The objective of this manuscript is to analyse the effects, in terms of diffusion of information, of negative events in the cruise sector, in two scenarios: one in which responsibility for the event is mainly attributed to the cruise company, the other in which the company cannot be held responsible. This theme is relevant since, in recent years, disasters or mishaps have affected the cruise industry, attracting the attention of global media and communities and stimulating the adoption of different crisis communication strategies by the cruise lines affected. Moreover, most extant literature focuses on corporate messages intentionally sent by organizations after a negative event, and not on the spontaneous diffusion of information that is generated by stakeholders’ reactions. In particular, the aim of the paper is to explore how the perceived responsibility of the company may have an impact on the diffusion of information, and to understand whether a previous excellent corporate reputation could have a moderating role on this phenomenon. Input-data from an online questionnaire have been employed to build a bottom-up Agent Based Simulation model that, being based on individual agents’ behaviour, investigates the role of the two aforementioned variables in the aggregate diffusion of information about the negative event. The simulation showed that a perception of responsibility translates into higher and faster spontaneous information diffusion among the public. Moreover, it showed that a former excellent reputation mitigatesthe spread of news. Based on the results,some practical implications are provided for managing crisis communication strategies when a negative event occurs.

Negative Events in the Cruise Tourism Industry: The Role of Corporate Responsibility and Reputation in Information Diffusion

Remondino, Marco;Penco, Lara;Profumo, Giorgia
2019-01-01

Abstract

The objective of this manuscript is to analyse the effects, in terms of diffusion of information, of negative events in the cruise sector, in two scenarios: one in which responsibility for the event is mainly attributed to the cruise company, the other in which the company cannot be held responsible. This theme is relevant since, in recent years, disasters or mishaps have affected the cruise industry, attracting the attention of global media and communities and stimulating the adoption of different crisis communication strategies by the cruise lines affected. Moreover, most extant literature focuses on corporate messages intentionally sent by organizations after a negative event, and not on the spontaneous diffusion of information that is generated by stakeholders’ reactions. In particular, the aim of the paper is to explore how the perceived responsibility of the company may have an impact on the diffusion of information, and to understand whether a previous excellent corporate reputation could have a moderating role on this phenomenon. Input-data from an online questionnaire have been employed to build a bottom-up Agent Based Simulation model that, being based on individual agents’ behaviour, investigates the role of the two aforementioned variables in the aggregate diffusion of information about the negative event. The simulation showed that a perception of responsibility translates into higher and faster spontaneous information diffusion among the public. Moreover, it showed that a former excellent reputation mitigatesthe spread of news. Based on the results,some practical implications are provided for managing crisis communication strategies when a negative event occurs.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11567/953898
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