Social media communication during health crises: an insight from the cruise industry

Purpose – This PhD thesis aims to explore the crisis communication response strategies, adopted through social media, by the cruise industry in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies by assessing how they are perceived by the public, in terms of sentiment and emotions aroused. Design/Methodology/Approach – After the development of two systematic literature reviews, one focusing on crisis communication and social media, and the other on crisis communication on social media in the context of health crises, the focus was placed on an industry that has been particularly affected by multiple health crises: the cruise industry. In order to explore crisis communication from a corporate perspective, a content analysis of the crisis communication strategies adopted by the top three cruise lines by market share in 2021 on Twitter (now X) was conducted using Nvivo software. At the same time, to assess the public's appreciation of the strategies used, sentiment analysis and emotion detection were developed by analyzing the comments made by users on Twitter in the context of corporate communications, using the KNIME and R software. Findings – The results revealed the most popular crisis communication response strategies adopted on Twitter by the three cruise lines during the different phases of the Covid-19 pandemic and the communication strategies that were most effective in managing the crisis, i.e., able to generate positive public sentiment and favorable emotions, both aspects capable of containing the negative effects of the crisis and allowing a faster business recovery. Theoretical and Managerial Implications – This study provides numerous theoretical and managerial implications. From a theoretical point of view, it enriches and renews the theoretical framework of Situational Crisis Communication Theory, widely discussed in the literature. From a managerial point of view, the study provides useful indications for managers to better cope with future crises, improving the cruise business's resilience. Research Limitations – This study, however, is not without its limitations. Firstly, it examines crisis communication response strategies conveyed only on Twitter; therefore, future studies could delve into the communication used on multiple social media channels. Scholars could also develop comparisons between the cruise industry and other industries in the tourism and hospitality sectors to highlight any differences. Furthermore, future research could enhance and overcome the limitations of the two methodologies adopted in this study, i.e., content and sentiment analysis. Originality/Value – Studies exploring the topic of crisis communication from an empirical perspective are rare in the literature. The originality of this study lies in observing the topic of crisis communication from a dual perspective, the corporate and consumer viewpoint, through the combination of a content and sentiment analysis. In the literature, there is still a lack of studies that combine these two analyses to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of corporate strategies in terms of audience appreciation.