1. The Spiral of Silence
The Spiral of Silence is part of the social-psychological theory of public opinion. The concept was developed in the late 1960s by German pollster Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann and has sparked a considerable amount of research all over the world (Noelle-Neumann, 1974; Noelle-Neumann & Petersen, 2004; Donsbach, 2014). The logic of the Spiral of Silence concept is this: (1)
... [Show full abstract] People fear social isolation; (2) People constantly observe the climate of opinion to determine which opinions and what behavior are suitable for public display; (3) People refrain from publicly expressing their opinions if they feel that their opinion is losing ground; (4) While more and more followers of the losing opinion fall silent, their cause becomes less and less visible in public. A spiraling process ensues that has the power to marginalize an entire opinion camp.
Spiral of Silence research usually addresses communication in a political context. However, there have been examples where a company’s bad reputation started a Spiral of Silence, which made people afraid to purchase or use that company’s products and services. E.g., during the scandal around Shell’s attempt to sink the disused oilrig “Brent Spar” in the North Sea (Noelle-Neumann & Petersen, 2004, pp. 349-350), the very few people who obtained their fuel from Shell’s gas stations despite the boycott had to cope with insults and other abusive reactions by the public. This again deterred more and more people from defying the calls for boycott.
Even when there is no scandal or acute crisis, the Spiral of Silence is an important issue for corporations that already suffer from a damaged reputation. When public activities of critical organizations and mass media reports have created the image that a company is responsible for ecological or social problems (e.g. by damaging rain forests or by speculating on food prices), the fear of social isolation will make people shun and avoid those companies and their products.
2. Counteractive measures for corporations
Knowing how a Spiral of Silence works makes it possible (but still very difficult) for corporations to fight it. It is imperative to consider the following three factors and employ the appropriate countermeasures: (1) A Spiral of Silence is driven by emotions and ethical evaluations. Tackle ethical issues in a credible way and direct the debate into a matter-of-fact-style discourse. (2) Mass media fuel a Spiral of Silence; it cannot be stopped against the leading mass media outlets. Analyze the amount of coverage and the opinions voiced in the mass media. Intensify own image campaigns only after mass media attention abates. (3) Oftentimes, small but loud and active minorities (like critical NGOs etc.) fan the flames of a Spiral of Silence while the majority is indifferent. Activating this silent majority is an effective measure against the publicly dominating minorities (in many cases supported by the mass media). This can only be accomplished by long-term campaigns aiming at the involvement of the average citizen. Appealing to the average person’s way of life is a traditional means of involving people.
These measures are closely related to traditional means of (crisis-) communication management (cf. e.g. Coombs, 2013). However, the Spiral of Silence approach adds social psychological factors as well as indirect mass media influences to the corporate reputation management’s area of responsibility.
References
Coombs, W. T. (2013). Applied crisis communication and crisis management: Cases and exercises. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Donsbach, W. (Ed.). (2014). The spiral of silence: New perspectives on communication and public opinion. London: Routledge.
Noelle-Neumann, E. (1974). The spiral of silence: A theory of public opinion. Journal of Communication, 24(2), 43–51.
Noelle-Neumann, E., & Petersen, T. (2004). The spiral of silence and the social nature of man. In L. L. Kaid (Ed.), Handbook of political communication research (pp. 339–356). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.