Online Posting Patterns in Emerging Technology Accidents: Social Media Response Insights

ABSTRACT The rapid advancement of emerging technologies has heightened risk management challenges facing technology firms, particularly in crisis communication contexts where public attributions of failure may diverge from investigative findings. Drawing on perceived risk theory and a public relations framework, this study examines consumer discussion topics and sentiment dynamics on social media following two autonomous driving‐related incidents involving Tesla (platform X) and Xiaomi (Weibo). Using web‐crawled secondary data and quantitative content analysis, we identify three salient cues through which consumers construct and interpret risk: CEO responses, accident scene content, and brand history. Findings reveal that discussion intensity typically peaks approximately 3 days post‐incident, collective sentiment is most positive during the early morning hours, and CEO communication timing and style should align with corporate culture. These results extend perceived risk theory by revealing the socially constructed nature of risk cognition in social media environments and offer practical guidance for crisis communication strategy and CEO personal branding.