Organizational Threat Appraisal by Publics: The Effects of Perceived Temporal Distance on Health Crisis Outcomes

Abstract

The current study advances understanding of how organizational threat affects the way publics respond to a health crisis. To this end, we investigated the influence of perceived temporal distance from organizational threat on crisis outcomes (i.e., organizational reputation, crisis emotions, and supportive behavioral intention) and the role of perceived health threat in this relationship. The findings of an experimental study (N = 239) indicate that perceived temporal distance from organizational threat is negatively associated with crisis emotions and positively related to supportive behavioral intention. In addition, mediation analysis revealed indirect effects of perceived temporal distance on supportive behavioral intention via crisis emotions. The indirect effects through crisis emotions and the direct effect of temporal distance on supportive behavioral intention are also contingent on perceived health threat. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.