Sociala medier innebär både stora hot och möjligheter. Möjligheterna är större än någonsin för organisationer att integrera med sina intressenter och utifrån det bygga starka relationer. Samtidigt innebär den snabba spridning av information som kanalerna innebär ett hot för organisationer. Att rykten eller kritik uppstår och växer sig starka i sociala medier är en stor fara och utmaning för organisationer världen över. Ryktesspridning och konflikter kan motverkas genom att organisationen kommunicerar öppet och trovärdigt. I studien studeras hur företag arbetar med frågor, kritik och feedback genom dialog i sociala medier. Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur utvalda svenska företag arbetar med frågor, kritik och feedback genom dialog i sociala medier för att stärka sina kundrelationer. Studien besvarar följande frågeställningar: • Hur beskriver de utvalda företagen sitt arbete med frågor, kritik och feedback genom dialog i sociala medier? • Hur ser innehållet ut i företagens arbete med frågor, kritik och feedback genom dialog i sociala medier? Frågeställningarna besvarades med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod. Studien inleddes med att vi genomförda kvalitativa samtalsintervjuer med representanter för de utvalda svenska företagen Com Hem, TeliaSonera, Trygg-Hansa och Ving. I intervjuerna fick respondenterna möjlighet att beskriva företagets arbete med frågor, kritik och feedback. Därefter studerades innehållet i företagens kommunikation i sociala medier genom att vi genomförde kvalitativa innehållsanalyser i Twitter, Facebook och bloggosfären. Studiens resultat visar att sociala medier har blivit en etablerad kanal för företagens arbete med frågor, kritik och feedback. Företagen arbetar kontinuerligt med att besvara frågor, kritik och feedback, vilket ligger i linje med hur konflikter och osäkerhet hos intressenter bör hanteras. Det förekommer både likheter och skillnader mellan företagens arbete. Genomgående är arbetet inte är ett utryck av spontana infall utan grundar sig i en strategi. Företagen anpassar sig till omständigheterna i sociala medier och använder sig av personliga budskap. Överlag visar företagen på en förståelse för sociala mediers förutsättningar och utnyttjar möjligheterna till dialog. Hur aktiva företagen är i arbetet med frågor, kritik och feedback skiljer sig till viss del dem emellan. Det finns även skillnader i hur arbetet ser ut mellan de olika sociala medierna. Tonen i dialogen som företagen deltar i på Facebook och Twitter är mestadels positiv. I bloggosfären är företagens arbete framförallt inriktat på att kommunicera med missnöjda kunder. Ett problem med arbetet i sociala medier är att det är svårt att utvärdera om det faktiskt påverkar relationen företag och kunder.

The premise that the continued existence of organisations in a democracy depends on both the tacit and the explicit approval and opinions of their many publics is fundamental to public relations theory. Furthermore, the challenge of coping with the potential constraints and opportunities of public opinion as an aspect of the organisational environment is essential to contemporary public relations practice. While the term "public opinion environment" appears intermittently in scholarly and trade publications, the dimensions and characteristics of this aspect of organisational environments remain largely unspecified. This thesis explores two challenges--the first is to conceptualise and measure variation in an important aspect of contemporary organisational environments, the public opinion environment, and the second is to investigate the influence of that environment on the critical and often highly exposed relationships between organisations and activist publics. In suggesting a relationship between variation in the environment and the evolutionary pathways of organisational relationships, the perspective underpinning this thesis is both ecological and evolutionary. Ecological analyses of organisations assume that members of a population are affected similarly by environmental change and share a common dependence on the material and social environment. Consistent with this perspective, this thesis explores the public opinion environment and the organisation-activist relationships therein longitudinally at the population level of analysis. The focal organisational population is Australia's major banks, and the period of interest extends from 1981 to 2001. An evolutionary model of organisation-activist relationships (EOAR) is developed, and the propositions derived from this model are explored using a comparative case study approach. These propositions anticipate and specify associations between variations in dimensions of the public opinion environment of an organisational population and the evolution of organisation-activist relationships in the population. Central to understanding the public opinion environment of an organisational population are the issues around which activist publics organise, public opinion develops, and organisation-activist relationships emerge. Then, the public opinion environment is conceptualised as a set of issues that concern Australia's major banks and their publics. Variations in this "issue set," are described using four dimensions: stability (turnover of issues), complexity (the number of issues in the issue set), intensity (volume of media coverage), and direction (favourability of media coverage for the focal population). To explore the propositions of the EOAR model, I have analysed the variations in these four dimensions in relation to the evolution of organisation-activist relationships. To observe and describe this evolution, I have located the state of these relationships on a conflict continuum using relationship-signalling statements made by organisations and activists and published by the media. Three cases studies from the same organisational population, Australia's major banks, are compared over three different but consecutive seven-year periods from 1981 to 2001. The case studies involved the extensive review of industry reports, submissions and other documents from several government inquiries, and scholarly articles, as well as the content analysis of more than 6, 500 newspaper articles published during each of the three case study periods. The findings of this comparative case study suggest that variations in some dimensions of the public opinion environment of an organisational population are associated with the evolutionary ecology of organisation-activist relationships in that population. However, the associations are more complex than was anticipated by the original propositions of the EOAR model; thus refinements to the model are advanced for further investigation. A primary contribution of this study is that it provides the theoretical apparatus and tools to systematically explore, interpret, and measure variation in the issues comprising the public opinion environment and to track the evolving organisation-activist relationships organised around those issues. Because the population level of analysis and a longitudinal lens are applied, this conceptualisation of the public opinion environment effectively captures and specifies the overlapping and persistent nature of issues. The evidence of this study suggests that when issues have emerged in the public opinion environment at the population level of analysis, they are likely to persist as a hub around which publics organise, providing a focus for discussions and debates for years to come. This persistence, "issue-set inertia," has important implications for organisational relationships. Given these conditions, organisations can monitor and manage their responses to issues. However, it is naïvely optimistic at best to accept the contention of issues management consultants and other pundits that organisations can manage the issues themselves. Furthermore, the findings of this study call into question the value of advice that encourages organisations to deal with issues by seeking to avoid engaging with their activist publics and by downplaying the issues in the media.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

<p>The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine how nonrenewable energy companies frame and manage the issue of climate change in their online communication, specifically sustainability reports. The issue cycle framework was applied through a rhetorical analysis to determine where coal and oil/gas companies place climate change in the issue cycle and subsequently manage the issue. Coal companies were determined to place climate change in lower stages of the issue cycle while oil/gas companies placed the issue later in the issue cycle. The issues management strategies of these companies also aligned with where they placed climate change in the issue cycle. This study then sought to understand the differences between the approaches of coal and oil/gas companies by examining factors such as financial standing, business models, and each industry’s publics.</p>

While issues management is an important area of research and practice in organizational communication and public relations, the literature focuses primarily on instrumental applications. Conceiving of issue networks--loose configurations of institutional actors, interest groups, organizations, technical specialists, and concerned citizens--as complex systems of interconnected agents offers a fresh perspective on the ways power and influence are exercised and negotiated among organizations, the media, and policymaking bodies. Combined use of social and semantic network analysis makes it possible to examine complex, dynamic linkages between social relationships and conceptual positions. This paper reports on a study of the organic foods issue network in the United States, based on the minutes of National Organics Standards Board meetings and media coverage of the issue. The use of textual as well as relational data allows for more sophisticated computations of patterns, providing insight on power structures as well as organizational and issue identities. This study is intended as a first step toward understanding the mechanisms of issue emergence and development as an aid for scholars and practitioners of media communication, organizational issues management, cultural economy, and policy studies. / Mass Media and Communication

The 18 September 2000 disclosure that StarLink corn, a genetically engineered variety not approved for human consumption, had been detected in food was a seminal event in agricultural biotechnology. This thesis presents a comprehensive case study of the StarLink incident (part one), reviews the StarLink situation in terms of crisis management theory (part two) and develops crisis management theory using the StarLink incident as an example of a crisis (part three). Part one provides background information, then a meticulous day-by-day account of StarLink-related events. Part two presents a detailed overview of crisis management theory, then examines the StarLink situation in terms of pre-crisis (warning signals, preconditions for a crisis, crisis trigger), crisis (how Aventis, the biotechnology provider, managed the crisis and opinions concerning crisis handling) and post-crisis (lessons learned). Part three develops crisis management theory using the StarLink situation as an example of a crisis. It evaluates whether the StarLink incident possessed characteristics predicted for modern crises and suggests other factors which may become more prevalent and significant in future crises. The StarLink incident delivers certain practical lessons for managers, regulators and others and demonstrates a number of characteristics of modern crises.

Denna studie bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med verksamma samhällskunskapslärare angående kontroversiella frågor i samhällskunskapsundervisningen. Bland respondenterna arbetar vissa lärare på yrkesinriktade och andra på studieförberedande gymnasieskolor. Resultatet visar att respondenterna ställer sig positiva till att arbeta med kontroversiella frågor, samtidigt som de uppfattar det som ett svårt ämne. Samtliga respondenter har erfarenheter av kontroverser som uppstått i klassrummet och har därför fått arbeta aktivt med kontrovershantering. I studien klargörs vad kontroversiella frågor är, hur man kan arbeta med det i klassrummet samt vad de tillfrågade anser vara viktigt i det arbetet. Detta kopplas till internationella forskningsresultat såväl som svenska. / This study is based on qualitive research interviews with actively working teachers in the subject civics about controversial issues in civics education. Among the respondents some work in labour-oriented upper secondary schools and others work in preparatory upper secondary schools. The result indicates that the respondents are positive about the work with controversial issues, meanwhile viewing it as a difficult topic. All of the respondents have experiences from controversial issues that has risen in the classroom, and therefore been dealing actively with controversial issues management. In the study the term controversial issues is clarified as well as how to deal with it in the classroom and what the respondents view as important in the process. This is connected to international as well as Swedish research findings.

Issues management has been practised over the past 30 years. However, the literature has focused on how corporations manage issues, while public service organisations have been ignored. This study looked at the issues management of a tephra dam-break lahar from 1996-2007 on Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand by a group of public service organisations. 19 interviews were conducted with people involved with the management of the ‘lahar issue’ to find out how the issue was managed. Further a content analysis of 309 articles from five newspapers, spanning the full eleven year period, was conducted to examine the salience (attention) given to the issue, the frames commonly used to present the issue and the sources who ‘drove’ the issue. The data from the content analysis was interpreted to create a five-stage lifecycle of the ‘lahar issue’. Further, data from the interviews was compared with a summary process of the issue management process. This comparison showed that five issues management process stages were employed to manage the ‘lahar issue’ although they were not referred to as such. Initially, the Department of Conservation consulted stakeholders during the development of options to deal with the lahar (1996-1999). Later in the lahar’s management, lahar stakeholders fell into two categories: internal - those involved with the mitigation and response - and external - the public. Internal stakeholders were communicated with through meetings and email. External stakeholders were communicated with through local media, presentations and meetings. Overall, it was concluded that media gave substantial attention to the lahar issue over the eleven year period. Some of those involved with managing the ‘lahar issue’ were able to identify the phases of media coverage. Further, this study identified ten frames that media employed when reporting the lahar. The most-frequently used frames were those focusing on the response (lahar response), describing the lahar (diagnosing causes of problem(s)) and discussing the potential impacts from a lahar (definition of problem(s)). Department of Conservation Scientist, Dr Harry Keys, was shown to be a primary definer – an influential source. The results suggest he defined coverage because of his status as both an official source, due to the organisation he was associated with, and also as an authoritative source due to his role as a scientist. Further, he was regularly drawn upon as a source over the entire period of the ‘lahar issue’ coverage.

<p>As one of Europe’s largest-producing actors in the energy sector with a wide energy mix, Vattenfall has a great responsibility to contribute to sustainable development of society. To do so, economical, environmental and social aspects need to be balanced in a responsible way. This is done through acting social responsible or in other terms, addressing corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the company’s business activities. Electricity and heat constitute one of the prerequisites for a modern society. However, it has always been a highly debated industry due to its inevitable impact on the environment and society. This makes it crucial for Vattenfall and its operations to act as responsible as possible and listen to the stakeholders and take their expectations into account in the business decisions process. Vattenfall has a long history of being criticised for its activities by NGOs and media. However, Vattenfall´s main task is to deliver electricity and heat to the society, which means that Vattenfall must continue to deliver secure energy supply to its markets, but with as little negative impact on the environment and society as possible.</p><p> </p><p>Vattenfall is through its operations, its value chain, its use of technology and the markets on which it operates, exposed to risks associated with the areas human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. These “CSR risks” can harm the reputation, brand and image if they are not managed in a proactive and effective way. In order to manage CSR risks and emerging CSR issues, the company needs to catch and respond quickly to new trends and expectations raised by opinion formers, which often are expressed through the media and the Internet. The aim of this study is to provide Vattenfall with a tool to do so. Through identifying the main CSR risks related to its operations, awareness about Vattenfall’s vulnerability areas are created. The result shows that the largest CSR risks for Vattenfall are technology related, i.e., connected to the fuels used in Vattenfall’s power plants and their value chain. This knowledge can be used when addressing CSR in the organization.</p><p>Still, a direct solution to manage CSR risks and emerging CSR issue is needed. The second purpose of this study is to propose a process for a CSR issues management at Vattenfall. The aim of such an issues management is to provide the company with a tool to identify, analyse and manage emerging issues. A CSR issues management will provide Vattenfall with a tool to respond to emerging issues before they become public knowledge. It should scan and collect external and internal information, identify relevant information for Vattenfall, monitor ongoing and emerging CSR issues/concerns/debates and report to relevant functions in the Vattenfall organization.</p>

As one of Europe’s largest-producing actors in the energy sector with a wide energy mix, Vattenfall has a great responsibility to contribute to sustainable development of society. To do so, economical, environmental and social aspects need to be balanced in a responsible way. This is done through acting social responsible or in other terms, addressing corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the company’s business activities. Electricity and heat constitute one of the prerequisites for a modern society. However, it has always been a highly debated industry due to its inevitable impact on the environment and society. This makes it crucial for Vattenfall and its operations to act as responsible as possible and listen to the stakeholders and take their expectations into account in the business decisions process. Vattenfall has a long history of being criticised for its activities by NGOs and media. However, Vattenfall´s main task is to deliver electricity and heat to the society, which means that Vattenfall must continue to deliver secure energy supply to its markets, but with as little negative impact on the environment and society as possible.   Vattenfall is through its operations, its value chain, its use of technology and the markets on which it operates, exposed to risks associated with the areas human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. These “CSR risks” can harm the reputation, brand and image if they are not managed in a proactive and effective way. In order to manage CSR risks and emerging CSR issues, the company needs to catch and respond quickly to new trends and expectations raised by opinion formers, which often are expressed through the media and the Internet. The aim of this study is to provide Vattenfall with a tool to do so. Through identifying the main CSR risks related to its operations, awareness about Vattenfall’s vulnerability areas are created. The result shows that the largest CSR risks for Vattenfall are technology related, i.e., connected to the fuels used in Vattenfall’s power plants and their value chain. This knowledge can be used when addressing CSR in the organization. Still, a direct solution to manage CSR risks and emerging CSR issue is needed. The second purpose of this study is to propose a process for a CSR issues management at Vattenfall. The aim of such an issues management is to provide the company with a tool to identify, analyse and manage emerging issues. A CSR issues management will provide Vattenfall with a tool to respond to emerging issues before they become public knowledge. It should scan and collect external and internal information, identify relevant information for Vattenfall, monitor ongoing and emerging CSR issues/concerns/debates and report to relevant functions in the Vattenfall organization.