No abstract

No abstract

Purpose -Image restoration theory has become a dominant paradigm for examining corporate communication in times of crises. However, much insight gleaned from scholarly research in this area remains descriptive -simply recounting how certain corporations or companies communicated during times of crisis -rather than prescriptive. Therefore, to provide more direct guidance to corporations and organizations, this paper offers the first empirical test of Benoit's five image restoration strategies vis-à -vis each other simultaneously within the context of a single crisis situation. Design/methodology/approach -An experimental investigation that measures consumers' reactions to differentially manipulated crisis-communication messages. Methods of data analysis include ANOVA and post hoc comparisons of means. Findings -Results indicate that the strategy of reducing the offensiveness of the event consistently led to higher reputation-related perceptions of a company than did the other four strategies -denial, evasion of responsibility, corrective action, and mortification -when implemented during a product-harm crisis situation. Practical implications -Findings have direct implications for corporate communicators and the organizations they represent in developing and implementing crisis-communication strategies. Originality/value -This paper offers an original test of all image restoration strategies within the context of a single crisis. In addition to providing clearer guidelines to practitioners, such inquiry also accelerates the transfer of image restoration theory from the realm of retrospection and description to that of prescription and inference.

Many studies have investigated how different technological features impact the experience of playing video games, yet few have focused on how control schemes may affect the play experience. This research employed a between-subjects design to explore the relationship between the type of console played (Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2) and feelings of flow and enjoyment during the game-play experience. Results indicated that participants reported greater feelings of control and enjoyment with a traditional control scheme (Playstation 2) than with the more technologically advanced control scheme (Nintendo Wii). Further mediation analysis showed that enjoyment was driven by the sense of control that participants experienced and not simply by whether they won the game. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Extrapolating from prior research that describes the persuasive effects of gain-versus loss-framed messages via the heuristic-systematic model (HSM), the current study incorporated two advertising-related factors -evidence type (informational vs. exemplar) and product involvement -and examined their influence on message-framing effects in advertisements for commonplace consumer products. A significant interaction in Experiment 1 indicated that loss-framed messages were persuasive in a higher-involvement context only when coupled with informational evidence, which enhanced systematic processing among participants and thereby elicited the framing effect. No interaction effects occurred in the lower-involvement context of Experiment 2, in which the hypothesized thought-processing patterns did not evince. Consistent with recent theoretical advancements, these results indicate that message-framing effects can be attenuated when both systematic and heuristic processing occur simultaneously. Practical implications are discussed.