We present two studies that together test a fundamental yet rarely examined assumption underlying the contemporary appeal of authenticity—namely, that consumers assign higher value ratings to ...organizations regarded as authentic. Study 1 conducts content analysis of unsolicited online restaurant reviews entered voluntarily by consumers in three major U.S. metropolitan areas from October 2004 to October 2011; the data contain information from 1,271,796 reviews written by 252,359 unique reviewers of 18,869 restaurants. The findings show that consumers assign higher ratings to restaurants regarded as authentic, even after controlling for restaurant quality in several ways. In addition, we find that consumers perceive independent, family-owned, and specialist (single-category) restaurants as more authentic than they do chain, non-family-owned, and generalist (multiple-category) restaurants. Study 2 reinforces these findings using an experimental design in which participants were presented with photos and minimal descriptions of fictitious restaurants and then asked to evaluate the likely authenticity, quality, and overall value of the restaurants in a predetermined sequence. Central to both studies is an authenticity scale that was developed through the use of an online survey that ascertains the specific language used by individuals in referencing authenticity in the restaurant domain. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that authenticity generates higher consumer value ratings of organizations; the studies also identify certain types of organizations that are more likely to receive authenticity attributions by consumers.
Drawing on implicit leadership theory (Brown & Lord, 2001; Eden & Leviatan, 1975), we hypothesize that the relationship between participative leadership and employee performance is curvilinear ...(J-shaped), suggesting that participative leadership is unrelated to employee performance when participative leadership is below a moderate level (i.e., a threshold). Above this threshold, increased participative leadership is related to higher employee performance. Building on adaptive resonance theory (Grossberg, 1999), a variant of implicit leadership theory, we further hypothesize that leaders' information-sharing behavior will moderate this curvilinear relationship. We test this model using two independent samples: office and call-center employees (Study 1) and factory workers (Study 2). Results from Study 1 reveal that this curvilinear relationship is stronger when leaders' information sharing is high and weaker when information sharing is low. Furthermore, in Study 2, we find that leadership effectiveness mediates the interactive effect of participative leadership and information sharing on objective work performance.
Corporate social advocacy (CSA) scholarship has helped public relations scholars and practitioners better understand business engagement in multiple contentious issue contexts (e.g., Dodd & Supa, ...2014; Rim et al., 2020; Waymer & Logan, 2021). Nonprofit organizations, while often having similarly public platforms, significant resources, and the will to engage in polarizing issues outside of their core purpose or purview, have, to date, not been a part of this theoretical framework. This paper serves to theoretically link nonprofit organizations to polarizing issue discourse—while maintaining their distinct facets and relational/stakeholder needs—by developing Polarizing Issue Stewardship. This new construct shifts the perspective of nonprofit stewardship strategies, originally developed by Kelly (1998) to a contentious issue context. The new construct provides insights for both theory and praxis of nonprofit communication.
•This paper develops a theory of polarizing issue stewardship for nonprofit organizations.•Putting nonprofit stewardship literature into conversation with CSA extends the latter theory to encompass nonprofit public relations.•This research develops five strategies for polarizing issue stewardship: (1) reporting amid contention, (2) contingent recognition, (3) harmonizing values, (4) financial resilience, and (5) genuine engagement.•The paper includes two brief nonprofit case examples: a partnership/vendor relationship and a donor relationship.
Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a promising thermochemical technology for the treatment of hazardous wastes such as penicillin residue (PR). For the treatment of aqueous waste produced by PR in ...the HTL process, aqueous phase circulation is an attractive solution, both environmentally and economically. The present study shows that aqueous phase circulation can promote the transfer of organic matter from the aqueous phase to bio–oil. The content of organic acids and alcohols in the aqueous phase decreased significantly, and the bio–oil yield and energy recovery efficiency also increased. Under non–catalytic conditions, the bio–oil yield increased from 26.09 wt% to 33.72 wt%. The use of Na2CO3 as a catalyst further improved the bio–oil yield. After a single aqueous phase circulation, the bio–oil yield increased to 34.63 wt%, and the energy recovery efficiency increased to 66.94%. Under catalytic hydrothermal conditions, the content of organic acids in the bio–oil was reduced using aqueous phase circulations, which improved the quality of the bio–oil. At the same time, the Na2CO3 catalyst promoted the hydrolysis of PR to form small molecule organic matter, inhibited the formation of coke, and reduced the content of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in the solid residue. An increase of cycle times led to excessive accumulation of Na2CO3, which had a negative impact on the yield of bio–oil. Nitrogen–containing compounds in the bio–oil increased to a certain extent, which renders it necessary to consider denitrification treatments in the future. The work provides a useful reference for further research on the preparation of high quality bio–oil by PR hydrothermal liquefaction.
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•Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) was performed for penicillin fermentation residues (PR).•Aqueous phase circulation can increase the yield of HTL bio-oil.•Under non–catalytic conditions, the bio–oil yield increased from 26.09 wt.% to 33.72 wt.%.•After a single aqueous phase circulation with Na2CO3, the bio–oil yield was 34.63 wt.%.
We conducted a registry-based cohort study of all individuals aged 25-64 years residing in Norway by 1st of January 2008 (N = 2,535,213). This cohort was followed from 2008 through 2014 using ...inpatient registrations for acute hospitalizations due to all-cause injuries, getting 177,663 cases of hospitalized persons (incidence rate of new cases: 102.1 pr 10,000 person-years at risk). We derived two measures of severity: threat-to-life using the International Classification of Disease-based Injury Severity Score (ICISS) (Stephenson et al 2004; Gedeborg et al 2014), and threat of disability using long-term disability weights (DW) from the Injury-VIBES project (Gabbe et al 2014), also based on the ICD-codes. We found the following distributions of the hospitalized persons (N = 177,663): 1) Threat to life (ICISS): High threat to life: 4,186 (2.4 %); Lower threat to life: 173,477 (97.6%). 2) Threat of disability (Injury Vibes DW): High probability of long-term disability (DW-score < 0.807): 36,573 (20,6 %); Medium probability of long-term disability (DW-score 0.807-0.947): 97,590 (54,9 %); low probability of long-term disability (DW-score >0.947): 43,530 (24.5 %). Correlation between ICISS-score and the Injury Vibes disability weight score was moderate (r = 0.418, p < 0.001). The presentation will end up in a discussion on which of these two severity measures could be used for comparing burden of injuries across countries.
References
Gabbe BJ, Simpson PM, Lyons RA, et al. (2014) Association between the Number of Injuries Sustained and 12-Months Disability Outcomes: Evidence from the Injury-VIBES Study. PLos ONE, 9(12):e113467. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113467.
Gedeborg R, Warner M, Chen LH, et al. (2014) Internationally comparable diagnosis-specific survival probabilites for calculation of the ICD-10-based Injury Severity Score. J Trauma Acute Care Surg, 76(2):358-65. DOI: 10.1097/ta.0b013e3182a9cd31.
Purpose
This paper aims to operationalise and juxtapose variables related to identity, strategy and communications, and then examine the impact of such integration on organisational stakeholders’ ...trust, loyalty and commitment by using commitment/trust theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This research design utilises explanatory research at the preliminary stage, as informed by the literature and conceptual framework. The subsequent model was examined via a positivist survey carried out among stakeholders in high-end retail stores in London. Structural equation modelling (SEM) via AMOS was conducted to gain insight into the various relevant influences and relationships.
Findings
The results indicate that identity and strategy are key drivers of integrated corporate communication, and they serve to build stakeholder trust, loyalty and commitment.
Originality/value
The paper shows that while practitioners have indicated that integrated marketing communication is important for organisations, there are a few other areas of concern with regard to consequences related to trust, loyalty and commitment, especially in a retail context. This paper empirically examined relationships between these constructs by validating a conceptual model by using SEM.
Do politicians tend to adopt unpopular policies when the media and the public are distracted by other events? We examine this question by analyzing the timing of executive orders signed by U.S. ...presidents over the past four decades. We find robust evidence that executive orders are more likely to be signed on the eve of days when the news is dominated by other important stories that can crowd out coverage of executive orders. This relationship only holds in periods of divided government when unilateral presidential actions are more likely to be criticized by Congress. The effect is driven by executive orders that are more likely to make the news and to attract negative publicity, particularly those on topics on which president and Congress disagree. Finally, the timing of executive orders appears to be related to predictable news but not unpredictable ones, which suggests it results from a deliberate and forward‐looking PR strategy.
How a new breed of dictators holds power by manipulating information and faking democracyHitler, Stalin, and Mao ruled through violence, fear, and ideology. But in recent decades a new breed of ...media-savvy strongmen has been redesigning authoritarian rule for a more sophisticated, globally connected world. In place of overt, mass repression, rulers such as Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Viktor Orbán control their citizens by distorting information and simulating democratic procedures. Like spin doctors in democracies, they spin the news to engineer support. Uncovering this new brand of authoritarianism, Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman explain the rise of such "spin dictators," describing how they emerge and operate, the new threats they pose, and how democracies should respond.Spin Dictators traces how leaders such as Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and Peru's Alberto Fujimori pioneered less violent, more covert, and more effective methods of monopolizing power. They cultivated an image of competence, concealed censorship, and used democratic institutions to undermine democracy, all while increasing international engagement for financial and reputational benefits. The book reveals why most of today's authoritarians are spin dictators-and how they differ from the remaining "fear dictators" such as Kim Jong-un and Bashar al-Assad, as well as from masters of high-tech repression like Xi Jinping.Offering incisive portraits of today's authoritarian leaders, Spin Dictators explains some of the great political puzzles of our time-from how dictators can survive in an age of growing modernity to the disturbing convergence and mutual sympathy between dictators and populists like Donald Trump.
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