Warranted inferences of mediation and possibility of a threshold effect: Verifying the mediating effects of anger in situational crisis communication theory |
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| Institution: | 1. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia, USA;2. Department of Communication, University of Maryland, USA;1. Robertson School of Media and Culture, Virginia Commonwealth University, 901 W. Main St., Richmond, VA 23284, United States;2. School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of South Carolina, United States;3. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University, United States;1. College of Communication & Information Sciences, The University of Alabama, Box 870172, 297A Reese Phifer Hall, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA;2. Communication Department, 501 College Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187;1. University of Missouri, School of Journalism, 140 Walter Williams Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, United States;2. Clemson University, Department of Communication, College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences, 116 Edwards Hall, Clemson, SC 29634, United States;1. Department of Communication, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA;2. Department of Communication, Utah Valley University, 800 West University Parkway, Orem, UT 84058, USA;1. School of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, China;2. Artificial Intelligence in Management Institute, EMLYON Business School, France;3. School of Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China;4. System Behavior and Management of Xi’an Jiaotong University, China;5. Shaanxi Logistics Group Logistics Science and Technology Innovation Integrated Development Research Center of Xi’an Jiaotong University, China |
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| Abstract: | Scholars have called for communication research to verify the causal claims of mediation models from a research design perspective, instead of only proving mediation statistically. This study validates whether and how anger mediates the causal effects of crisis types on publics’ responses in Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), including reputation, negative word-of-mouth intention, and purchase intention in China. Two experiments were conducted based on the experimental-causal-chain design. Results in Study 1 demonstrate that the causal relationships between three crisis types and publics’ emotional and other responses in China are consistent with findings in Western contexts. In Study 2, the results of a 2 (anger: low, high) x 3 (crisis types: victim crisis, accidental crisis, preventable crisis) factorial experiment reveal significant mediating effects of anger on publics’ responses in the victim and accidental crisis conditions, but not for preventable crises. This novel finding suggests the possibility of a threshold effect of anger in the mediating process. Specifically, anger has a mediating effect on publics’ responses when it is below the high-anger threshold. However, anger may no longer be the mediator when it exceeds this threshold. This finding empirically challenges the common assumption that emotions have a linear relationship with publics’ responses, thus offering a new research avenue and deeper understanding of how emotions function in crises. Therefore, this research serves as a pioneer, calling for future studies to validate other theories involving mediation to yield fruitful insights. |
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| Keywords: | Situational crisis communication theory Crisis emotions Experimental-causal-chain design Threshold effect Curvilinear relationship |
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