Beyond Political and Managerial Goals: Unintended Consequences of Government Crisis Communication Strategies‐Evidence From Citizen Voice Behavior

ABSTRACT As an Interactive Meaning‐making public action, government crisis communication may produce unintended consequences beyond political and management objectives, yet existing research has paid little attention to this aspect. This paper examines the unintended consequences of government crisis communication in the context of digital governance by starting with citizens' voice behavior. The study finds that compared to reputation‐oriented crisis communication strategies, public‐oriented crisis communication strategies are more effective in enhancing citizens' constructive voice behavior; political efficacy mediates the impact of government crisis communication strategies on citizens' voice behavior; the effect of different crisis communication strategies on voice behavior varies depending on citizens' attribution tendencies. The more citizens attribute crisis events to external, unstable, and uncontrollable factors, the more pronounced the effect of public‐oriented crisis communication strategies in promoting voice behavior.