Why We Asked About Media Habits

Jeff Cunningham
Sep 2, 2018 · 2 min read

“A company’s admirers are an answer to social media trolls.”

MEDIA FINDINGS:

  • The reasons may be in the way the media industry was regulated or subverted, in some cases, by the host government. This leads to trust issues in some cases.
  • Our work leads us to believe that while media influence may have waned, traditional media is still the leading source for news about business.
  • At the same time that media influence is consequential for corporate reputation, the trust level from the public is down to lower than 20%.
  • The reality is that media’s reaction to mistrust has been to sensationalize coverage of business by demonizing companies for demonize for risk taking.
  • Media, like corporate reputation is very country specific, and should be a consideration in planning strategy.
  • Social media has a negative influence in corporate reputation.
  • We discovered that admirers are more than willing to follow companies on social media, suggesting they are an underutilized anti-dote to those who boycott or harass companies.

Thunderbird Opinions

Thunderbird Opinions is an opinion poll and business trend researcher from the Thunderbird School of Global Management of Arizona State University. Our focus is on trends in global business and leadership.

Jeff Cunningham

Written by

Transformational leadership and crisis resolution. Professor @ASU @Thunderbird; columnist @ChiefExecGrp

Thunderbird Opinions

Thunderbird Opinions is an opinion poll and business trend researcher from the Thunderbird School of Global Management of Arizona State University. Our focus is on trends in global business and leadership.

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