Managing the Message: The Effects of Firm Actions and Industry Spillovers on Media Coverage Following Wrongdoing
Abstract
We contribute to research on the management of social perceptions by considering the relative effectiveness of a firm's technical and ceremonial actions in managing media coverage after its own or its competitors' wrongdoing. We examine these relationships in the context of product recalls by U.S. toy companies over the ten-year period 1998–2007. As hypothesized, firms with higher levels of wrongdoing experience less positive media coverage; however, this decline is mitigated during periods of higher industry wrongdoing. Additionally, we find support for a negative spillover effect: the tenor of media coverage about a focal firm is less positive if others in its industry recall products. Further, technical actions help firms attenuate the negative effect of their own wrongdoing on the tenor of media coverage, whereas ceremonial actions amplify this effect. In contrast, ceremonial actions are more effective in attenuating the negative effect of industry wrongdoing on the tenor of media coverage about a focal firm.
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Organizations that make claims perceived as ceremonial or superficial following negative events experience an increase in negative media coverage.
“Recent research has found that organizations that make claims perceived as ceremonial or superficial following negative events or wrongdoing experience an increase in negative media coverage”
From Strategic Silence: Withholding Certification Status as a Hypocrisy Avoidance Tactic (2018) · cites this paper as Zavyalova et al., 2012
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“For example, research has investigated the effects of wrongdoing associated with competence or capability and those associated with character or integrity (e.g., Mishina et al., 2012; Skowronski & Carlston, 1987, 1989).”
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“To address this issue, we implemented the ArellanoBond model and the generalized method of moments (GMM) procedure (Arellano & Bond, 1991; Halaby, 2004; Wade, Porac, Pollock, & Graffin, 2006), which includes a lagged dependent variable as an instrument.”
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Strategic Silence: Withholding Certification Status as a Hypocrisy Avoidance Tactic
Carlos, W. C., & Lewis, B. W. (2018) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.1177/0001839217695089 · Cited by 393 · see citing works
A Blessing and a Curse: How CEOs’ Trait Empathy Affects Their Management of Organizational Crises
König, A., Graf-Vlachy, L., Bundy, J., & Little, L. M. (2020) · Academy of Management Review · doi:10.5465/amr.2017.0387 · Cited by 237 · see citing works
Reputation and Status: Expanding the Role of Social Evaluations in Management Research
George, G., Dahlander, L., Graffin, S. D., & Sim, S. (2016) · Academy of Management Journal · doi:10.5465/amj.2016.4001 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
The Volkswagen emissions scandal and its aftermath
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- Authors
- Zavyalova, A., Pfarrer, M. D., Reger, R. K., & Shapiro, D. L.
- Affiliations
- Rice University (US)
- University of Georgia (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- Venue
- Academy of Management Journal
- Publisher
- Academy of Management
- Published
- 2012-10
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1079-1101
- ISSN
- 0001-4273 (ISSN-L)
- 1948-0989
- OpenAlex
- W2056985680
- Cited by
- 646
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 60 · 2025: 64 · 2024: 70 · 2023: 67 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 58 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 51 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 73.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Academy of Management Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Communication › Public Relations and Crisis Communication
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Identity and Reputation
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
- Keywords
- corporate misconduct, media coverage, product recall, toy companies, industry spillovers, corporate crisis management, technical actions, corporate reputation
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