An updated social media users’ crisis response framework

Abstract

Purpose This exploratory study aims to investigate social media users’ reactions via user-generated content (UGC) to crisis-affected supply chains, through the lens of Situational Crisis Communication Theory, to: (1) ascertain whether the Social Media Users' Crisis Response (SMUCR) Framework is applicable to a prolonged, multi-brand, global crisis and (2) whether there is any evidence of online brand advocacy (OBA) and online brand detraction (OBD). Design/methodology/approach Natural language processing (NLP) with Leximancer, enabled thematic and sentiment analyses of 295,024 X (Twitter) posts extracted over a three-year period. Findings This study found that there were nine stages in social media users’ response to a long, global supply chain crisis. It also found sentiment coupling as positivity and negativity were not mutually exclusive and co-appeared in the UGC throughout the 3 years. However, not all positive sentiment demonstrated OBA dimensions and not all negative sentiment mirrored OBD at various stages of the crisis. Research limitations/implications This study enhances the SMUCR Framework by incorporating the evolving role of social media users in shaping brand narratives during crises through OBA and OBD. It highlights the fluctuating nature of public sentiment, showing how consumer voices influence brand perception online over time. This study updates the SMUCR Framework from four to nine social media users’ crisis response stages. It sheds new light on the role which social media users play in crisis evolution and management online. Practical implications The updated SMUCR Framework will enable industry practitioners to better anticipate, manage and respond to an elongated, global crisis which evidences itself via social media UGC. A fresh perspective is provided on crisis management, stressing the need to monitor and adapt to changing social media discourse to sustain brand resilience to a crisis. Originality/value This paper extends the original SMUCR Framework beyond a one-brand, short-term crisis scenario through a multi-brand, longitudinal, global crisis lens and evolves the Framework from four to nine stages.

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