Jiang Xiaoyu, Pang Shougui, Kamarudin Syafila, Li Shuhui, Wang Kai
School of Humanities, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Sichuan, 643000, China.
Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, University Putra Malaysia, Selangor, 43400, Malaysia.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 2;15(1):22579. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-07307-9.
Higher education institutions experiencing organizational misconduct frequently need to communicate with the public to reduce reputation damage and diminishing supportive intentions. Whether such information should be abstract or concrete is still being debated. This study investigates the effectiveness of organizational information strategy through an online factorial experiment, grounded in the principles of situational crisis communication theory and construal-level theory. The findings indicate that concretely developed information strategies are more effective when the organization is viewed as psychologically close to (rather than distant from) the public. Similarly, abstractly articulated information strategies work better when the organization is viewed as psychologically near. Finally, research reveals that information strategy exerts a greater influence on organizational reputation and supportive intention than temporal and spatial distance. By including information construal levels and psychological distance in crisis response strategies, this study provides helpful guidance for universities to manage crises efficiently.
经常出现组织不当行为的高等教育机构往往需要与公众沟通，以减少声誉损害并降低支持意愿的下降。此类信息应该是抽象的还是具体的，仍在争论之中。本研究基于情境危机沟通理论和解释水平理论的原则，通过在线析因实验来探究组织信息策略的有效性。研究结果表明，当组织被认为在心理上与公众接近（而非疏远）时，具体制定的信息策略更有效。同样，当组织被认为在心理上距离较近时，抽象表述的信息策略效果更佳。最后，研究表明，信息策略对组织声誉和支持意愿的影响比时间和空间距离更大。通过将信息解释水平和心理距离纳入危机应对策略，本研究为大学有效管理危机提供了有益的指导。
