Organizational Readiness for Issue Polarization: How Corporate Political Engagement Can Optimize Organization-Stakeholder Issue Discussion in Social Media Environment

Xuerong Lu (Ph.D. Alum), Wenqing Zhao (Ph.D. student), Toni van der Meer, and Yan Jin (forthcoming). "Organizational Readiness for Issue Polarization: How Corporate Political Engagement Can Optimize Organization-Stakeholder Issue Discussion in Social Media Environment." Journal of Communication Management. 

Abstract: As a sticky crisis challenge, toxic polarization continues to mutate and confront organizations and democratic society. How corporations engage stakeholders in social-political issue communication (e.g., issue stance advocacy and political corporate social responsibility [CSR]), without exacerbating the situation unexpectedly, has become a critical question for corporate communicators and crisis managers. Taking a readiness approach to proactively manage polarization-triggered threats as corporations are engaged in social-political issue communication on social media, this study examines whether and how corporations might contribute to alleviating socio-political issue polarization and facilitating stakeholder issue engagement via a 3 (corporate political engagement approach: pro-issue stance vs. anti-issue stance vs. political CSR) x 2 (stakeholder comment valence: positive vs. negative) x 2 (issue: gun control vs. refugee immigration) mixed-design online experiment conducted among 1,589 U.S. adults. Findings reveal both challenges and opportunities should a corporation choose to explicitly communicate its issue stance with stakeholders on social media: On one hand, it unavoidably increased stakeholders’ perceived issue polarization; on the other, the increased issue polarization perception seemed to motivate stakeholders to engage more in social-political discussion led by the corporation. In addition, negative comments from stakeholders on social media exhibited limited effects on the corporation’s effort in facilitating democratic debate on controversial issues. This study’s contributions to crisis management theory and practice are further discussed.