Assessment of Social Media Usage on Corporate Reputation during a Crisis: A Case of 2017/2018 Strike at Daystar University

Abstract

This study purposed to assess social media usage by the Daystar University and students during the 2017/2018 crisis at the University, and whether the usage influenced the corporate reputation of the University. The research objectives were to determine how social media was used, examine crisis communication management during the crisis, and assess the effects of social media usage. Using Coombs situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) and the social mediated crisis model (SMCM), the researcher sought to establish the crisis response strategies adopted during the crisis. The study employed a descriptive research design. Stratified random sampling was utilized to sample 120 respondents for the questionnaires, while purposive sampling was used to select 4 respondents for the interviews. Findings indicated that 51.7% of the students used social media to get information on the crisis and 61.8% of the respondents cited that the university did not effectively use SM during student’s unrest. Interview findings indicated that social media usage by the students affected the institution’s reputation. The study recommends that the university develops a social media strategy for future use in case of a crisis. Such a strategy would ensure that the organization utilizes the platforms appropriately and adequately to minimize the adverse effects of a crisis. The SCCT crisis response strategy can be adopted and tweaked to meet an organization needs when managing crisis communication on social media. Social media platforms can be utilized to monitor for potential threats and conflicts, to avoid such crisis from pro-longing or before conflicts morphs into a full-blown crisis which can eventually damage institutions reputation