Combating COVID-19 with charisma: Evidence on governor speeches in the United States.

Using field and laboratory data, we show that leader charisma can affect COVID-related mitigating behaviors. We coded a panel of U.S. governor speeches for charisma signaling using a deep neural network algorithm. The model explains variation in stay-at-home behavior of citizens based on their smart phone data movements, showing a robust effect of charisma signaling: stay-at-home behavior increased irrespective of state-level citizen political ideology or governor party allegiance. Republican governors with a particularly high charisma signaling score impacted the outcome more relative to Democratic governors in comparable conditions. Our results also suggest that one standard deviation higher charisma signaling in governor speeches could potentially have saved 5,350 lives during the study period (02/28/2020-05/14/2020). Next, in an incentivized laboratory experiment we found that politically conservative individuals are particularly prone to believe that their co-citizens will follow governor appeals to distance or stay at home when exposed to a speech that is high in charisma; these beliefs in turn drive their preference to engage in those behaviors. These results suggest that political leaders should consider additional "soft-power" levers like charisma-which can be learned-to complement policy interventions for pandemics or other public heath crises, especially with certain populations who may need a "nudge."

Political public relations, leadership, and COVID-19: A comparative assessment of Prime Ministers Ardern and Morrison on Facebook and Twitter

This study develops a definition of political public relations that incorporates concepts from leadership communication and crisis communication. It then applies this theoretical framework to the communication strategies employed by New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison during their early responses to the COVID-19 crisis. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine the frequency of various framing strategies shared via Twitter and Facebook, which aimed to persuade apprehensive citizens to comply with unprecedented stay-at-home orders to suppress virus transmission. The findings revealed that both leaders employed communication strategies consistent with models of effective communication during a major crisis but had notable differences in style, tone, and engagement. For instance, Ardern's greater use of rational strategies, performed authenticity, and empathy in her social media posts enabled her to reach a larger audience than Morrison. Ultimately, this paper argues that political public relations should encompass leadership and leadership communication to better understand how political leaders can manage future crises. • This study develops a definition of political public relaitons, that includes leadership communication and crisis communication. • It analyzes the social media communication strategies of two Prime Ministers during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, assessing their performances. • A core finding is that performed authenticity on social media channels increases message distribution and engagement. • The study provides detailed commentary on a range of rhetorical strategies for enhancing community resilience in crisis scenarios. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Public Relations Review is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Adoption of Social Media during Covid-19 Pandemic by African Presidents: A Cross-Sectional Study of Selected Facebook Accounts

This paper examined the adoption of social media to disperse information at the beginning of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Content analysis was employed to identify and select relevant posts for presidents of five African countries (Egypt, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Nigeria) from February to July 2020, which were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Results indicate that African leaders utilized Facebook mostly in April, posting majorly in text form about issues centered on diplomatic ties, information and orientation, and preventive measures. Followers were more inclined to share the posts than they react by emojis and comments based on Facebook account, post form, and post topic. The findings demonstratively uphold the significance of social media in leadership communication, highlighting ways by which frequent and dominant content can be directed in messages during a crisis. © The Author(s) 2022.

Adoption of Social Media during Covid-19 Pandemic by African Presidents: A Cross-Sectional Study of Selected Facebook Accounts

This paper examined the adoption of social media to disperse information at the beginning of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Content analysis was employed to identify and select relevant posts for presidents of five African countries (Egypt, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Nigeria) from February to July 2020, which were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Results indicate that African leaders utilized Facebook mostly in April, posting majorly in text form about issues centered on diplomatic ties, information and orientation, and preventive measures. Followers were more inclined to share the posts than they react by emojis and comments based on Facebook account, post form, and post topic. The findings demonstratively uphold the significance of social media in leadership communication, highlighting ways by which frequent and dominant content can be directed in messages during a crisis. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Communication in crisis: Communication practices of clergy in the LCMS during the COVID-19 crisis

This dissertation in practice sought to address the question, "What communication practices did clergy in the Michigan District of the LCMS employ during the COVID-19 crisis?" A literature review indicated that modern clergy members are expected to take on more leadership responsibilities beyond spiritual leadership than they are prepared to handle. Crisis events were also shown to be times when leadership was essential to the continuing function of an organization. There was a high level of expectation for church and school leaders to communicate with many audiences. The phenomenon of the clergy leading their organizations through an unexpected crisis warranted a qualitative investigation. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted. The researcher recruited eight senior-level clergy members in the Michigan District that led congregations with a dedicated parochial school. Interviews with participants were conducted using Zoom videoconferencing. Data were coded and analyzed to discover themes from the research. These themes were organized into four main themes: encouragement, formal and informal communication, who and what, and ability vs. willingness. The main findings of this study were that informal communication is vital to the success of an organization's ability to communicate with various audiences and that clergy need to be trained for future leadership expectations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Navigating change in the era of COVID-19: The role of top leaders' charismatic rhetoric and employees' organizational identification.

The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had tremendous and swift effects on organizational change. This study examined how organizations can leverage leadership and employee resources to facilitate positive change outcomes. Drawing from the self-concept based motivational theory of charismatic leadership and substitutes for leadership theory, the current study proposed a theoretical model connecting top leaders' charismatic rhetoric, employees' affective commitment to change, and employees' turnover intention. Furthermore, the study investigated contingencies that may modify the relationship between leadership communication and followers' outcomes. Results from an online panel of 417 U.S. employees showed that top leaders' use of charismatic rhetoric during change led to followers' affective commitment to change, which decreased their turnover intention. Furthermore, employees' organizational identification moderated this relationship. When employees have low identification with their organizations, top leaders' charismatic rhetoric to address the immediate change is more needed.