This study reports results from cross-cultural comparisons of (a) the frequency of university students' experiences of bullying victimization and perpetration between students, (b) students' experiences of bullying victimization by university personnel, and (c) the breakdown of victimization by the forms of bullying students have experienced. Gender breakdowns are offered. Survey data were collected from undergraduates in a total of 47 universities, using large sample sizes, similar measures and assessment methods in four countries: Argentina (N = 969), Estonia (N = 1053), Finland (N = 4403), and the United States (N = 2072). The results confirmed previous findings which suggest that a notable number of students experience bullying during university studies by fellow students and/or staff members, and a smaller number of students admit to bully their fellow students. The results add to previous knowledge by demonstrating remarkable cultural differences in the prevalence and forms of bullying and suggesting that bullying at the university level starts to transform similar to bullying in the workplace. The overall rates of bullying victimization and perpetration between students were the highest in Argentina, followed by the USA, Finland, and finally Estonia. However, victimization by university personnel was reported the most in Estonia, followed by Argentina, the USA, and Finland. Gender breakdowns in bullying experiences varied between countries. Verbal forms of bullying were common experiences. The most often reported form in all countries was unjustified criticism, belittling or humiliation related to academic performance. Students in the USA reported the highest frequencies in most forms of victimization. The results are discussed by reflecting on higher education features and comparing cultural characteristics of the countries. Practical implications are provided.Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Maili Pörhölä is an adjunct professor in the School of Humanities at the University of Eastern Finland. Her career has focused on communication research investigating bullying and abuse in social relationships, with a special interest in the transference of these experiences from primary, secondary and higher education contexts to the workplace, examining impacts on individual psychosocial well-being.Kristen Cvancara is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA. Her areas of expertise include interpersonal communication and social influence. She specializes in the study of verbal aggression, investigating how it is learned and used in romantic, familial, and friendship relationships.Esta Kaal is a lecturer and researcher at Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School, Tallinn University, Estonia. She works in the communication research field investigating organizations in public, business, and university contexts. Her main research interests include envir...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the authority communication and its relationship to citizens during a disaster. This analysis is crucial for organisations to help them understand the different ways in which crises are perceived by citizens, and the reactions they may cause. The results will help authorities in planning their crisis communication. Design/methodology/approach Facebook comments written by authorities and citizens are studied and analysed in an exploratory case study related to the 2011 catastrophe in the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant via content analysis. Findings The analysis of Facebook comments revealed that authorities have to be prepared for communicating with citizens with diverging interests, who have different perceptions on a crisis and that relation is not the same with those different profiles of citizens. Research limitations/implications This case study only focusses on the Fukushima debate from the point of view of the authorities and citizens. Practical implications This study argues that it is crucial for both authorities and public relations practitioners to acknowledge that competing opinion holders are challenging each other and authority online, and that crisis communication should be planned accordingly. Originality/value The participant profiles can help organisations to clarify citizens’ crisis perceptions that can emerge in online discussions. Practitioners need to concentrate on determining how to get their voice heard so that there are perceived credible and legitimate actors.

The aim of the paper is to introduce corporate social responsibility CSR as an organisation’s management and stakeholders’ relations tool in post-communist countries for ensuring the organisation’s social legitimacy. The article discusses how understanding the interdependence between the organisation and society helps to support the organisation to develop social legitimacy and therefore ensure its sustainability. The general research problem in this article is connected with the societal context of studied organisations: how CSR could be positioned and managed in a post-communist society to avoid a rebuff against an organisation’s CSR activities. The topic of this paper is approached through three research questions: how post-communist organisations see the CSR position in the organisation, how social legitimacy is acknowledged and defined, and finally to what extent CSR is seen as a tool for ensuring social legitimacy. For the research, seven Estonian organisations’ representatives with management responsibility were interviewed to find out their thoughts and ideas about CSR and social legitimacy.

This study examines the impact of social media activism in the form of a boycott case through the analysis of online and mass media news articles. The article reviews a conflict between a supermarket chain and its Estonian customers in April 2010, and focuses on definition hegemony the process by which the crisis is defined, the reaction of journalists and consumers to the case, and its impact on a company’s crisis communication. It examines the role of social media in formenting a crisis and keeping it active. The analysis of social media and mass media texts, as well as press releases, suggest that citizens have power over corporations because of their ability to raise questions, be critical of company behavior, and in defining the crisis narrative. The findings indicate that who is able to define the crisis can significantly affect its course.

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