The Resilient Versus the Resistant Approach to Social Media Storms

Managers often struggle in the attempt to cope with social media-driven crises by muting negative mentions of their companies or brands. We contribute to the management and technology research by conceptualizing--from a cognitive perspective--why the traditional crisis management approach is inefficient in the context of social media storms (SMS). However, traditional crisis management approach may still be applied by organizations due to the cognitive undercurrents of the resistant mindset of their managers. Based on insights from cognitive psychology, strategic management, and communication this conceptual paper illustrates why the resilient mindset, reflecting an inclusive understanding of customer emotions, social media, and empowerment, may better enable organizations to “ride the social media storm”. These findings suggest managers to reconsider the nature and management of business-stakeholder interaction in the digital age. We therefore suggest how resistant managers can change their mindset to leverage on critical customer attacks and to grasp the efficacy of resilience. The developed frameworks will enable managers to identify their mindset, face the psychological barriers, and develop more inclusive management perspectives.