How a corporate online crisis response affects public communication behavior: the mediating role of emotions

This article proposes a “response–emotion–communication” model integrating situational crisis communication theory and emotion dimension theory to examine how corporate crisis response strategies and response framing shape public emotion and communication behavior. It empirically tests the mediating role of seven discrete emotions that are high-arousal (anger, fear, happiness, and surprise) or low-arousal (disgust, sadness, and liking). Study 1 analyzed 515 corporate posts on Sina Weibo, and Study 2 implemented a 2 (strategy: deny vs. rebuild) × 2 (frame: rational vs. emotional) experiment to establish causality. Results show rebuild strategies increase communication via anger, fear, and sadness, while deny strategies operate through disgust. Response framing moderates these emotional pathways. This research advises firms to monitor key emotions and align strategies with frames to improve crisis communication.