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This study examined corporate communication strategies designed to effectively address routine consumer complaints on social media and transform them into relationship-building opportunities. Drawing from relationship maintenance and conflict/crisis communication literature, two communicative approaches were explored: relational strategies (communicated relational commitments and conversational voice) and accommodative strategies.

A nationwide US consumer survey was conducted to test the proposed model.

The results showed that communicating relational commitments directly enhances consumer trust and fosters supportive intentions. Additionally, using a conversational voice indirectly influenced these outcomes through the mediating factor of perceived humanness. The accommodative strategy also effectively fostered trust and supportive intentions among consumers.

This study extends the application of relational maintenance strategies to online consumer complaints. Though conversational voice does not address core complaint issues, the findings reveal its positive ripple effects via perceived humanness. The study clarifies prior inconsistencies in research on accommodative vs defensive strategies for handling online complaints, offering practical insights for organizations to strengthen customer relationships through effective complaint management.

This study, informed by the Situational Crisis Communication Theory, aims to suggest two primary response strategies that can be used for effective internal crisis communication during a pandemic situation, such as COVID-19. The effect of base response strategies on employees' perceptions of communication quality, leadership and relational outcomes were investigated.

An online survey of full-time employees in the United States was conducted.

The findings showed that for an instructing information strategy, not all types of information were equally associated with positive employee responses in terms of perceived quality of internal communication related to the COVID-19 pandemic and transformational leadership. Specific information that employees need to know in order to safely perform daily tasks, such as organizational protocols and thorough preparation, seem to be the most needed and desired information. Adjusting information was positively associated with employee perceptions of internal communication quality and perceptions of CEO leadership. Employees' perceived quality of internal communication affected by the base crisis response strategies were positively correlated with perceptions of transformational leadership and relational outcomes (i.e. employee trust in the organization, employee perceptions of the organization's commitment to relationships with employees, employee support for organizational decision-making related to COVID-19).

This study presents important theoretical and practical insights through an interdisciplinary approach that applies the theoretical framework and relationship-oriented outcomes of public relations to public health crisis situations.