Social Media Posts on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Explosion: A Comparative Analysis of Crisis Framing and Sentiment in Three Nations

Abstract

This study explores the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 explosion crisis by analyzing posts on Twitter in three nations: the United States, Australia, and South Korea. Using the perspectives of generic frames, issue-specific frames, cross-national frames, and user sentiment on Twitter, this study analyzes 600 posts (200 from each nation). Results reveal that Twitter posts frequently framed the crisis using attribution, morality, and conflict frames. Posts about the explosion were more professional frame oriented than national frame oriented. Negative sentiment was dominant in Twitter posts about the explosion. Morality, corporate breakdown, and customer concerns were highly associated with negative sentiment. The results demonstrate how global users respond to a corporate crisis. Study implications and suggestions are discussed.