United States. Combining data-mining, text-mining, social network analysis, and exponential graph modeling, this research investigates the structure of a network among 3071 organizations across multiple sectors. Findings show that organizations’ cross-sectoral tie formation is mainly driven by social legitimacy and alliance legitimacy needs.     

Resistance as Sacrifice: Toward an Ascetic Antiracism

Often described as an outcome, inequality is better understood as a social process—a function of how institutions are structured and reproduced, and the ways people act and interact within them across time. Racialized inequality persists because it is enacted moment to moment, context to context—and it can be ended should those who currently perpetuate it commit themselves to playing a different role instead. This essay makes three core contributions. First, it highlights a disturbing parity between the people who are most rhetorically committed to ending racialized inequality and those who are most responsible for its persistence. Next, it explores the origin of this paradox—how it is that ostensibly antiracist intentions are transmuted into “benevolently racist” actions. Finally, it presents an alternative approach to mitigating racialized inequality, one that more effectively challenges the self‐oriented and extractive logics undergirding systemic racism, rather than expropriating blame to others, or else adopting introspective and psychologized approaches to fundamentally social problems, those sincerely committed to antiracism can take concrete steps in the real world—actions that require no legislation or coercion of naysayers, just a willingness to personally make sacrifices for the sake of racial justice.     

Interlopers in class: A duoethnography of working‐class women academics

This article introduces the concept of the interloper for examining classed and gendered dislocation. Focusing on academia, which we view as a classed and gendered field, we draw on Bourdieu and feminist standpoint theory to account for how we, as women of working‐class origin, have experienced ‘breaches' through which we have come to understand ourselves in classed and gendered terms. Coming from different cultural backgrounds, we also reflect on how understandings of class are context‐specific. We employ a duoethnographic method which emphasizes the value of subjective experiences for organizational and social analyses. The article shows how the concept of the interloper may shed light on the dynamic, relational character of constructions of class and gender; the maintenance work that is performed; and how a sense of permanent inbetweenness characterizes our ongoing movement between the fields of the family and academia.     

The Complexity of Families Involved in High-Conflict Disputes: A Postseparation Ecological Transactional Framework

The use of the term ‘high conflict’ to describe a wide range of family dynamics after separation and divorce has increased significantly over the years. At the moment, no consensus on the definition of high conflict exists. Lack of definitional clarity hinders the ability for legal and mental health professionals to assess, identify, and effectively intervene with this population. Based on a rapid evidence assessment of 65 empirically based social science studies relevant to high conflict, this article positions high-conflict separation and divorce using an ecological transactional model to better understand risk factors and indicators associated with these families. Authors propose a more comprehensive definition that captures the complexity and interactions of various risk factors and indicators on multiple levels. Positioning high-conflict families using an ecological model identifies several points of intervention professionals can use and the fundamental need for collaboration among stakeholders for effective intervention.     

Risk and diversification of nonprofit revenue portfolios: Applying modern portfolio theory to nonprofit revenue management

This study uses modern portfolio theory (MPT) to estimate the risk of nonprofit revenue portfolios and examines to what degree the revenue concentration measure based on Herfindahl–Hirschman Index is associated with the portfolio risk measure based on MPT. The findings suggest that nonprofits with greater revenue concentration have lower revenue portfolio risk in the whole sample analysis. However, it is plausible that this result is dominated by organizations reliant on commercial income, which comprise over half of the sample. In fact, when examined separately, the relationship varies by an organization's primary funding structure. While higher revenue concentration is positively associated with portfolio risk for organizations relying on donations or those without a consistent primary funding source, it appears to associate with a lower portfolio risk for commercial organizations and those relying on government grants. This study reflects on the concept of diversification derived from portfolio theory and calls attention to a more nuanced approach to nonprofit revenue strategy.     

A systematic literature review of the etiology of borderline personality disorder from an ecological systems PERSPECTIVE

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is one of the most common, complex, costly, and severely impairing personality disorders, affecting an estimated 2% to 9% of the general population and 40% to 44% of the inpatient psychiatric population. A review of the literature was conducted using a systematic methodology. By incorporating an ecological systems perspective, a holistic and comprehensive critique of the literature surrounding the etiology of BPD is presented. The findings reveal that the etiology of BPD is a complex integration of psychological, biological, and social factors. More specifically, however, this review found that: (1) the etiology of BPD is complex and has many factors, (2) the dominant discourse about the etiology of BPD is based primarily in the psychological and biological literature, and (3) the examination of BPD etiology has focused solely on the individual and microsystems levels, neglecting to consider systemic factors such as the impact of discriminatory health and mental healthcare practices. Findings and future directions are explored through the ecological systems theory lens.     

On the conditions of authority in academic publics

The discourse of some of the most powerful public figures in today’s world is often incoherent and nonsensical. Incoherent yet authoritative discourse shows that authority does not rest in language but results from non‐linguistic and pre‐textual conditions. The non‐linguistic and pre‐textual conditions are exemplified in an Australian case‐study of a media debate between the Immigration Minister and a refugee, drawing on research by Smith‐Khan (2019a, 2019b). Two such conditions are then examined with reference to academic publics. First, I ask which languages do or do not carry authority, before moving on to speaker identity as a condition of authority. The close association between English and academic excellence has resulted in diminishing the authority of academic publications in languages other than English. The same is true of publications by women and people of colour. I close by reflecting on referencing practices as forms of extending authoritativeness to voices in excluded languages and from excluded scholars in academic publics.