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Effects of Narratives, Openness to Dialogic Communication, and Credibility on Engagement in Crisis Communication Through Organizational Blogs
Sung-Un Yang, Minjeong Kang and Philip Johnson Communication Research 2010 37: 473 originally published online 7 June 2010 DOI: 10.1177/0093650210362682 The online version of this article can be found at: http://crx.sagepub.com/content/37/4/473

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CRX362682CRX10.1177/0093650210362682Communication

ResearchYang et al.

Effects of Narratives, Openness to Dialogic Communication, and Credibility on Engagement in Crisis Communication Through Organizational Blogs

Communication Research 497 37(4) 473 The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permission: http://www. sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0093650210362682 http://crx.sagepub.com

Sung-Un Yang,1 Minjeong Kang,1 and Philip Johnson1

Abstract
This study focused on individual interpretation of crisis communication messages and aimed to examine which forms of crisis narratives can enhance audience engagement in crisis communication such as reduction of negative emotions. An experimental study was conducted, simulating audience experience with blog posts written for crisis communication. Data suggest that the openness to dialogic communication is essential to creating and enhancing audience engagement in crisis communication, which, in turn, leads to positive postcrisis perceptions. Among several dimensions of audience engagement, reduction of negative emotions was a critical mediator that connected the impact of openness to dialogic communication with positive postcrisis perceptions.

Keywords
crisis communication, salience of narrative structure, openness to dialogic communication, credibility, audience engagement, blogs Individual public members emotionsoften negative emotions such as disappointment, frustration, anger, or aggressionplay an important role in crisis communication (Coombs & Holladay, 2005, 2007; Jin, Pang, & Cameron, 2007). Previous research suggests that effective delivery of narratives can lead to audience emotional engagement (Braverman, 2008; Escalas, 2004; Slater, Rouner, & Long, 2006), which can create and enhance emotional support and mitigate negative emotions.
1

Syracuse University, NY

Corresponding Author: Sung-Un Yang, S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, 215 University Place, Syracuse, NY 13244 Email: suyang@syr.edu

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A significant gap exists in previous crisis communication research as most research has focused on the effects of different crisis response content (i.e., crisis response strategies) in postcrisis outcomes (Benoit, 1995, 1997; Bradford & Garrett, 1995; Coombs, 1998; Coombs & Holladay, 1996, 2002, 2008). Moreover, despite the plethora of research on crisis response content, there has been few research that has examined possible differences in effects by different forms of crisis communication (Coombs, 2006, p. 171). Hence, we argue that the same crisis response content, depending on different forms of communication, can bring out a completely different individual interpretationand in turn, various postcrisis reactions, including account acceptance (i.e., perceived degree of belief that a given crisis response is acceptable), and attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study is twofold. First, by focusing on various crisis responses that influence individual processing of crisis messages, this study aims to examine how certain forms of crisis communication narratives (i.e., salience of narratives, openness to dialogic communication, and source credibility) can be optimally used to enhance better account acceptance of crisis responses. Second, this study examines how effective crisis communication can elicit more favorable attitudinal and behavioral reactions by enhancing audience engagement (i.e., increasing perceived interactivity, reducing negative emotions, and increasing identification with the organization). The contingency view of interactivity (Dyson, 1993; Rafaeli, 1988; Sundar, Kalyanaraman, & Brown, 2003), or user responsiveness, has been suggested as the core dimension of audience engagement (Kelleher, 2009; Paine, 2008). Accordingly, audience perceptions of interactivity are contingent on a variety of audience and situational factors that trigger heuristic interactivity cues in a medium (Sundar, 2008). Adding narrative audience engagement effectscalled transportation (Green & Brock, 2000; Green, Strange, & Brock, 2002)this study conceptualizes audience engagement as perceived interactivity, emotional engagement (Slater & Rouner, 2002), and cognitive self-organization identification (Escalas, 2004). The primary goal of crisis communication is to repair the image of the organization (Benoit, 1997) by alleviating negative postcrisis (cognitive and affective) reactions (Coombs & Holladay, 2008). To this end, individual stakeholder members engagement in crisis narratives can be a critical mediator for successful crisis management (Heath, 1997). Extending from previous research (Kelleher & Miller, 2006; Sweetser & Metzgar, 2007; Yang & Lim, 2009), this study proposes the following facets of effective crisis communication messages: (a) salience of crisis narratives, (b) openness to dialogic communication, and (c) source credibility, as antecedents of engagement in crisis narratives.

Literature Review Antecedents of Audience Engagement in Crisis Communication

The motivations and purposes of a message recipient are critical in influencing audience engagement in the message (Slater & Rouner, 2002). According to Slater and Rouner (2002), when a message is aligned with a recipients needs and purposes, the recipient

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engages in the message. Consequently, attitudinal and behavioral effects can happen. Previous research has identified reading or listening to conversational human voice (through the salient structure of narratives) as one of the key motivations and goals that individual audiences have in reading organizational narratives (Kelleher, 2009; Kelleher & Miller, 2006; Yang & Lim, 2009). Also, in reading such narratives, for the initiation and cultivation of social relationships, audiences intend to enjoy dialogue with a personal (or human) and intimate tone (Doostdar, 2004). In addition, credibility of the communicator, especially during a crisis situation, is critical to influencing individual audiences judgments of the quality of crisis communication (Heath, 1997). Therefore, we posit that individual audience members become more engaged in crisis communication (a) when the narrative structure of crisis messages is salient, (b) when the tone of crisis communication is open to dialogic conversation, and (c) when crisis-related information is communicated by a credible communicator. Salience of crisis narratives. Crisis communication is essentially narratives: Crisis communication is the enactment of the narrative of control (or at least its appearance) in the face of high uncertainty in an effort to win external audiences confidence in ways that are ethical (Heath, 1997, p. 317). Time is critical in creating and enacting narratives (Bruner, 1986; Escalas, 2004). Gergen and Gergen (1988) referred to time and coherence among events as the defining characteristics of narratives. They argued that individual attempts to establish coherent connections among life events are critical to the development of a selfnarrative. Heath (1997) also noted that crisis responses as narratives are framed in time: Narrative frames peoples understanding of the past, knowing what is occurring in the present, and projecting events into the future. A crisis is best framed in terms of what happened, what response is being made, and where that effort leads. (p. 318)

In this current study, we focus on blogs as the medium to present crisis narratives. Because blog posts are organized over time (in reversed chronological order), blogs become an effective medium that presents narratives to individual public members.
Slater et al. (2002) suggested four antecedents of audience engagement in narratives: (a) story line appeal, (b) quality of production, (c) unobtrusiveness of persuasive subtext, and (d) homophily (i.e., similarity of characters and self). Regarding unobtrusiveness of persuasive subtext, Slater et al. noted as follows: If the persuasive content and intent is so obvious as to become more salient during processing than the narrative itself, the narrative may fail and so should the persuasive effort (p. 176). Therefore, for the enhancement of audience engagement in crisis narratives, the structure of narratives should be more salient than persuasive content and intent. The absence or lack of salient narrative structure in organizational communication often generates suspicions of manipulative, ulterior motives among audiences, like those of a fake blog (i.e., commonly called a flog or flack blog). Given the context of crisis communication, the persuasive tone of the communication is somewhat inevitable. Even so, salient narrative structure can serve as a heuristic cue for the authenticity and sincerity of the communicated content, which may reduce audience suspicions and consequently

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lead to the increase in audience participation in crisis communication. Based on these discussions and findings of previous research, we propose the following hypothesis to test: Hypothesis 1: The salience of crisis narratives in blog posts will positively lead to the enhancement of audience engagement in crisis communication. Openness to dialogic communication: Invitational rhetoric to create dialogue. Invitational rhetoric refers to an invitation to understanding as a means to create a relationship rooted in equality, immanent value, and self-determination (Foss & Griffin, 1995, p. 5). Therefore, the value of invitational rhetoric is not in the gaining of control over others but in the openness to dialogic communication for mutual confirmation of each individuals inherent uniqueness (Foss & Griffin, 1995; Johannesen, 1971). Rather than an observer or onlooker, the openness for mutual confirmationin the form of invitational rhetoric prompts communication participants to engage in communication processes (Johannesen, 1971, p. 375). The notion of invitational rhetoric (Foss & Griffin, 1995) provides a key antecedent of dialogical communication. Organizations openness to dialogic communication creates a dialogic loop, which stimulates a negotiated exchange of ideas and opinions with publics (Kent & Taylor, 1998; Kent, Taylor, & White, 2003). This application of an invitational rhetoric by organizations is effective to create dialogue with strategic constituents and helps to create and enhance audience engagement in crisis communication, which in turn precipitates ideal outcomes of crisis communication in terms of postcrisis attitudinal and behavioral effects. Following these discussions, we propose the following hypothesis to test: Hypothesis 2: The openness to dialogic communication will positively lead to the enhancement of audience engagement in crisis communication. Source credibility: Blogger credibility. Credibility assessment has previously been examined from three different perspectives: source credibility, message credibility, and medium credibility (Metzger, Flangin, Eyal, Lemus, & McCann, 2003). Past research on source credibility has focused on the expertise or trustworthiness perceived by individual audiences of a communicator as the likelihood to provide credible information (Berlo, Lemert, & Mertz, 1969; Burgoon & Hale, 1984; Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 1953; McCroskey & Richmond, 1996). Message credibility is the perceived credibility of the communicated message itself, such as informational quality, accuracy, or currency (Metzger et al., 2003). Medium credibility is the perceived level of trust that individual users have of a specific medium, such as newspapers, television, or the Internet (Newhagen & Nass, 1989). In crisis communication, credibility judgments are critical to bring out positive postcrisis outcomes (Heath, 1997). A company suffering a crisis must be able to tell a credible story, one that has factual fidelity that can withstand the scrutiny of reporters, governmental investigators, and concerned citizens (Heath, 1997, p. 319). In terms of the presentation of crisis narratives, this current study delimits the scope of credibility into blogger

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credibility. Blogger credibility, as source credibility, is important in delivering narratives to help reduce audiences suspicion of manipulative or inaccurate information (Banks, 2008; Scoble & Israel, 2006; Weil, 2006). Blog audiences are constantly checking the credibility or authority of bloggers through social or relational cues embedded in regular updates; such credibility judgments about bloggers are influential in audience participation in blogmediated communication (Scoble & Israel, 2006). On the basis of these discussions and findings of previous research, we propose the following hypothesis to test: Hypothesis 3: The level of blogger credibility will positively lead to the enhancement of engagement in crisis communication.

Audience Engagement in Crisis Communication as Mediators

Focusing on narratives engagement effects, this study adds two additional dimensions of audience engagement. As we conceptualize, when individual audiences are engaged with a narrative message, the messages can increase (a) perceived user interactivity, (b) positive affective reactions (by empathy), and (c) identification (by perceived similarities between the communicator and self; Escalas, 2004; Green & Brock, 2000; Green et al., 2002; Slater et al., 2006; Slater & Rouner, 2002; Yang & Lim, 2009). Interactivity has been defined and measured from two distinctive perspectives: functional interactivity and contingency or user-based interactivity (Rafaeli & Ariel, 2007). Functional interactivity is based more on promoting an appearance of interactivity and does not adequately specify the outcomes of interactive communication (Sundar et al., 2003, p. 34). Challenging this functional view, Rafaeli (1988) proposed a definition of interactivity as user responsiveness, where iterative processes of conversation lead to jointly produced meaning between communicators. Interactivity encompasses the likelihood of engagement in interactionthe perceived ease of interaction and the degree of rapport that is activated (Ha & James, 1998; Rafaeli, 1988). Emphasizing contingency interactivity in social media, Kelleher (2009) noted that blogs are an effective medium for an engaging and natural style of organizational communication through a conversational human voice (p. 178). Yang and Lim (2009) found that the perceived interactivity of blogs is a key factor in enhancing relational trust between the blogger and individual blog audiences. Likewise, we anticipate that perceived interactivityas a dimension of engagement in crisis narrativeswill be linked to positive postcrisis attitudes and wordof-mouth (WOM) communication intentions in the current study. Also, we argue that narrative processing of crisis information will lead to empathy and identification in light of engagement in narratives, which will bring out positive attitudinal and behavioral outcomes (Braverman, 2008; Escalas, 2004, 2007; Green & Brock, 2000; Green et al., 2002; Slater et al., 2006; Slater & Rouner, 2002). Empathy and identification are different, that is, empathy is affective, whereas identification (through perceived similarities) is cognitive (Slater et al., 2006). Accordingly, empathy refers to sharing emotions and experiences of a character in a narrative without necessarily perceiving oneself to be

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similar to that character (Slater et al., 2006, p. 238). An example of identification in previous consumer psychology research is the salient structure of narratives in advertising, which was positively related to individual consumers connection with brands (portrayed in such narratives). As Escalas (2004) found, such individual consumers connection with brands via narrative information processing in turn led to positive brand attitudes and supportive behavioral intentions. Escalas called this concept self-brand connections (SBC). We argue that in crisis communication, individual members identification with an organization can be a strong mediator that brings out positive postcrisis outcomes. The theory of narrative transportation (the effect of narrative absorption in Green & Brock, 2000) states that negative emotions can be mitigated when a message recipient has absorbed himself or herself into a story so as to become empathetic toward characters in the narrative. This is because narrative processing of information allows individual audiences to vicariously experience emotions and personalities in narrative characters once audience engagement happens (Escalas, 2007; Slater & Rouner, 2002). Individual public members emotionsoften negative emotions such as disappointment, frustration, anger, or aggressionplay an important role in crisis communication (Coombs & Holladay, 2005, 2007; Jin et al., 2007). For example, Coombs and Holladay (2007) suggested that anger can motivate stakeholders negative WOM behavioral intentions against the organization. On the basis of these arguments, we propose the following hypothesis to test: Hypothesis 4: Postcrisis attitudinal and behavioral outcomes are positively influenced by audience engagement in crisis narratives, which include (a) perceived interactivity, (b) reduction of negative emotions, and (c) identification.

Account Acceptance as an Outcome of Effective Crisis Communication

Coombs (1998) suggested that organizations often use crisis response strategies in an accommodative-defensive continuum, which ranges from attack the accuser to full apology. Among different crisis response strategies, apology has been found to be most effective in lessening anger, redressing impression of the harmdoer, and increasing supportive behaviors by the victim (Benoit, 1995; Benoit & Drew, 1997; Bradford & Garrett, 1995; Dean, 2004; Fukuno & Ohbuchi, 1998). Coombs and Holladays (2008) recent study, however, found that victim centered/accommodative strategies (e.g., compensation, apology, and sympathy) brought out similar responses from individuals, suggesting that apology is not the only best strategy. For the current study, we used corrective action as an accommodative strategy, defined as crisis managers seek to repair the damage from the crisis, take steps to prevent a repeat of the crisis, or both (Coombs, 1998, p. 180). We argue here that the same crisis response strategy (i.e., corrective action) can create varying degrees of account acceptance (i.e., perceived degree of accepting a given crisis response), depending on different forms of crisis communication to influence individual engagement in crisis communication. Therefore, the current study focuses on an accommodative strategy (i.e., corrective action) and proposes to explore the following research questions:

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Research Question 1: To what extent do different forms of crisis communication (i.e., salience of narrative structure, openness to dialogic communication, and communicator credibility) influence perceived account acceptance of corporate apologies, positive company attitudes, and supportive WOM intentions? Research Question 2: To what extent do different degrees of audience engagement in crisis narratives (i.e., perceived interactivity, reduction of negative emotions, and identification with the organization) influence perceived account acceptance of corporate corrective action as crisis response?

Method Participants
Participants (N = 281) were recruited from communication courses at a large, Northeastern university. The mean age of the participants was 20.38 (SD = 3.18) and 75.6% were females. Three persons did not provide demographic information. Participants received extra-credit for participation. In all, 90.75% of participants reported that they have read blogs regularly; 16.7% of participants reported that they had their own blogs.

Procedure and Design

On simulated blogs, a 2 (salience of crisis narratives: high, low) 2 (openness to dialogic communication: high, low) 2 (blogger credibility: high, low) independent groups experiment was conducted. Participants signed up for an online experiment and were randomly assigned to one of eight experimental conditions of blogs. After giving consent to participate, participants were asked to read experimental materials in a blog and complete an online questionnaire consisting of a series of scales and demographic questions.

Experimental Materials
Experimental materials include a description of a crisis situation and three blog posts written by Jack Becker, an employee at SwizzKiss, a (fictitious) company that produces ice cream products.1 First, participants were provided with the following information describing the current crisis situation facing SwizzKiss (see Appendix A for the entire description): SwizzKiss, an Upstate New York ice cream producer, is issuing a recall after 287 children have become ill from eating some of their product at local elementary schools. Fifty-two children have been hospitalized and three are in serious condition. The company is urging parents to take their child to a doctor immediately if their child is feeling nauseous and has had SwizzKiss ice cream recently.

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Participants then were asked to answer questions regarding their emotional reactions to the crisis before reading experimental materials (see Appendix B for blog posts conditions). Emotional reactions were measured by six incremental dimensions (i.e., disappointed, frustrated, angry, mad, infuriated, and enraged).2
Then, participants were provided with a source bio of the blogger, Jack Becker. In the high blogger credibility condition, the biographical sketch of educational and professional experiences was more relevant to the handling of the crisis situation than that in the low credibility condition. The next section of blog posts differed in the salience of narrative structure by adjusting the extent to which blog posts portrayed well-defined personal life eventsas opposed to simply delivering news or general knowledge. The content of the blog post was virtually the same, and only the storys narrative styles were manipulatedthat is, narrative versus pure informational message. The blog post related to openness to dialogic communication was at the end. This post also had the same content across conditions and differed only in the degree of Jack Beckers invitational rhetoric expressing greater concern and willingness to listen to audience voices in his blog post. In the high openness condition, for instance, the blog posts begin with comments about Jack Beckers feelings and thoughts about audience comments and ends with an open invitation to provide additional comments. In the low openness condition, the tone is impersonal and ends with a mandate stating the company reserves the right to edit all comments and remove those that contain false or objectionable information. In this study, we examined how audience engagement in crisis communication can be enhanced by openness to dialogic communication, salience of narrative structure, and source credibility. We consider that blogs might be the best format for this message structure. First, blogs are an essential tool for presenting narratives (Doostdar, 2004). In addition, blog writing style is conducive to an effective organization-stakeholder communication by delivering conversational human voice (Kelleher, 2009; Kelleher & Miller, 2006; Sweetser & Metzgar, 2007).

Pilot Results
With 57 students who were in a separate pool of participants, a pilot test was conducted to ensure that experimental materials had intended effects. All three variables had significant differences at p < .001. Data from t tests revealed that experimental materials had intended effects across all three factors. Participants in the high condition of blogger credibility (M = 5.67, SD = 0.82, n = 32) felt significantly higher credibility, t(55) = 8.14, p < .001, than those in the low credibility condition (M = 3.67, SD = 1.10, n = 25) on six 7-point semantic differential scales (1 = low; 7 = high). Participants assigned to the high narrative condition (M = 5.40, SD = 0.74, n = 29) felt more salient narrative structure, t(55) = 11.48, p < .001, than those in the low narrative structure condition (M = 3.71, SD = 1.01, n = 28) on four 7-point Likert-type scale items (1 = low; 7 = high). Also, participants in the high openness condition (M = 5.32, SD = 0.96, n = 30) felt more openness to dialogic communication,

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t(55) = 8.78, p < .001, than those in the low dialogic condition (M = 3.20, SD = 0.85, n = 27) on six 7-point Likert-type scale items (1 = low; 7 = high).

Manipulation Checks: Independent Variables

Salience of crisis narratives. To check manipulation of salience of crisis narratives (M = 4.35, SD = 1.63, = .82), this study used five 7-point Likert-type items that ranged from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very much). These items were adapted from Escalas (2004) Narrative Structure Coding Scale items: (a) showing personal motivation, (b) demonstrating the bloggers feeling or thinking, (c) presenting the bloggers personal life events, (d) having a well-defined beginning, middle, and ending of a story, and (e) talking about specific, particular events, rather than delivering news or general knowledge. Openness to dialogic communication. To check manipulation of openness to dialogic communication (M = 4.52, SD = 1.40, = .88), this study used seven 7-point Likert items that ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) using Foss and Griffins (1995) concept of invitational rhetoric. Foss and Griffin elaborated on invitational rhetoric as follows: Because of the nonhierarchical, nonjudgmental, nonadversarial framework established for the interaction, an understanding of the participants themselves occurs, an understanding that engenders appreciation, value, and a sense of equality (p. 5). From Foss and Griffins invitational rhetoric framework, this study developed the following measurement items for openness to dialogic communication: The blogger (a) seems to make an effort to respond to comments left on his or her blog, (b) seems to ignore others perspectives or opinions (reversed), (c) seems arrogant (reversed), (d) tends to be authoritative (reversed), (e) seeks control over others (reversed), (f) seems to be aware of the audience, and (g) tries to teach others (reversed). Blogger credibility. To check manipulation of blogger credibility (M = 4.16, SD = 1.50, = .94), this study used six 7-point semantic differential scale items (i.e., trustworthy/ untrustworthy, expert/inexpert, reliable/unreliable, professional/unprofessional, experienced/inexperienced, and qualified/unqualified). These items were adapted from Hovland et al. (1953), Berlo et al. (1969), and Burgoon and Hale (1984).

Instrumentation: Mediating Variables

Perceived interactivity. The level of perceived interactivity (M = 3.67, SD = 1.26, = .77) was measured by four 7-point items, which were adapted from Burgoon et al. (2002): (a) How interested you were in reading the blogs posts, (b) how comfortable you would feel if they were asked to interact with the blogger, (c) how connected you feel to the bloggers ideas and thoughts, and (d) how likely you would be to link to the bloggers post from your own Web site or blog if you have one. Reduction of negative emotions. First, to measure this variable, the index of negative emotions was constructed by six 7-point Likert-type items (i.e., disappointed, frustrated, angry, mad, infuriated, and enraged) that are adopted from Mitchell, Brown, Villagran, and Villagrans (2001) measurement of anger. Six Likert-type items ranged from 1 (I feel none

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Table 1. Descriptive Statistics and Pearsons Bivariate Correlations Among the Variables M (SD) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 0.51 (0.50) 0.52 (0.50) 0.50 (0.50) 3.67 (1.26) 0.30 (1.44) 2.74 (1.37) 5.15 (1.34) 4.64 (1.15) 3.53 (1.49) 1. DC 2. SN 3. BC 4. INT 5. RNE 6. IWO 7. AC 8. PAO 9. SWI

1.00 0.00 1.00 0.02 0.01 0.24** 0.11 0.18** 0.01 0.16** 0.07 0.33** 0.08 0.22** 0.00 0.22** 0.02

1.00 0.10 0.07 0.04 0.04 0.13* 0.01

1.00 0.31** 0.52** 0.44** 0.44** 0.35**

1.00 0.25** 0.35** 0.32** 0.38**

1.00 0.26** 0.38** 0.45**

1.00 0.66** 0.48**

1.00 0.62** 1.00

Note: DC = openness to dialogic communication; SN = salience of narrative structure; BC = blogger credibility; INT = interactivity; RNE = reduction of negative emotions; IWO = identification with the organization; AC = account acceptance; PAO = positive attitudes toward the organization; and SWI = supportive word-of-mouth intentions. *p < .05. **p < .01.

of this feeling) to 7 (I feel a great deal of this feeling). This variable was measured before and after the manipulation of three independent variables to observe reduction in negative emotions by the experimental materials (M = 0.30, SD = 1.44, = .91): (a) before reading experimental materials, Mpre = 3.00, SD = 1.34, = .91, and (b) after reading experimental materials, Mpost = 2.68, SD = 1.48, = .94. According to the paired t test, negative emotions were significantly reduced after participants reading of blog posts, t(276) = 3.49, p < .001.3 Identification with the organization. Individuals identification with the organization (M = 2.74, SD = 1.37, = .94) was measured by the following seven 7-point Likert-type items that ranged from 1 (not at all) to 7 (extremely well): (a) Company X reflects who I am, (b) I can identify with Company X, (c) I feel a personal connection to Company X, (d) I (can) use Company X to communicate who I am to other people, (e) I think Company X (could) help(s) me become the type of person I want to be, (f) I consider Company X to be me (if it reflects who I consider myself to be or the way that I want to present myself to others), and (g) Company X suits me well. These items were adopted from Escalas (2004) selfbrand connection items.

Instrumentation: Dependent Variables

In terms of crisis communication outcomes, this study measured three dependent variables: (a) account acceptance, (b) attitude toward the company, and (c) positive WOM intentions. First, to measure account acceptance (M = 5.15, SD = 1.34, = .93), five 7-point semantic differential scales were adopted from Blumstein et al.s (1974) account analysis (i.e., favorable/unfavorable, acceptable/unacceptable, adequate/inadequate, believable/ unbelievable, and sincere/insincere): After having the bloggers posts about the crisis, how do you feel about the crisis response?

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To measure company attitude (M = 4.64, SD = 1.15, = .88), the following six 7-point semantic differential scale items were used: (a) reputable/unreputable, (b) responsible/ irresponsible, (c) financially stable/unstable, (d) trustworthy/untrustworthy, (e) established/fly-by-night, and (f) long-run oriented/short-run oriented. In addition, there was one more Likert item, How likely is Company X to be in business 7 years from now, ranging from 1 (very unlikely) to 7 (very likely). These items were adopted from Boulding and Kirmanis (1993) scale of attitudes toward a company. Finally, WOM communication intentions (M = 3.53, SD = 1.49, = .97) were measured by four 7-point Likert-type items that ranged from 1 (not-definitely would) to 7 (definitely would): (a) I would encourage friends to buy products from Company X, (b) I would encourage family members or relatives to buy products from Company X, (c) I would recommend Company X products to someone who asked my advice, and (d) I would say positive things about Company X and its products to other people. These items were adopted from Brown, Barry, Dacin, and Gunsts (2005) WOM intentions items.

Results Induction Checks

Data from t tests revealed that experimental materials had intended effects across all three factors. Participants in the high condition of blogger credibility (M = 5.09, SD = 1.09, n = 141) felt significantly higher credibility, t(279) = 13.36, p < .001, than those in the low credibility condition (M = 3.22, SD = 1.25, n = 140) on six 7-point semantic differential scales (1 = low; 7 = high). Participants assigned to the high narrative structure condition (M = 5.51, SD = .93, n = 142) felt a more salient narrative structure, t(272) = 18.18, p < .001, than those in the low narrative structure condition (M = 3.10, SD = 1.25, n = 132) on four 7-point Likert-type scale items (1 = low; 7 = high). Also, participants in the high openness condition (M = 5.53, SD = 0.86, n = 143) felt more openness to dialogic communication, t(279) = 18.15, p < .001, than those in the low dialogic condition (M = 3.47, SD = 1.03, n = 138) on six 7-point Likert-type scale items (1 = low; 7 = high).

Hypotheses 1 to 3: Effects of Narrative Salience, Openness to Dialogic Communication, and Source Credibility on Engagement in Crisis Narratives
The first three hypotheses were first tested with MANOVA to assess multivariate effects on a list of dependent measures. These results will be reported first, then the results from ANOVA will be reported for each measure, followed by overall results from a path analysis through structural equation modeling. Results showed that the openness to dialogic communication significantly increased engagement in crisis communication across all three measures. Thus, Hypothesis 2 was supported. However, Hypothesis 1 (i.e., salience of narrative structure) was supported only for perceived interactivity. Hypothesis 3 (i.e., blogger credibility) was supported for none of the three measures of engagement.

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In predicting audience engagement in blog-mediated crisis communication, the openness to dialogic communication led to a significant increase in the multivariate set of the three engagement measures (i.e., perceived interactivity, reduction of negative emotions, and identification with the organization), = .924, F(3, 275) = 7.28, p < .001, partial 2 = .08. There was no significant interaction effect. First, regarding perceived interactivity, salience of narrative structure significantly influenced perceived degree of perceived interactivity, F(1, 279) = 3.98, p < .05, partial 2 = .01, Mlow = 3.51, Mhigh = 3.80, whereas the openness to dialogic communication even had a more significant effect on perceived interactivity, F(1, 279) = 16.76, p < .001, partial 2 = .06, Mlow = 3.36, Mhigh = 3.96. There was no significant effect from the blogger credibility. About the reduction of negative emotions, the openness to dialogic communication also significantly influenced the reduction of negative emotions, F(1, 275) = 8.80, p < .01, partial 2 = .03, Mlow = 0.05, Mhigh = 0.56. However, there were no significant effects from the blogger credibility and salience of narrative structure.4 Finally, identification with the organization was also significantly enhanced by the openness to dialogic communication, F(1, 279) = 6.90, p < .01, partial 2 = .03, Mlow = 2.52, Mhigh = 2.95. There were no significant effects from source credibility and salience of narrative structure. In addition, a path analysis (Figure 1), 2(6, 281) = 11.51, p = .07, also demonstrated strong effects of dialogic communication on the three measures of engagement in crisis communication. According to Kline (1998), Byrne (2001), and Holbert and Stephenson (2002),5 the path analysis has a sound data-model fit. As an absolute fit index, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) was .02; as an incremental fit index, the TuckerLewis Index (TLI as an incremental fit index; also known as Non-Normed Fit Index) was .94 and Comparative Fit Index (CFI) was .99; and as a parsimony-adjusted fit index, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) was .06. The openness to dialogic communication predicts perceived interactivity (r = .24, p < .001), reduction of negative emotions (r = .18, p < .01), and identification with the organization (r = .16, p < .05). In addition, according to the path analysis, salient narrative structure led positively to perceived interactivity (r = .11, p < .05).

Hypothesis 4: Effects of Engagement in Crisis Narratives on Positive Company Attitudes and WOM Intentions
A path analysis revealed that engagement in crisis communication was significantly associated with positive company attitude and supportive WOM intentions. First, reduction of negative emotions had significant effects on positive company attitudes (r = .17, p < .01) and supportive WOM intentions (r = .25, p < .001). Also, the degree of audience identification with the organization resulted in significant increases of positive company attitudes (r = .18, p < .01) and supportive WOM intentions (r = .33, p < .001). Therefore, Hypothesis 4 was supported for the two measures of engagement. However, perceived interactivity was a significant predictor only for positive company attitudes (r = .27, p < .001).

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.21*** R2 = .08 Openness to Dialogic Communication .24*** .11*

2 R = .29

Interactivity
R2 = .04

.32*** .27*** .21*** .17** .25*** .18** .33***

Account Acceptance
R2 = .26

Salience of Narrative Structure

.18**

Reduction of Negative Emotions

R2 = .03

Positive Attitudes Toward the Org

R2 = .29

.16*

Blogger Credibility

Identification With the Organization

Supportive WOM Intentions

Figure 1. Results of path analysis. 2(6, N = 281) = 11.51, p = .07, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = .02, TLI (NNFI) = .94, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = .06 (90% Confidence Interval: .00, .11), and Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = .99. For the brevity and clarity of the figure, only statistically significant paths are drawn. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Research Question 1: Effects of Narrative Saliency, Openness to Dialogic Communication, and Source Credibility on Postcrisis Attitudinal and Behavioral Outcomes
In predicting postcrisis outcomes, results of MANOVA showed that the openness to dialogic communication led to a significant increase in the multivariate set of the three measures (i.e., account acceptance, positive company attitudes, and supportive WOM intentions), = .885, F(3, 278) = 11.58, p < .001, partial 2 = .12. Also, blogger credibility was a strong predictor for the multivariate list of all three measures of postcrisis outcomes, = .969, F(3, 278) = 2.85, p < .05, partial 2 = .03. There was no significant interaction effect. ANOVA showed that only the openness to dialogic communication significantly increased account acceptance, F(1, 279) = 34.35, p < .001, partial 2 = .11, Mlow = 4.69, Mhigh = 5.78. The path analysis also confirmed that the openness to dialogic communication significantly led to account acceptance (r = .21, p < .001). Positive company attitudes were significantly led by both openness to dialogic communication, F(1, 279) = 15.05, p < .001, partial 2 = .05, Mlow = 4.37, Mhigh = 4.89, and blogger credibility, F(1, 278) = 4.98, p < .05, partial 2 = .02, Mlow = 4.48, Mhigh = 4.78. In predicting supportive WOM intentions after the crisis, only the openness to dialogic communication was a strong predictor, F(1, 278) = 13.63, p < .001, partial 2 = .05, Mlow = 4.21, Mhigh = 4.85.

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Research Question 2:The Effect of Engagement in Crisis Narratives on Account Acceptance

Regarding the relationship between engagement and account acceptance, positive account acceptance significantly led by perceived interactivity (r = .32, p < .001) and reduction of negative emotions (r = .21, p < .001). The effect of identification with the organization was not significant.

Discussion
This study found that effective communication of crisis narratives is crucial for enhancement of audience engagement in crisis communication, such as reduction of negative emotions, which will bring out positive postcrisis outcomes. The results found openness to dialogic communication to be significant in creating and enhancing audience engagement in crisis communication. Moreover, when mediated through audience engagement, openness to dialogical communication was found to have a small direct effect on positive postcrisis perceptions (i.e., account acceptance, positive company attitudes, and supportive WOM intentions). This study conceptualized audience engagement in crisis communication into three dimensions: (a) perceived interactivity as a medium-specific feature, (b) reduction of negative emotions as a crisis-specific affective feature of narrative engagement, and (c) identification with the organization as a cognitive feature of narrative engagement. Among these dimensions of audience engagement in crisis narratives, reduction of negative emotions (as emotional engagement) was a significant mediator that connected the impact of dialogic communication in crisis communication with all three aspects of positive postcrisis perceptions studied: (a) account acceptance, (b) positive attitudes toward the company, and (c) supportive WOM intentions. Perceived interactivity also significantly linked effects of openness to dialogic communication and salience of narrative structure with account acceptance and positive attitudes toward the organization. It is noteworthy that salience of narrative structure in crisis narratives led to the increase in perceived interactivity. Regarding supportive WOM intentions, identification with the company (i.e., self-company connections) was the strongest predictor of supportive WOM intentions. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that presenting narratives can be effective in crisis communication. After reading crisis narratives, participants negative emotions against the company in crisis were significantly reduced across multiple dimensions (i.e., disappointment, frustration, anger, and madness). Several crisis communication studies have found that one of the most challenging but critical tasks for crisis managers is the reduction of negative emotions held by individual constituents, as a reduction of negative emotions is strongly linked with positive postcrisis outcomes (Coombs & Holladay, 2005, 2007). In the current study, it is possible that changes in both reduction of negative emotions and audiences attitudes toward the company were caused by a rather adverse, legalistic tone in the low openness to dialogic communication condition. As some might argue, it is conceivable that the effects of the high and low openness continuum condition may be

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exceedingly similar to the effects of a control group with no mention of openness for feedback. By not including a control condition, the current studys research design does not allow for ways to access such possible alternative explanations for the effects found. Future research can compare high openness to dialogic communication with a control condition to establish the causal effects of openness to dialogic communication. This study reported small effect sizes in case of direct effects from the three forms of crisis communication messages (i.e., salience of crisis narratives, openness to dialogical communication, and source credibility) on postcrisis outcomes. Especially, salience of crisis narratives and source credibility were found to have minimal effects on postcrisis outcomes. Future research can advance the current study by applying improved operationalization of crisis narratives and crisis source credibility. It is still interesting that crisis source credibility was found to be significant in account acceptance. However, source credibility needs to be reexamined about the degree to which it influences other attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. It is noteworthy to find that, when it comes to crisis communication, the effective use of invitational rhetoric, in openness to dialogic communication, can often convey greater concerns and sympathy toward victims and other publics. Therefore, we acknowledge that these greater concerns expressed in the high condition of openness to dialogue may have affected the results of the study. As past research has found, concern/sympathy is an effective crisis response strategy (Coombs & Holladay, 2008). Our findings indicate that invitational rhetoric can provide a useful framework to operationalize or to phrase such victim-centered strategies for the study of crisis communication. The results of this study suggest audience engagement in crisis communication can be more enhanced when crisisresponse strategies are using phrasing that reflects invitational rhetoric, which will bring out better postcrisis outcomes. Future research can further delve into how different phrasings of crisis response strategies, including the concept of invitational rhetoric, can differentiate effects of crisis response strategies in postcrisis outcomes.

Appendix A

Crisis Situation Description

SwizzKiss, an Upstate New York ice cream producer, is issuing a recall after 287 children have become ill from eating some of their product at local elementary schools. Fifty-two children have been hospitalized and three are in serious condition. The company is urging parents to take their child to a doctor immediately if their child is feeling nauseous and has had SwizzKiss ice cream recently. The cause of the food poisoning is still unknown. The contaminated ice cream was delivered to the schools on Monday and the first cases of food poisoning were reported on Wednesday. In response to these reports, SwizzKiss issued a recall Thursday morning. After more reported cases on Thursday, the company issued a full recall on Friday. SwizzKiss is in cooperation with local authorities and the Food and Drug Administration to find the cause. In accordance with company safety procedures, all machinery has been disinfected. The company is not sure how many pints are affected.

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Authorities are looking into the possibility that a truck carrying SwizzKiss ingredients had previously held contaminated raw eggs. As a precaution, the trucking company has disinfected all of its trucks.

Appendix B

Blog Snapshots of Experimental Conditions B-1. Blogger Credibility

High blogger credibility

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B-2. Salience of Crisis Narratives

High narrative structure

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B-3. Openness to Dialogic Communication

High openness communication

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Low openness communication

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494 Declaration of Conflicting Interests

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The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.

Notes
1. Related to the topic of blog posts, 94.3% of participants reported that they eat ice cream, and 27.8% of participants reported that they eat ice cream often. 2. After participants read all blog posts, emotional reactions were measured again on the identical scales. 3. The reduction of negative emotions can be attributed to experimental materials except for infuriated and enraged: disappointed, Mpre = 4.14, Mpost = 3.56, t(279) = 4.98, p < .001; frustrated, Mpre = 3.49, Mpost = 3.15, t(279) = 3.15, p < .01; angry, Mpre = 3.04, Mpost = 2.69, t(278) = 3.17, p < .01; mad, Mpre = 2.91, Mpost = 2.54, t(277) = 3.52, p < .001; infuriated, Mpre = 2.24, Mpost = 2.09, t(279) = 1.58, ns; enraged, Mpre = 2.13, Mpost = 2.04, t(278) = 0.92, ns. 4. When conducting MANOVA on the multivariate set of six negative emotion items = .953, F(6, 276) = 2.37, p < .05, partial 2 = .05the openness to dialogic communication reduced all negative emotions significantly except for frustrated (p = .065; a close statistical trend): disappointed, F(1, 276) = 9.41, p < .01, partial 2 = .03; angry, F(1, 276) = 8.30, p < .01, partial 2 = .03; mad, F(1, 276) = 8.65, p < .01, partial 2 = .03; infuriated, F(1, 276) = 5.26, p < .05, partial 2 = .02; and enraged, F(1, 276) = 5.11, p < .01, partial 2 = .02. 5. Holbert and Stephenson (2002) cited Hu and Bentler (1999), saying, When a sample size is greater than 250, researchers many choose to combine standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) with the root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA). In this case, the SRMR should be close to .09 and the RMSEA close to .06 or less (p. 537). The results of model fit indices indicated that the model can be retained as a valid model.

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Bios
Sung-Un Yang received his PhD in Communication from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is an assistant professor of public relations at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. His research interests include public relationships, organizational/country reputation, and digital/social media and communication effectiveness. Minjeong Kang is a doctoral candidate at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. Her research focuses primarily on public engagement in the context of corporate public relations. Philip Johnson is a PhD student with specialization in public relations and social media at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communication, Syracuse University. His research interests include public relations management in digital/social media.

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