Zed Ngoh

Bio: Zed Ngoh is an academic researcher from University at Buffalo. The author has contributed to research in topics: Social media & Information privacy. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 5 publications receiving 87 citations. Previous affiliations of Zed Ngoh include Singapore Institute of Management.

Do CSR Messages Resonate? Examining Public Reactions to Firms’ CSR Efforts on Social Media

Abstract: We posit a key goal of firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts is to influence reputation through carefully crafted communicative practices. This trend has accelerated with the rise of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, which are essentially public message networks that organizations are leveraging to engage with concerned audiences. Given the large number of messages sent on these sites, only some will be effective and achieve broad public resonance. Building on signaling theory, this paper asks whether and how messages conveying CSR-related topics resonate with the public and, if so, which CSR topics and signal qualities are most effective. We test our hypotheses using data on public reactions to Fortune 500 companies’ CSR-focused Twitter feeds, using the retweeting (sharing) of firms’ messages as a proxy for public resonance. We find resonance is positively associated with messages that convey CSR topics such as the environment or education, those that make the topic explicit through use of hashtags, and those that tap into existing social movement discussions.

How people protect their privacy on Facebook: A cost-benefit view

Abstract: Realizing the many benefits from Facebook require users to share information reciprocally, which has overtime created trillions of bytes of information online—a treasure trove for cybercriminals. The sole protection for any user are three sets of privacy protections afforded by Facebook: settings that control information privacy (i.e., security of social media accounts and identity information), accessibility privacy or anonymity (i.e., manage who can connect with a user), and those that control expressive privacy (i.e., control who can see a user's posts and tag you). Using these settings, however, involves a trade†off between making oneself accessible and thereby vulnerable to potential attacks, or enacting stringent protections that could potentially make someone inaccessible thereby reducing the benefits that are accruable through social media. Using two theoretical frameworks, Uses and Gratifications (U&G) and Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), the research examined how individuals congitvely juxtaposed the cost of maintaining privacy through the use of these settings against the benefits of openness. The application of the U&G framework revealed that social need fulfillment was the single most significant benefit driving privacy management. From the cost standpoint, the PMT framework pointed to perceived severity impacting expressive and information privacy, and perceived susceptability influencing accessibility privacy.

Graphic Violence as Moral Motivator: The Effects of Graphically Violent Content in News

Abstract: Common wisdom holds that graphic media violence leads to antisocial outcomes. This common wisdom is reflected in the Society for Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics. However, theory and research regarding moral emotions’ ability to increase moral sensitivity suggests that this type of negative content may be capable of yielding prosocial responses. This article describes this logic and tests its predictions in two experimental studies utilizing news footage of a mass execution conducted by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Results corroborate claims that graphic media violence can serve as a moral motivator. Higher levels of graphic violence led to stronger anger and disgust responses, which in turn predicted higher levels of (a) moral sensitivity, (b) desires for anti-ISIS interventions (including military and humanitarian efforts), and (c) eudaimonic motivations (i.e., seeking meaning in life). Important to note, no increases in negative attitudes toward Arab Muslims were observed. Theore...

The Impact of Interactive Corporate Social Responsibility Communication on Corporate Reputation

Abstract: markdown____ Companies increasingly communicate about corporate social responsibility (CSR) through interactive online media. We examine whether using such media is beneficial to a company's reputation. We conducted an online experiment to examine the impacts of interactivity in CSR messages on corporate reputation and word-of-mouth intentions. Our findings suggest that an increase in perceived interactivity leads to higher message credibility and stronger feelings of identification with the company, which also boost corporate reputation and word-of-mouth. This result implies that using interactive channels to communicate about CSR can improve corporate reputation. Our results also show that the detrimental impacts of negative user evaluations on corporate reputation are much higher than the favorable impacts of positive evaluations. This finding suggests that, despite the effectiveness of interactive communication channels, firms need to carefully monitor these channels.

Exploring Motivations for Online Privacy Protection Behavior: Insights From Panel Data:

Abstract: Personally managing and protecting online privacy has become an essential part of everyday life. This research draws on the protection motivation theory (PMT) to investigate privacy protective beha...