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The purpose of this study is to identify the structural processes that lead citizens to escape their common social circles when talking about politics and public affairs (e.g. “filter bubbles”). To do so, this study tests to what extent political attitudes, political behavior, news media consumption and discussion frequency affect discussion network heterogeneity among US citizens.

Supported by the polling group Nielsen, this study uses a two-wave panel online survey to study the antecedents and mechanisms of discussion network heterogeneity among US citizens. To test the hypotheses and answer the research questions, ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions (cross-sectional, lagged and autoregressive) and mediation analyses were conducted.

The findings imply that political discussion frequency functions as the key element in explaining the mechanism that leads politically interested and participatory citizens (online) as well as news consumers of traditional and online media to seek a more heterogeneous discussion network, disrupting the so-called “filter bubbles.” However, mediation analyses also showed that discussion frequency can lead to more homogenous discussion networks if people score high on political knowledge, possibly reflecting the formation of a close network of political-savvy individuals.

The survey data give important insights into the 2016 pre-election situation, trying to explain why US citizens were more likely to remain in homogenous discussion networks when talking about politics and public affairs. By using two-wave panel data, the analyses allow to draw tentative conclusions about the influential and inhibiting factors and mechanisms that lead individuals to seek/avoid a more heterogeneous discussion network.

In today's risk society, foundations are essential for sustaining democracies. However, the proof of a value-creating function of foundations is rarely assessed. Therefore, this study uses sensemaking theory and the communication value framework to explore to what extent a foundation achieved its overall mission in tackling societal challenges as opportunities.

This study employs a case study approach of a Swiss foundation. Through 20 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, insights about the value-creating function of the foundation were gained, showing how strategic communication activities contributed to the foundation's overall mission in various spheres of action.

The stakeholders overall identified a value-creating function of the foundation. The feedback obtained from the interviews could be structured along the lines of the communication value framework, with minor adjustments, showing that the foundation brought about value through its strategic communication regarding tangible assets (e.g. publicity), intangible assets (e.g. unique reputation), room for maneuver (e.g. renowned network) and opportunities for development (e.g. new formats). However, on each level, value-limiting factors have also been identified (e.g. limited publicity).

This study is the first to employ sensemaking theory to assess a foundation's value-creating function in achieving its overall mission by interviewing direct stakeholders. It is also one of the few studies in the field that analyzes strategic communication of foundations. Thus, this study adds methodological, theoretical and practical knowledge to foundation communication, value-creation and strategic communication management.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships of news media coverage and the performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Germany. The aim is to find out how media attention, media sentiment, corporate information, and recency of news are related to the flotation performance of firms that go public.

50 IPOs that went public in Germany between January 2011 and December 2015 were investigated. In total, 3,644 German speaking articles dealing with the IPOs were manually analyzed. Hierarchical OLS regressions were performed to find out how news media variables relate with the flotation performance of German IPOs (cf. underpricing, share price percentage gain after second day of trading). It was furthermore distinguished between news media coverage six days prior to the IPO and coverage on the day of the IPO itself.

While more media attention devoted to the IPOs on the day of their flotation might lead to a share price percentage gain after the second day of trading, negativity in the news media and information about new products and products of the IPO firm might be negatively related with their flotation performance. However, information about the strategy change of the IPO firms seems to be positively related with the underpricing of IPOs. Furthermore, news media coverage on the day of the IPO itself seems to be more influential for the flotation performance with regard to negative sentiment and information about new products.

Financial communication professionals should manage media representations of IPO firms before and on the day of the IPO itself. In this vein, negative media coverage should be prevented and information about new products and products of the IPO firm should be considered with caution. Instead, talking about the strategy of the IPO firm might be advantageous for the flotation performance.

This study evolved from a lack of empirical research on the interrelationships between news media and stock market prices in communication science, particularly with regard to IPOs. The study contributes to previous research in paying attention to corporate information and the recency of news when trying to explain IPO performances. The findings of this study provide implications for strategic financial communication and the role of managing news media of firms that go public.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a synthesis for investor relations (IR) research on how to understand, conceptualize and build trust relationships between companies and the financial community within the practice of IR. In doing so, a working definition of the role of trust for IR, a conceptual model as well as strategies on how to establish, maintain and foster trust relationships within IR are proposed. Furthermore, a brief research alley is sketched to inspire more corporate communication scholars to conduct empirical studies in this field of research.

The paper is based on a thorough literature review on empirical and theoretical work in the field of IR, strategic financial communication as well as related disciplines such as public relations, marketing and business research. Furthermore, the literature from other disciplines dealing with trust in the organizational context (economics, psychology, sociology) has been reviewed to develop a working definition for the role of trust in IR.

The following supposition for the role of trust in IR has been worked out: “Trust relationships within investor relations manifest themselves on a micro-, meso-, and macro-level and involve interactions with various individual actors, groups of people, organizations, institutions, and systems. Within these trust interactions, investor relations presents itself simultaneously three-fold: as a discipline, an organization and as individual practitioners.”

To support the establishment, maintenance and fostering of trust relationships, IR needs to provide honest, transparent, comprehensive and coherent information to be in continuous, direct and mutual contact with stakeholders (e.g. investors, analysts, CEOs) and to endeavor a fair representation of the company in the media and among the public.

Facing recent changes in the media, regulatory and corporate environment, this conceptual paper provides a thorough discussion of the role of trust in the field of IR. The working definition, the conceptual model as well as the practical strategies to build trust relationships provided in this paper might help IR to overcome these challenges. The call for more research in this area and the actual employment of the suggested trust building strategies might contribute to fostering trust relationships in the financial markets, thereby contributing to a more sustainable financial system in the long run.

The purpose of this paper is to research how corporate communication regarding a specific corporate event (i.e. Tesla’s tweets about a new product) as well as the framing of both the event itself and the market reactions therewith in the news media influence the formation of the share price of the respective company over time. In so doing, the study provides insights into the nature of market-moving information and the role of financial news flows in shaping market reactions in today’s high-frequency news and information environment.

Using a multi-method case study approach, combining quantitative intraday event studies with a qualitative text analysis of financial online news and tweets by Elon Musk and Twitter, the authors shed light on the complex interaction between market events, financial information and stock market reactions. The analysis covers a period of four days, encompassing the announcement and introduction of the new battery pack for Model S and X by Tesla as well as the accompanying and follow-up reporting by the financial news media.

Findings show that market reactions are driven by business events and expectations among the market rather than the follow-up reporting by financial news media. Financial online news instead seems to heavily rely on Elon Musk’s attention-triggering news to sustain its 24-h airtime with a variety of reporting tools, keeping the highly demanded audience engaged. Eventually, Twitter accounts of media visible companies and personalities, such as Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, have been found to be useful market information sources for day traders and shareholders to trade at a profit.

The study is a response to recent discussions about the legitimacy of Twitter communication by CEOs or representatives of listed companies. The findings show that Twitter communication needs to be well considered in light of strict market regulations (e.g. SEC in the USA) regarding insider-trading and the publication of market-relevant information. In addition, corporate financial communication should avoid impetuous communication via social media channels as this could have deterrent effects on the market valuation of a listed company.