Social Media Conflicts During the Financial Crisis: Managerial Implications for Retail Banks

Social media can be used proactively to disseminate accurate corporate information and address undesirable consumer behaviors online in order to help counteract negativity in the business environment in the wake of a financial crisis. Social media thus has become a popular open forum for financial institutions such as retail banks to engage in corporate dialogue with consumers. We recommend that financial services firms preemptively use their social media‐based online communities in order to disseminate accurate corporate information in times of a financial crisis. Particularly, firms can choose between a range of reactive and proactive strategies to manage social conflict in the wake of a financial crisis.