Shipping industry's sustainability communications to public in social media: a longitudinal analysis
Except for the catastrophic accidents that have made headlines, public's knowledge about the shipping industry remains limited. As a result, the public may form an unjust stereotype of the industry as ‘polluting’ and ‘unsustainable’, which reduces the industry's attractiveness to its poten...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159732 |
| _version_ | 1826112645159190528 |
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| author | Wang, Xueqin Wong, Yiik Diew Li, Kevin X. Yuen, Kum Fai |
| author2 | School of Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| author_facet | School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Wang, Xueqin Wong, Yiik Diew Li, Kevin X. Yuen, Kum Fai |
| author_sort | Wang, Xueqin |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Except for the catastrophic accidents that have made headlines, public's knowledge about the shipping industry remains limited. As a result, the public may form an unjust stereotype of the industry as ‘polluting’ and ‘unsustainable’, which reduces the industry's attractiveness to its potential employees and indirect customers (i.e. end-consumers). It is high time for the industry to shape its public image by not only acting sustainably but also communicating the same to the public. Thus, this study examines the shipping industry's sustainability communications in social media focusing on the Twitter interactions between the top container liners and the public. Adopting the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a normative framework, this study analyses the strategic fit of the sustainability communications by top shipping companies internally (i.e. consistency with core business) and externally (i.e. consistency with public expectation). A combined method of qualitative content analysis and quantitative statistic test is employed. Our findings suggest a trend of diversification in shipping companies' sustainability communications which gradually extend from SDGs related to the industry's core responsibilities to peripheral responsibilities. Contrarily, a trend of convergence in the public's response is observed where the public's attention is increasingly diverted from SDGs pertaining to the industry's peripheral responsibilities to the core ones. Based on the opposite trends, theoretical and managerial implications for maritime scholars and industry players are discussed; Sustainable communication strategies for the shipping industry are highlighted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:10:29Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/159732 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:10:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1597322022-06-30T06:09:54Z Shipping industry's sustainability communications to public in social media: a longitudinal analysis Wang, Xueqin Wong, Yiik Diew Li, Kevin X. Yuen, Kum Fai School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Engineering::Civil engineering Sustainability Communications Social Media Except for the catastrophic accidents that have made headlines, public's knowledge about the shipping industry remains limited. As a result, the public may form an unjust stereotype of the industry as ‘polluting’ and ‘unsustainable’, which reduces the industry's attractiveness to its potential employees and indirect customers (i.e. end-consumers). It is high time for the industry to shape its public image by not only acting sustainably but also communicating the same to the public. Thus, this study examines the shipping industry's sustainability communications in social media focusing on the Twitter interactions between the top container liners and the public. Adopting the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a normative framework, this study analyses the strategic fit of the sustainability communications by top shipping companies internally (i.e. consistency with core business) and externally (i.e. consistency with public expectation). A combined method of qualitative content analysis and quantitative statistic test is employed. Our findings suggest a trend of diversification in shipping companies' sustainability communications which gradually extend from SDGs related to the industry's core responsibilities to peripheral responsibilities. Contrarily, a trend of convergence in the public's response is observed where the public's attention is increasingly diverted from SDGs pertaining to the industry's peripheral responsibilities to the core ones. Based on the opposite trends, theoretical and managerial implications for maritime scholars and industry players are discussed; Sustainable communication strategies for the shipping industry are highlighted. Ministry of Education (MOE) Nanyang Technological University This research is funded by Nanyang Technological University, CEE internal seed fund (2019), which provides financial support for research manpower and data collection. This research is also supported by the Ministry of Education, Singapore, under its Academic Research Fund Tier 1 (Project ID, RS03/19). 2022-06-30T06:09:54Z 2022-06-30T06:09:54Z 2021 Journal Article Wang, X., Wong, Y. D., Li, K. X. & Yuen, K. F. (2021). Shipping industry's sustainability communications to public in social media: a longitudinal analysis. Transport Policy, 110, 123-134. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.05.031 0967-070X https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159732 10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.05.031 2-s2.0-85107548200 110 123 134 en RS03/19 Transport Policy © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
| spellingShingle | Engineering::Civil engineering Sustainability Communications Social Media Wang, Xueqin Wong, Yiik Diew Li, Kevin X. Yuen, Kum Fai Shipping industry's sustainability communications to public in social media: a longitudinal analysis |
| title | Shipping industry's sustainability communications to public in social media: a longitudinal analysis |
| title_full | Shipping industry's sustainability communications to public in social media: a longitudinal analysis |
| title_fullStr | Shipping industry's sustainability communications to public in social media: a longitudinal analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shipping industry's sustainability communications to public in social media: a longitudinal analysis |
| title_short | Shipping industry's sustainability communications to public in social media: a longitudinal analysis |
| title_sort | shipping industry s sustainability communications to public in social media a longitudinal analysis |
| topic | Engineering::Civil engineering Sustainability Communications Social Media |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159732 |
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