社群媒體下的企業聲譽與國家形象建立：台灣的新模型 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學國際事務學院外交學系國際關係組. 碩士論文. 社群媒體下的企業聲譽與國家形象建立：政治. 大. 立台灣的新模型. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. 指道教授：李明博士. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 研究生：朱顏. 中華民國一百年十二月.

(2) International Relations Master’s Program at Department of Diplomacy College of International Affairs National Chengchi University. Master’s Thesis. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. CORPORATE REPUTATION, NATIONAL IMAGE BUILDING AND TAIWAN IN SOCIAL MEDIA. ‧. A PROPOSED MODEL. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Supervisor: Dr. Ming Lee. Master’s Student: Zsuzsanna Mangu zsuzsannamangu@gmail.com. December 2011. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(3) CORPORATE REPUTATION, NATIONAL IMAGE BUILDING AND TAIWAN IN SOCIAL MEDIA A PROPOSED MODEL. A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty of the Diplomacy Department and the Faculty of the Graduate College of International Affairs National Chengchi University. 政治大. Taipei, Taiwan. 立. ‧ 國. 學. A Master’s Thesis. Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree. ‧. “Master of Arts” (M.A.) in International Relations. y. sit. io. by. n. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. Zsuzsanna Mangu Taipei, December 2011. Committee Members: Dr. Ming Lee Dr. Yeh-chung Lu Dr. Yan-yuan Ni. er. Nat. National Chengchi University. v.

(4) THESIS DECLARATION. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these. ‧. rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. original to this work.. Taipei, December 2011. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Zsuzsanna Mangu. i.

(5) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. This thesis is an outcome of an unforgettable period which I have spent in Taiwan. During these years I have met with a great amount of people who accompanied and supported me. I am especially grateful to my professors at the National Chengchi University who eventually guided my attention toward this research subject. My deepest thanks go to my supervisor, Dr. Ming Lee, a passionate and student-centered professor. Without his support and valuable comments this thesis could not have been accomplished. Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank another professor, also a member of my thesis committee, Dr. Yeh-chung Lu for his endless encouragement during my studies here and for his great suggestions on this work.. 政治大 I would like to acknowledge the external committee member, Dr. Yan-yuan Ni for his helpful 立readability of my thesis. suggestions which increased the ‧. ‧ 國. 學. My sincere thanks go to Dr. Gergely Salát and all other members of the faculty of the East Asian Studies Department at the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, who introduced me to Taiwan and supported my goal to study here.. sit. y. Nat. I am thankful to Valencia Cheng, secretary at the Department of Diplomacy at National Chengchi University for her patience and sustained assistance throughout my studies.. n. al. er. io. I would like to thank my best friend, Monika Filipova for making my stay here so enjoyable. I am grateful for the time we spent together.. i n U. v. I am greatly indebted to my mom and dad for all their love and encouragement and for giving me a motivation for learning.. Ch. engchi. Most of all, I would like give my special thanks to my fiancé, Benjamin Ryon for his faithful support and endless love. I highly appreciate all patience and understanding at the final stages of this thesis.. Zsuzsanna Mangu December 2011. ii.

(6) ABSTRACT CORPORATE REPUTATION, NATIONAL IMAGE BUILDING AND TAIWAN IN SOCIAL MEDIA A PROPOSED MODEL by Zsuzsanna Mangu M.A., Department of Diplomacy, International Relations Program Supervisor: Dr. Ming Lee. 立. Taipei, 2011 治政大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance of national image and corporate reputation and the interrelating power of the two on national competitiveness. In addition I hope to develop a model for the improvement of Taiwan’s nation branding project. The model points to the relevance of Social Media channels in nation branding projects. As a consequence of its increasing popularity and extensive usage, Social Media offers great opportunities for the reformation of public opinion. Data has been collected through a comprehensive literature review of research papers, websites and books on the two major subtopics: Social Media and image construction. Besides, analyses of reputation ranking lists prepared by organizations and the public were conducted. In addition, the paper also includes research through Facebook to examine branding practices. The research demonstrated the relevance of image/reputation, moreover the wideranging possibilities inherent in Social Media for exertion of influence. The data also showed that there is a broad public interest in product rankings of Tech Media Websites and that the top companies of those are usually distinct from the favorites of the official listings. The Facebook research did not show relevant differences between nation branding practices of the Taiwanese and the most reputable companies worldwide. The data showed that Taiwan has a good reputation in terms of technological development and product quality. This paper states that Taiwan should concentrate on these features instead of the promotion of tourist attractions, as a spillover effect will eventually lead to improvements in all aspects of national image. Based on the results of the study, this paper includes a nation-branding model for Taiwan and for other nations with similar characteristics to Taiwan. The model emphasizes the necessity of collaboration between the state and the corporate sphere in order to improve the image of both. Additionally, the model illustrates that an effective nation-branding project needs to exploit the tools provided by Social Media.. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Key Words: Acer, ASUS, Corporate Reputation, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Country-of-Origin Effect, HTC, Nation Branding, Nation Brand Effect, National Image, Social Media, Soft Power, Taiwan. iii.

(7) I. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Table of Contents. iv. II. List of Figures. vii. III. List of Tables. viii. IV. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms. ix. 1. Introduction. 1. 1.1 Background. 2. 1.1.1. The Growing Importance of Social Media. 1.1.2. Taiwan: From a Poor Agricultural Society to a Technological. 1.1.3. 3. Powerhouse. 4. Why do image and reputation matter?. 6. 1.2 Purpose of the Study. 立. 1.3 Problem Discussion. 政治大. 9. ‧ 國. 學. 1.4 Research Questions and Arguments. 9. 1.5 Methodology. 1.6 Scope and Limitations. ‧ y. Nat. 1.8 Definition of Key Terms. v i n Web 2.0 and UserCGenerated within the Concept of h e n gContent chi U n. 2.1.1. er. io. al. sit. 1.9 Thesis Composition 2.1 Understanding Social Media. 11 12. 1.7 Contributions. 2. Literature Review – Social Media. 10. Social Media. 13 14 16 18 19 19. 2.1.1.1 The ‘Social’ Dimension of Social Media. 21. 2.1.1.2 The ‘Media’ Component of Social Media. 22. 2.1.2. Types of Social Media. 23. 2.1.2.1 Blogs. 24. 2.1.2.2 Social Networking Sites (SNS). 25. 2.2 The Power of the Public. 26. 2.2.1. ‘Public Opinion’ and ‘Public Sphere’ in a New Context. 26. 2.2.2. Civic Discourse via Social Media. 30. 2.3 Social Media and Image Formation. 34. 2.4 Chapter Summary. 39. iv.

(8) 3. Literature Review – Image Construction. 40. 3.1 Studies on National Image 3.1.1. 41. Defining National Image. 41. 3.1.1.1 National Image Related Terms. 43. 3.1.2. The Country-Of-Origin Effect. 44. 3.1.3. Nation Brand and Nation Branding. 50. 3.2 Corporate Reputation and Related Concepts. 3.3. 56. 3.2.1. Differentiation of Image, Reputation, Identity and Brand. 57. 3.2.2. Defining Corporate Image and Corporate Reputation. 59. 3.2.3. Corporate Brand and Corporate Branding. 64. The Effect of National Image on Corporate Reputation. 66. 治政大 3.3.2 Positive or Negative Associations 立 3.4 Managing Dual Reputation. 67. 3.5. 73. 3.3.1. Purely Negative Associations. 67 70. ‧ 國. 學. Chapter Summary. 4. Methodology – An Analysis of Taiwan’s Image. ‧. 4.1 Design of the Study. 4.3.1.1 Anholt Nation Brand Index 2009. n. al. n U ngchi 4.3.1.3 Reputation Institutee2011. Ch. 4.3.1.2 Gallup Organization 2005. 80 80. er. National Image Study. io. 4.3.1. 78. y. Nat. 4.3 Analyzing Taiwan’s Current Image. 76. sit. 4.2 Soft Power as a Means for Taiwan’s Image Building. 75. iv. 81 82 85. 4.3.1.4 World Economic Forum – Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012. 87. 4.3.1.5 Analysis of Data. 90. 4.3.1.6 Nation Branding Comparisons. 90. 4.3.2. Corporate Reputation Analysis. 92. 4.3.2.1 Interbrand – Best 100 Global Brands. 93. 4.3.2.2 Reputation Institute – Global RepTrakTM 100. 95. 4.3.2.3 Rankings on Tech Media Websites/Blogs. 97. 4.3.2.4 Analysis of Data 4.3.3. Facebook Research of Corporations. 4.4 Chapter Summary. 103 105 110 v.

(9) 5. Findings and Conclusion. 112. 5.1 Building a New Nation Brand of Taiwan. 113. 5.2 Social Media as a Means for Taiwan’s National Image Building – A Proposed Model. 117. 5.3 Final Conclusion. 120. 5.4 Practical Implications. 121. V. Bibliography. 122. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. vi.

(10) II. LIST OF FIGURES. Figure 1:. Examples of Nation Branding Slogans. 7. Figure 2:. Examples of Taiwanese Nation Branding Slogans. 8. Figure 3:. The Circle of Participation in Social Media. 20. Figure 4:. Indicators of National Image Management. 55. Figure 5:. The Reputational Capital Model. 60. Figure 6:. Different Types of Corporate Images. 62. Figure 7:. Components of Corporate Reputation. 64. Figure 9:. Nation Brand Effect (NBE) Cycle. 學. ‧ 國. Figure 8:. 治政 The Hierarchy of Terms: Company, Brand大 and Product 立 Survey on Taiwan’s Image in Five Countries: US, Japan, UK, France, Germany. Gallup Poll, 2005. Nat. 84. y. Figure 11:. 71. 85. sit. The ‘Virtuous Circle’ of Reputation. 70. ‧. Figure 10:. 65. 89. Figure 13:. Taiwan’s Rank in Twelve Pillars of Competitiveness. Figure 14:. The Interbrand’s Method for Brand Assessment. Figure 15:. Seven Dimensions of Reputation. Figure 16:. Taiwan’s New Nation Branding Logo. 113. Figure 17:. Nation Brand Cycle in the Case of Taiwan. 115. Figure 18:. Proposed Model for Taiwan’s Nation Branding Project. 119. n. al. er. The 16 Key Attributes of Corporate Reputation. io. Figure 12:. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 95 95. vii.

(11) III. LIST OF TABLES. Classification of Social Media by Social Presence/Media Richness and Self-Presentation/Self-Disclosure. 23. Table 2:. The Common Features of Blogs and Social Network(ing) Sites. 26. Table 3:. Categorization of National Image Related Terms. 44. Table 4:. The Model of ‘Nation Brand’ and ‘Nation Branding’. 53. Table 5:. Polls and Reports Used to Evaluate Taiwan’s National Image. 80. Table 6:. Ranking Taiwan out of 50 Countries. Anholt Nation Brand Index, 2009 81. Table 7:. Survey on Taiwan’s Image in Five Countries: US, Japan, UK, France, Germany. Gallup Poll, 2005. 83. Table 8:. 2011-2012 GCR. The First 15 Most Competitive Country/Economy. 88. Table 9:. 2011-2012 GCR. Taiwan’s Rank in the 12 Pillars. 88. Table 10:. Official Rankings of Taiwanese Companies in 2010&2011. 93. Table 11:. Editor Rankings of Acer, ASUS and HTC on Tech Media Websites/Blogs in 2011. 98. 學. Table 14:. y. sit. n. al. er. A Comparison of Editor and User Ratings of Laptops on PC Magazine and CNET. io. Table 13:. ‧. Nat. Table 12:. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. Table 1:. Ch. n U engchi. iv. 100. A Comparison of Editor and User Ratings of Phones on PC Magazine and CNET. 101. Top Laptops by Average User Review on Amazon.com October, 2011. 102. Table 15:. Top Cell Phones (Unlocked) by Average User Review on Amazon.com October, 2011 103. Table 16:. Analysis of Top Taiwanese Companies’ and Worldwide Top Companies’ Facebook Pages between October 29-September 29, 2011 107. viii.

(12) IV. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CA:. Canada. CN:. China. CMKC:. Country of Manufacture of Key Component. COD/DC:. Country of Design. COM/MC:. Country of Manufacture. COO/OC:. Country-of-Origin. CSR:. Corporate Social Responsibility. e.g.:. Exempli Gratia = ‘for example’. esp.:. Especially. et al.:. Et alii = ‘and others’. etc.:. Et cetera = ‘and so on’. GCI:. Global Competitiveness Index. GCR:. Global Competitiveness Report. GDP:. Gross Domestic Product. ICT:. Information and Communication Technology. IT:. Information Technology. JP:. Japan. N/A:. Not available. NBE:. ‘Nation Brand Effect’. NBI:. ‘Nation Brand Identity’. No.:. Number. NR:. Not ranked. PR:. Public Relations. PRC:. People’s Republic of China. ROC:. Republic of China (Taiwan). SK:. South Korea. SM:. Social Media. SNS:. Social Networking Sites. TW:. Taiwan. UGC:. User Generated Content. US:. The United States. 學. Nat. n. er. io. al. sit. y. ‧. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. ix.

(13) 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. x.

(14) CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.1.1. The Growing Importance of Social Media. 1.1.2. Taiwan: From a Poor Agricultural Society to a Technological. 政治大. Powerhouse. Why do image and reputation matter?. 學. ‧ 國. 1.1.3. 立. 1.2 Purpose of the Study. ‧. 1.3 Problem Discussion. sit. y. Nat. 1.4 Research Questions and Arguments. io. er. 1.5 Methodology. 1.6 Scope and Limitations. n. al. 1.7 Contributions. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 1.8 Definition of Key Terms 1.9 Thesis Composition. 1.

(15) 1.1 . Background. National reputation influences individual companies’ ability to sell their products abroad, and at the same time, these products influence the country’s image and reputation as they appear in foreign markets. This ‘virtuous circle’ (Anholt, 2003: 134) greatly affects the national wealth of countries that rely on exports. Governments hold a vital position in this process and can benefit from collaborating with corporations to construct a fruitful national image. The practice of image construction has been greatly simplified and accelerated by the. 政治大 Social Media has grown beyond a simple communication tool and has emerged a 立. emergence of Social Media channels.. ‧ 國. 學. popular stage for discussion and observation of political and social issues. It has become an alternative to the manipulative power of mass media and has created a tool for the emergence. ‧. of a dominant transnational ‘public sphere’. However, the massive opportunities opened up Positive image. sit. y. Nat. for society are accompanied by dangers to the well-being of a nation.. al. er. io. cultivation; trust; marketing of local merchandise; attraction of foreign investment, tourism,. v. n. business, and international events etc. are major contributors to national economic stability.. Ch. engchi. i n U. By acknowledging the country-of-origin effect, local products are becoming associated with the nation itself, thus the company reputation, positive or negative, becomes a cognitive representation of the country. Social Media plays a significant role in this transfer process of reputation.. Using the words of Jeffrey Hollender, Executive Chair Person of Seventh. Generation, “Today… the brand lives in the mind of the dialogue that your consumers have about the company. It does not live on our website; it does not live in the press release” (Rowley J., 2009). In contrast to Malcolm Gladwell’s (Shirky, 2011b) main dilemma about the role of Social Media, this paper will pose the question of how the existing Social Media can be. 2.

(16) turned into an effective, constructive power source, thus ignoring the issue of how things would be without Social Media. Company image illustrates this process. Since people like to exchange their experiences with different products corporate reputations spread quickly. However, products are often associated with the country they come from, thus even a highquality product can be rejected if the country-of-origin has a bad reputation. Therefore, corporations and the government should intensively work together to establish a positive image not only for the local company but also for the nation itself. If such a high-level cooperation could be achieved, the nation, its products, its people etc. would highly benefit, since an image becomes reality as it becomes real in its consequences. This image must be. 治政大investors, tourists, students and persuasive enough to influence the decision of consumers, 立 thus, influence the overall well-being of a nation. ‧ 國. 學. The branding of national products and services is one of the main concerns of national. ‧. image building campaigns, but those are also concerns of the brands themselves.. By. y. Nat. collaborating to manage all the corporate reputational dimensions, such as Corporate Social. er. io. sit. Responsibility (CSR), the quality of products and services, financial efficacy and workplace environment, the country-of-origin effect can be enhanced to benefit both, the nation and the. n. al. local corporations.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 1.1.1. The Growing Importance of Social Media. The growing discussion surrounding New Media tools and the greatly increasing number of Social Networking Sites users inspired this thesis.. Innovations and hidden. opportunities in the field have especially important implications for a political entity like Taiwan, which is struggling for international recognition. Given the sensitivity of any formal discussion on Taiwan’s international political status, Social Media as a platform for an. 3.

(17) informal way of communication appear to be a promising alternative. Social Networking Sites (SNS), blogs, content communities etc. all provide an easy, fast and flexible way for people to announce news, facts, information as well as declare personal opinions. These new forms of information flow and education bring about new opportunities to influence the public not only domestically but internationally as well. Interpersonal networking affects and extends individual thinking, brings about changes in subjective opinions and attitudes, and contributes to the spread of knowledge. The rise of digital technology simplified and extended the ways how people can communicate with each other. Social Media tools’ effect. 立. 治政大 on political campaigning,. participation are the subject of much research.. elections, and political. However, Social Media, including text. ‧ 國. 學. messaging, e-mail sharing, social networking and so on, can be used for more complex goals, According to Katz and. ‧. influence opinions, shape perceptions and agitate civil society.. y. Nat. Lazarsfeld (1955) it is a two-step process: first, the media transmits facts and opinions and. er. io. sit. then, those are discussed among the society. The second step is the place in which Social Media can contribute just by being open to the public, posting information and opinions, and. al. n. v i n Ch letting everyone to participate in discussions. main U i question is how a nation can utilize e n gThec h these tools and turn them to its own advantage.. 1.1.2. Taiwan: From a Poor Agricultural Society to a Technological Powerhouse. In the 1950s Taiwan was a poor, underdeveloped, agricultural society and now it is one of the most competitive economies in the world. Today it ranks among the world’s top producers of information and communication technology (ICT) equipment with widely-. 4.

(18) known brands, a strong capacity for innovation, a strong level of primary and higher education, and an effective market of products (World Economic Forum GCR, 2011-2012). The small island has achieved such a development without significant natural resources in only a half century, through strong government intervention, an energetic and highly motivated private sector and effective human resources (e.g., high level of science and technology graduates) (Dahl and Lopez-Claros, 2005). Lin (2005, In: Dahl and Lopez-Claros, 2005: 107) originates its success in the ICT sector from two sequential ‘miracles’: First, Taiwan was transformed from an agricultural to an industrial economy between 1953 and 1986. Second, its low technology industries were. 治政大 forced to reposition abroad and were replaced by technology-intensive industries, especially 立 in the Information and Technology (IT) sector, between 1987 and 2000. ‧ 國. 學. Anholt (2005: 32-33) praises export promotion for the main success of the Taiwanese. ‧. brand names in the consumer electronics and IT industries. Anholt states that a small size is a. y. Nat. motivating power in the long run as export becomes a necessary element for growth. In order. er. io. sit. to boost exports and to compete with bigger economies, branding is essential. The winning strategies were the results of government intervention and central planning: first, excluding. al. n. v i n C hsectors, then imitating foreign imports in the less developed e n g c h i U foreign products and finally, boosting the exports of domestic brands. In addition, high saving rates, investing in education and health, and supporting the development of the private sphere (Anholt, 2005: 34) were also among the most notable conditions for development. Taiwan started to become a major player in the electronics industry in the 1980s. By 2001, its companies were already manufacturing 70 percent of all personal computer (PC) motherboards, 55 percent of all laptops and 56 percent of all liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors in the electronics industry (Berger and Lester, 2005: 4).. Today its high tech. 5.

(19) businesses, notably electronics, telecommunications, computers and peripherals, total up to more than half of Taiwan’s overall exports (Exporter Guide – Taiwan, 2011: 3). Taiwan’s ICT industry revenue in 2010 was US$424.6 billion, which represented a growth of 35.7% compared to 2009. More than half of this revenue came from sales in PC and handset sectors. According to information from the Taiwan Stock Exchange, there are at least ten companies forecasted to bring in more than US$5 billion in revenues in 2011. Smartphones, LCD TVs and handsets are seen as the top competitive products in the ICT industry. As for brands, Acer, ASUS and HTC are perceived to be the key companies to create new business models in order to upgrade Taiwan’s role in the IT industry. They are. 治政大 software developers to expected to “provide a strong product platform for international 立 cooperate and build upon” (MOEA, 2011). These companies were also ranked as the first ‧ 國. 學. three on the Interbrand’s Top Taiwan Brands List in 2010 and 2011 (Interbrand, 2010-2011).. ‧. n. al. y. er. io. sit. Nat. 1.1.3. Why do image and reputation matter?. i n U. v. The Reputation Institute claims that country reputation is essential in driving support:. Ch. engchi. building political diplomacy, attracting tourists, bringing in investments and supporting companies. In order to increase these effects, nations are branding themselves (Reputation Institute, 2011a: 4-6). The Reputation Institute determines three significant reputation drivers: (1) direct experiences, (2) things that the country does and says, and (3) things that others say about the country. These are elements that go into our mind and influence whether we trust, admire, and respect the country or how we feel about it overall. Positive feelings lead to support and result in an increase in tourism receipts, exports, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and GDP. Direct experiences come through familiarity with products or services, culture, place or. 6.

(20) people. Countries do and say things through branding, marketing, politics and PR. We hear about a country from NGOs, politicians, friends and family, or through traditional media and Social Media channels (Reputation Institute, 2011a: 10).. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Figure 1: Examples of Nation Branding Slogans. In the early 1990s Taiwanese nation branding concentrated on industrial power and technological competitiveness, since the 2000s, however, this focus shifted to an emphasis on nature, scenery, hospitality and so on, in short, the attraction of tourists (Amine and Chao, 2005: 196). Its slogan today – Taiwan: The Heart of Asia – stresses that Taiwan is the ‘centre’ of Asia with beautiful scenery, interesting architecture, kind people and good food. Many questioned the meaning and focus point of this new slogan, claiming that it does not tell anything to those who are unfamiliar with the place and does not express the differences 7.

(21) between Taiwan and other nations. Taiwan’s nation branding project is an issue to which I will return in Chapter 5.. 2001. 1997. 立. 2011. Figure 2: Examples of Taiwanese Nation Branding Slogans. Nat. sit. y. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 1992. 政治大. io. al. er. The corporate branding model works similarly to nation branding. Good brand names drive support toward the company, which boost recommendations, sales, investments, and. n. v i n C Institute, 2011b: 5).U The biggest drivers of reputation attract human excellence (Reputation h engchi. are social responsibility, consumer experiences (products/services, innovation) and corporate enterprise (leadership and financial performance) (Reputation Institute, 2011b: 9).. The. Reputation Institute found that if a company increases its reputation, recommendations towards it will increase and it will enhance its market value. Therefore, reputation has a direct affect on consumers’ willingness to recommend the company and bring new consumers (Reputation Institute, 2011b: 19). Nation branding and corporate branding work similarly and also have an effect on each other. Many companies recall their country-of-origin in their advertising slogan or brand. 8.

(22) name since it is seen as a good tool to boost sales (ex. Colombian Supremo coffee). Others, however, rather hide their origin country since the negative image of that would withdraw sales (ex. Chinese Haier consumer electronics company). A country also gains a better or worse image through the reputation of brands originated from that country. Reputation and image matter because of their wide-spread effect on many elements which drive the success of countries and companies.. 1.2. Purpose of the Study. 政治大 The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the relevance of national image and corporate 立. ‧ 國. 學. reputation, and their interrelating influence on national competitiveness and international viability in the frame of Social Media. The relations between these variables are analyzed in. ‧. the case of Taiwan. The ultimate goal is to propose a model of nation branding, which. sit. y. Nat. heightens national industries, strengthens national competitiveness and is consistent with. n. al. er. io. contemporary social trends.. 1.3. Problem Discussion. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. It has been widely claimed that Social Media plays a role in the formation of political image by attracting public attention and catalyzing public opinion. It has also been commonly recognized as a tool for public actions through its function of reinforcing public interaction. It can also serve as a news-transmitting agent or a tool for promoting social relations. This paper discusses social media’s role in the formation of national and corporate image. The author observes that Social Media is not utilized by national representatives and corporations to its full extent, and the inherent opportunities of Social Media still need to be 9.

(23) exploited. The state and private sector can work together and establish a complete plan for reputation management by using the functions of Social Media. This paper focuses on Taiwan and its current nation-branding project, which I view as an inadequate approach to image development. Taiwan focuses extensively on tourism and culture promotion through its “The Heart of Asia” campaign. This paper points out other assets which could be more appealing than its tourist attractions, emphasizing Taiwan’s hightech achievements and product quality, especially in the Information and Communication Technology industry. Through the promotion of these assets, a better country-of-origin image can be established which can lead to further benefits in other aspects of national image. This. 治政大state and the private sector, and can only be achieved by constant interaction between the 立 moreover between these actors and the general public.. Nat. sit. y. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 1.4. Research Questions and Arguments. io. al. following research questions are proposed:. v i n C h corporate reputation How do national image and e n g c h i U matter to national well-being? n. 1.. er. Deduced from the purpose of this study and the above-indicated problems, the. 2. Why do national image and corporate reputation matter to national well-being? 3. How do national image and corporate reputation influence each other? 4. How can national image and corporate reputation be improved? 5. How can Social Media be turned into an effective, constructive power source of nations and businesses?. 10.

(24) Consistent with the research questions, the arguments are stated as follows: 1. National image and corporate reputation play an extensive role in shaping national competitiveness and international viability. 2. National image and corporate reputation reinforce each other. 3. National image and corporate reputation can both benefit from a positive country-of-origin image. 4. National image and corporate reputation can be improved by the cooperation of the state sector and the private sector on issues that the global society is most concerned about.. 學. ‧ 國. 5.. 治政大improved through Social Media National image and corporate reputation are best 立 channels, especially Social Networking Sites, such as Facebook, and blogs. ‧. 1.5. Methodology. sit. y. Nat. io. al. er. The relevance of national image and corporate reputation and their interrelating power, along with the significance of Social Media and its relations to national image building were. n. v i n C U literature. demonstrated through a comprehensivehanalysis e n gofcthe h iexisting. In order to limit the scope of research, this study examines the case of Taiwan to test the arguments. This case is exemplary as many authors acknowledge that Taiwan is engaged in a false nation-branding project. The paper concludes that Taiwan should focus on its technological achievements and ICT product quality, rather than its tourist attractions promoting itself through Social Media channels. Three Taiwanese information (and communication) technology and electronics corporations: Acer, HTC and ASUS were chosen to test the arguments. An analysis was conducted on Tech Media Websites/Blogs and Facebook to understand the current image of. 11.

(25) these corporations. In addition, official ranking lists were also examined to see how these Taiwanese corporations are doing. To get valuable results these three Taiwanese corporations were compared to other companies in the industry and in general, on official rankings and Tech Media Blogs rankings.. According to these lists, Taiwanese companies’ biggest. competitors were identified and those were all compared in a Facebook research. Wherein, Facebook pages of companies were examined to see how much they utilize the opportunities provided by Social Media. Concerning national image analysis, official reputation rankings were examined to evaluate Taiwan’s current national image. It was proposed to do research within Facebook. 治政大to a limited extent. It was also itself, but official nation branding pages were only found 立 observed how Taiwan’s biggest competitor-nations conduct their branding projects according ‧ 國. 學. official reputation ranking lists.. ‧. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. 1.6. Scope and Limitations. v. n. 1. This research is only extended to the computer hardware and communications equipment. Ch. engchi. i n U. industries. However, other Taiwanese products might do even better globally than these sectors. For example, Taiwan Semiconductor (semiconductors), Hon Hai Precision Ind. (electronics) and Formosa Petrochemical (oil & gas operations). 2. This study only covers two product categories within the electronics industry: phones and laptops. Further research might be necessary to see whether other ICT and IT products are doing worse or better. 3. The general public is often unaware of information regarding internal policies, actions, and business practices of the firm. This information is either unavailable for the public or they do not have expertise to understand them. This study does not consider the fact that. 12.

(26) the general public often only has a limited understanding of corporations and their judgments are based on personal experiences (e.g., product purchases) from dealings with the company. 4. There was a limited access of information in many cases. For example, data of the 2005 Gallup Poll was only partially published as it was conducted for internal use. In addition, only the 2009 Anholt Nation Brand Index could be attained, as new data does not give detailed information about all nations. Facebook research regarding national image was no practical as there were not enough official nation branding sites found in the case of the examined countries. Finally, the Reputation Institute’s report did not provide detailed information about all countries.. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. 1.7. Contributions. ‧. Nat. sit. y. First of all, this paper contributes to the literature on Social Media by carrying out a. n. al. er. io. unique investigation into its role on image/reputation building. Social Media related research. i n U. v. is relatively new and there is a need to understand better the numerous ways that it influences our lives.. Ch. engchi. Second, this study also fills a gap in image and reputation related research. Despite of the prolific literature and high productivity in the field, there are still questions to be answered. Many studies have pointed out the impact of national image on corporate reputation, but the effect of the latter on the former is a less researched area. Third, as a practical implication, this study helps to better understand the role of nation branding in national image construction and the role of corporate branding in corporate reputation building. In addition, it provides the state and the corporate sector with practical advice on how to enhance the effectiveness of their nation branding projects. Therefore, the. 13.

(27) findings will hold important implications for global companies and government representatives. Finally, this paper also contributes to the English-language literature on Taiwan’s national image, public diplomacy and soft power sources. It proposes a model of nation branding for Taiwan, which could enhance its future image as perceived by the international public.. 1.8. Definition of Key Terms. 立. Corporate Branding:. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. The process by which the company’s or brand’s images can be created or altered, monitored, evaluated and proactively managed in order to enhance the corporation’s reputation among a. ‧. target audience (see p. 66).. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Corporate Image:. i n U. v. Receivers’ (the concerned) momentary impressions of a corporation, which could vary. Ch. engchi. according to (1) the many different types of receivers (such as consumers, prospective consumers, employees, shareholders) and to (2) the many different perspectives (such as brand image, industry image, COO image) of receivers (see p. 62). Corporate Reputation: Judgements made of the organization over time based on the organization’s behaviours, performance, and the collective experiences of the organization. Corporate reputations tend to be stable, although … subject to change in the wake of significant external or internal events such as an industry disaster or an ethical lapse by a company (see p. 63).. 14.

(28) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Corporate efforts to meet the nonfinancial expectations of stakeholders (investors, employees, governments, international organizations, etc.), which expectations include advancements in tackling major (global) social challenges (see p. 71).. Country-of-Origin (COO) Effect: The influence of country reputation on (1) international consumers’ attitudes toward products originated from that country and (2) intentions to purchase products originated from that country (see p. 49).. 立. Nation Branding:. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. A process by which a nation’s images can be created or altered, monitored, evaluated and. y. sit. al. er. io. National Image:. Nat. audience (see p. 54).. ‧. proactively managed in order to enhance the country’s reputation among a target international. n. v i n An attitude or opinion people of oneCnation toward the people and governments of other U h e nhave i h gc nations, which continuously seem to form, fundamentally, through a very complex communication process involving varied information sources (see p. 41).. Social Media: A broad term that describes websites or tools made up of primarily user-generated content that foster interaction between users (VanRysdam, 2010: 278) (see p. 19).. 15.

(29) Soft Power: The power of attraction and seduction as contrasted to power obtained by inducements and threats that is to say by using hard power (see p. 78).. 1.9. Thesis Composition. This research focuses on three basic topics: Social Media, image/reputation, and Taiwanese national image management. Consequently, this paper is divided into three main. 政治大. parts, following the introduction.. 立. Chapter two gives a thorough explanation on the term Social Media: summarizes all. ‧ 國. 學. the related literature, defines the concept, lists its types and, at the end, it connects Social Media with image building.. ‧. Chapter three is divided into two major sections: the first is concerned about national. Nat. sit. y. image and the second introduces the concept of corporate reputation. Both sections review. n. al. er. io. previous studies on the subjects, and define the concepts with all related terms. In the third. i n U. v. section, the effect of national image on corporate reputation is examined, and at the end, an. Ch. engchi. explanation is given on how the two can be and need to be simultaneously managed. These two chapters are followed by a case study analysis on Taiwan. Chapter four gives a comprehensive overview on Taiwan’s current national image and the reputation of its companies. First, Taiwan’s soft power sources are examined according to the term’s original definition. Second, Taiwan’s national and corporate image/reputation is examined through official global rankings and public rankings displayed on Social Media channels. In addition, nation-branding projects of successful countries are examined to see whether they could be applied to Taiwan. The last section is a Facebook research of companies with good reputation compared to Taiwanese corporations.. 16.

(30) The three main chapters represent different stages of the study, thus they need to be followed in order. By the analysis of all the related terms, a comprehensive review of literature, and an analysis of ranking lists and certain Social Media sites, wide-ranging clusters of data were collected. The last chapter summarizes all findings and conclusions and presents a practical nation-branding model, which could be especially constructive for Taiwan.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 17.

(31) “A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.” Scott Cook, Founder of Intuit, 1952–. CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW - SOCIAL MEDIA 2.1. Understanding Social Media 2.1.1. Web 2.0 and User Generated Content within the Concept of Social. 政治大. Media. 立The ‘Social’ Dimension of Social Media. 2.1.1.2. 學. ‧ 國. 2.1.1.1. The ‘Media’ Component of Social Media. 2.1.2 Types of Social Media. er. n. al. y. Social Networking Sites (SNS). The Power of Public. io. 2.2. Blogs. sit. Nat. 2.1.2.2. ‧. 2.1.2.1. i n U. v. 2.2.1 ‘Public Opinion’ and ‘Public Sphere’ in a New Context. Ch. engchi. 2.2.2 Civic Discourse via Social Media 2.3. Social Media and Image Formation. 2.4. Chapter Summary. 18.

(32) 2.1 Understanding Social Media 2.1.1 Web 2.0 and User Generated Content within the Concept of Social Media. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010: 61) define Social Media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content.” In this explanation, the authors clearly draw a line between the term and two related concepts that are frequently used. 政治大. together and often even equated with Social Media: the Web 2.0 and the User Generated. 立. Content (UGC). Kaplan and Haenlein claim that while the former stands as a platform for the. ‧ 國. 學. development of Social Media, UGC can be seen “as the sum of all ways in which people make use of Social Media” (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010: 61).. ‧. The term ‘Web 2.0’ was coined by Tim O’Reilly in 2004 and refers to a new era of the. Nat. n. al. O’Reilly (2006: 4) sets out three basic. er. io. and thus modify the content of the Web.. sit. y. World Wide Web, a high degree of activity, in which readers could become writers at anytime. i n U. v. characteristics of this new trend: openness, network effects and most importantly user. Ch. engchi. participation. The latter means that users have the chance to “play an active role in generating content, rather than only passively consuming that which is created for them by others” (Harrison & Barthel, 2009: 157). Therefore, an ‘active audience’ emerges which does not have to possess special technical skills to be capable of content creation or modification, which is built up by a three-step process: interaction, sharing and construction. O’Reilly calls this course of actions as the ‘architecture of participation’ (Harrison & Barthel, 2009: 159) which are now widely used by companies to build their own profit through user-generated content.. Harrison & Barthel (2009: 162) state that Web 2.0 is based on the. reconceptualization of users from consumers to producers or as Bruns (2007) put it:. 19.

(33) ‘produsers’. While traditionally, media users are only observers, readers or consumers, new technologies transferred the media into a new industry which enables the audience to consume and produce at the same time: interact, share, collaborate and construct.. SHARING. INTERACTION. C ONSTRUCTION. C OLLABORATION. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. Figure 3: The Circle of Participation in Social Media. ‧. However, according to Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, there is. sit. y. Nat. nothing unique in the idea of Web 2.0, which is based on technologies, which have been. n. al. er. io. available for years. He claims that the idea of content making and collaboration has been. i n U. v. inherent in the creation of web, therefore there is nothing novel in the Web 2.0 which is. Ch. engchi. purely a “blog and wiki thing” (Clarke, 2006). In contrast, Harrison & Barthel (2009: 161) state that what is new about Web 2.0 is the “now-widespread recognition and acknowledgment that users actively apply the affordances of new technologies in the service of their own creative and instrumental objectives…” Active media users have been present for a long time, but the number of participants was quite low before new media technologies have become easily accessible for everyone. As this innovation empowered the users and their creativity grew, moreover by the ever-increasing availability of Internet access and advancements in technology, new types of User Generated Content have appeared and gradually the web developed further into Social. 20.

(34) Media. The concept has two key components: it is social and it is media-related. Based on these two dimensions Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) determined six types of Social Media, which are divided in accordance with their closeness to the ‘media’ or to the ‘social’ part (see Table 1).. 2.1.1.1 The ‘Social’ Dimension of Social Media. Kaplan and Haenlein see social processes like self-presentation and self-disclosure as the key elements of Social Media. The former states that in any social interaction, on the one. 治政大good impressions of them, but on hand, people present themselves in a way that others can get 立 the other hand they also want to display an image, which is more or less consistent with their ‧ 國. 學. personal identity.. Self-presentation is generally performed through self-disclosure, the. y. Nat. 62).. ‧. conscious or unconscious exposure of personal information (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010: 61-. er. io. sit. Vrasidas and Veletsianos (2010: 2) emphasize the fact that “human activity is by nature social” and place ‘interaction’ to its center. The authors state that the world by. al. n. v i n C h within a community ‘meaning’ is based on social ‘interactions’ and this meaning further engchi U develops through ‘interpretations’. They define “interaction as the reciprocal actions of two or more actors within a given context” thus “social interaction is an ongoing process that. shapes human conduct as actors fit their actions with one another and form a continuous flow of interaction” (Vrasidas and Veletsianos, 2010: 3). Expression of individual opinions along with social interaction constructs knowledge, which further develops through social activities and learning processes of individuals. This practice is facilitated by the development of communication technologies and the emergence of online communities.. 21.

(35) 2.1.1.2 The ‘Media’ Component of Social Media. The media dimension of Social Media is connected to the idea of Internet as a new media facet.. In the beginning, the Internet was solely considered as a technology of. ‘interpersonal communication’ and not yet of ‘mass communication’ (Leaning, 2009: 44). However, later it was identified that it possesses certain characteristics that distinguish it from other communication and media technologies. According to Leaning (2009: 50-61), these are human-technology interactivity, interpersonal communication, content production, and individualized media. With regards to the first three features, the Internet does not only. 治政大 of humans with machines provide a way for communication among humans, but interactions 立 and thus, it allows users to modify the content of media through engaging with new ‧ 國. 學. technologies. The characteristic of individualized media refers to the Internet’s ability to. ‧. offer a more widely available media content geographically and temporally.. io. er. introduce the theories of social presence and media richness.. sit. y. Nat. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010: 61), with regards to the media element of Social Media,. The term “social presence” was coined by Short et al. (1976: 65) and defined “as a. al. n. v i n C ha certain degree ofUsocial presence or social interaction quality of the medium itself” to allow engchi (acoustic, visual or physical) of the users. The higher is the social presence, the greater is the. influence that the users have on each other. Vrasidas and Glass (2002, In: Vrasidas and Veletsianos, 2010: 9) stated that the indirect way of communication generated by new media facilities function better than face-to-face interactions since many fear of getting too close to the participants and of expressing themselves when those are physically present. Media richness theory is found on the supposition that the goal of communication is to reduce the degree of uncertainty and ambiguity. Some media tend to be faster and more. 22.

(36) effective than others in transmitting information and thus, achieving this purpose (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010: 61).. 2.1.2 Types of Social Media. Following Kaplan and Haenlein’s determination of Social Media, six types can be segregated: collaborative projects, content communities, virtual game worlds, virtual social worlds, blogs and Social Networking Sites (SNS).. Nat. Collaborative Projects (e.g., Wikipedia). Virtual Game Worlds (e.g., World of Warcraft). y. ‧ 國. Low. High Virtual Social Worlds (e.g., Second Life). ‧. Self-Presentation/ Self-Disclosure. Medium Social Networking Sites (e.g., Facebook) Content Communities (e.g., YouTube). 學. High. Low Blogs. io. sit. 立. 政治大 Social Presence/Media Richness. n. al. er. Table 1: Classification of Social Media by Social Presence/Media Richness and Self-Presentation/SelfDisclosure (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010: 62). Ch. engchi. i n U. v. The idea of collaborative projects is based on the theory of the ‘wisdom of the crowds’, namely that groups are more effective than single-standing individuals in creating content. Although, many people use it to gather information and everybody is allowed to modify and create content, users have no direct interaction with each other. Content communities are based on the objective of sharing, impersonal information, through different media types, like videos, pictures, books, and so on. Since users rarely contact each other and rarely provide information about themselves, its social dimension falls into the low category.. 23.

(37) Virtual game worlds and virtual social worlds, although allow users to interact with each other, it also gives opportunities for changing real personalities and behavior.. 2.1.2.1 Blogs. The first development toward the evolution of Web 2.0 was the creation of blogs in 1997 – by Dave Winer’s Scripting News – as one of the first User Generated Contents (Locatelli, 2010: 1).. Since then, blogs have become much more easily accessible and. available for everyone.. Nardi et al. (2004: 1) determines blogs as “frequently updated. 治政 webpages with a series of archived posts, typically in 大 reversed-chronological order” and 立 usually with additional comments by readers. Therefore, not only the writer but all the blog’s ‧ 國. 學. readers and commenters create the blog. The social aspect of blogs is well-presented in the. ‧. definition of ‘weblogs’ in the Oxford English Dictionary: “A frequently updated website. y. Nat. consisting of personal observations, excerpts from other sources, etc., typically run by a single. al. er. io. v i n Cthree Rettberg (2008: 9-17) found of blogs: diary-style personal blogs, filter U h e ntypes i h gc n. 22).. sit. person, and usually with hyperlinks to other sites; an online journal or diary” (Rettberg, 2008:. blogs which list a set of links with some commentary and topic-driven blogs which quite often have political content and are sometimes run by a group instead of single individuals. This last type of blogging is aimed to encourage discussion on certain topics and often leads to farreaching conversations across individuals and blogs.. 24.

(38) 2.1.2.2 Social Networking Sites (SNS). Boyd and Ellison (2008: 210) define Social Network Sites as “web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.” Attention should be paid on the determination of the term, which differs from the definition of Social Networking Sites. According to the authors, the word networking emphasizes relationship initiation, which is not the primary goal of SNSs. Instead of finding new friends, individuals are. 治政大a part of their extended social interested in “communicating with people who are already 立 network.” ‧ 國. 學. While Boyd and Ellison’s conceptualization of Social Network Sites noticeably focus. ‧. on the function of SNSs to keep in touch with friends, other researchers also highlight the fact. y. Nat. that Social Networking Sites enable users to post information, thus function as blogs.. er. io. sit. According to Vickery and Wunsch-Vincent’s (2007: 38) definition, SNS “enable users to connect to friends and colleagues, to send mails and instant messages, to blog, to meet new. n. al. Ch. people and to post personal information profiles.”. engchi. i n U. v. Following the aforementioned definition, as far as self publishing and social interactivity is concerned, this paper treats blogs and SNSs as belonging to the same category. Table 2 below illustrates the common features of blogs and SNSs (Note: Locatelli’s research covers three SNSs: Facebook, Twitter and MySpace).. 25.

(39) Blogs Visibility of Contacts Levels of Actions. Extent of Intimacy Means of Communication. Social Network Sites. Blogroll; Traffic feed (MyBlogLog). Content (text, video, photo, podcast, links) publishing; Commenting; Graphic customization of layout; Addition of application and widgets; Connection with SNS. Different levels with no fixed features. Content publishing; Comments; Private Messages; Tagboard.. List of friends. Content (text, video, photo, podcast, mp3, links) publishing with limitation depending on platforms; Commenting; Limited graphic customization. Different levels with privacy options. Content publishing and sharing; Chat; Private Messages; applications (gifts); Social actions (poke, like).. Table 2: The Common Features of Blogs and Social Network(ing) Sites (Locatelli, 2010: 2). 2.2. 政治大. The Power of Public. 立. 2.2.1 ‘Public Opinion’ and ‘Public Sphere’ in a New Context. ‧ 國. 學 ‧. This subsection is intended to examine the different possibilities inherent in. io. er. individuals, which forms through any level of interaction.. sit. y. Nat. organically or inorganically formed group work. Group is understood here as a collection of. With regards to problem solving, actions of singular individuals tend to be less. n. al. effective than those of groups.. v i n CJames As (2004: xiii) stated “under the right U h e nSurowiecki i h gc. circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them” and what makes these aggregated people more clever than single individuals is the collection and combination of singular opinions forming into one complete piece. This can be called ‘public opinion’ which according to Kunczik (1997: 18) “comes about when many persons take the same view of a given issue and are aware of this sameness of view.” It is mostly formed through a two-step process. Firstly, news is created in the mass media and forms themes for public discourse. Then, through interaction, people affect each other and shape widespread beliefs that are acceptable for the majority (Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1955. In:. 26.

(40) Shirky, 2011a: 34). In this sense, ‘public’ does not refer to ‘all’-, but to ‘most’ of the concerned individuals. Once public opinion is formed, the emphasis is on giving effect to it, that is to say let official organizations to take a particular course of measures according to the wishes of the public. “Habermas has shown that public opinion might act as a critical sounding board against the official exercise of power and leadership in some instances” (Chong, 2007: 40). If this is so, public opinion is a way to measure the stability and efficacy of the government in a particular nation.. In contrast, there is also a world public opinion which according to. Rusciano and Fiske-Rusciano (1998: 19-26) “has power as it possesses a moral component. 治政大 a pragmatic component where a minimal universal moral standard is shared internationally; 立 where evaluations are based on “interests which relevant nations were supposed to share, ‧ 國. 學. where issues [are] discussed in terms of practical costs or benefits; and a national fear of. y. Nat. Chong, 2007: 41).. ‧. isolation [component] with respect to an assumed “world community,” or “word public” (In:. er. io. sit. At this point, let us clarify what exactly ‘public’ is. According to Michael Warner (In: Calhoun, 1992: 378-9) images and texts are public if they can be understood to a public rather. al. n. v i n Cothers. than simply to oneself, or to specific has no empirical existence and h e nItgiscimpersonal, hi U cannot be objectified. Therefore, “public opinion is understood as belonging to a public rather than to scattered individuals … [and] public discourse is the discourse of a public rather than an expansive dialogue among separate persons.” This train of thought leads us back to our starting point on the effectiveness of the ‘crowd’ contrasted to single individuals. Surowiecki (2004: xiv) defines the “wisdom of the crowds” as “collective intelligence” which comes about when individuals’ imperfect judgments are aggregated in the right way. People often make decisions without having enough information about a particular issue, but as they form into a group, they possess the ability to exchange their views and data,. 27.

(41) thus make better developed decisions. Surowiecki brings up Gustave Le Bon’s thesis on the stupidity of groups explained in his book titled The Crowd: A Study of The Popular Mind (1895) as a counter-example. Le Bon understands ‘group’ as a separate body, which has its own identity and not the summation of individual members of the group as Surowiecki refers to it. According to Le Bon aggregated individuals make decisions that no one really agrees with if stands by oneself, but Surowiecki perceives group thinking as the interlocking of individual minds which creates a strong and intelligent union (Surowiecki, 2004: xvi-xvii). The aggregation of individual minds to form public opinion and bring about social actions occurs through interaction, which involves information-sharing, conversation and. 治政 mutual influence taking place on an established platform大 for communication. The idea of 立 such a platform was well introduced by Jürgen Habermas in his book titled The Structural ‧ 國. 學. Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society. ‧. (1962/1989)1. Habermas originally described the public sphere as “the institutional space. y. Nat. where political will formation takes place, via the unfettered flow of relevant information and Habermas. er. io. sit. ideas.” This space is formed through mediated and face-to-face interactions.. notices the emergence of such a public sphere “within the bourgeois classes of Western. al. n. v i n C hnineteenth centuries. Europe in the late eighteenth and early e n g c h i U The institutional basis for this public sphere consisted of an array of milieu and media, such as clubs, salons, coffee houses, newspapers, books, and pamphlets, all of which in various (though incomplete) ways manifested Enlightenment ideals of the human pursuit of knowledge and freedom” (Dahlgren, 2001: 33-34). In this ideal situation “all citizens have equal access to communication that is both independent of government constraint, and through its deliberative, consensus-building capacity, constrains the agendas and decisions of government in turn” (Dahlgren, 2001: 3). There are two connected notes that we need to pay attention on: First, the role of media. 1. The work was first published in 1962, and was translated into English in 1989.. 28.

(42) institutions attributed to the existence of public sphere and second, the significance of citizen interaction inherent in the idea. When taking into account media institutions, we need to separate traditional (mass) and social (new) media channels. The Pew Research Center (2010) found that one of the most conspicuous differences between the two is their effect on the afterlife of news stories. “While most original reporting still comes from traditional journalists, technology makes it increasingly possible for the actions of citizens to influence a story’s total impact.” Although, the role of mass media is significant to scatter information and – as I have stated before – to establish themes for public discourse, but only Social Media can bring the possibility of free. 治政大 has the tools to realize the formation of stories by the public. Social Media, thus, 立 Habermasian ideal of public sphere, in which individuals can interact, exchange their ideas ‧ 國. 學. openly and reach a public consensus. Kellner and Kim (2009: 617) state that new media. y. Nat. empower themselves in relation to dominant media and culture.”. ‧. raised the possibilities of the establishment of this public sphere, in which “individuals can. er. io. sit. Nonetheless, according to Boeder (2005: 3) this public sphere does not necessarily stand as a platform for increasing the role of society: citizens often become a victim of the. al. n. v i n BoederC (2005: argues that skepticism on the Social Media’s h e 5-6) ngchi U. distorted traditional media.. ability to raise the quality of public sphere fed by two main arguments. First, consumer society has become the model for political decision making as well as for individual behavior. Rheingold (2000: 373) brings up one of the key statements of the Frankfurt School: “consumer society encouraged social and political apathy, even before the television era.”. Due to the increasing significance of consumption there is a lack of interest in political and civic participation, which jeopardizes both the public sphere and a healthy democracy. Boeder’s second argument concerns the destruction of the private sphere by the emergence of electronic media. He argues that the “transparency” of digital information,. 29.

(43) moreover the control and misinformation of citizens challenge the possibilities inherent in the public sphere. Open discussions become hazardous, as the state is able to gather information and control the public via new information technologies. Despite these negative aspects of electronic media, when considering the establishment of public sphere it still prevails over traditional media tools.. Accessing. information, participation in debate and in the formation of public will, new media compared to traditional media offers much more opportunities. However, the erosion or transformation of the media’s old functions leads us toward a reconsideration of the role of media in this new setting. In addition, this process not only changes the functions of the media, but also the way. 治政大 live and communicate. As that individuals, groups, communities and the overall society 立 public construction of news comes to the front, Habermas’ sphere of “critical publicity” ‧ 國. 學. (Habermas, 1989: 248) becomes functioning. Assuming a significant social impact of digital. ‧. communication, the main question that remains is how to use what we have already learned in. n. 2.2.2 Civic Discourse a via Social Media. er. io. sit. y. Nat. order to maneuver events toward preferred directions.. iv l C n hengchi U. The increasing popularity of Social Media facilities, especially blogging and social networking provide new opportunities for civic discussion. Many studies have pointed out the use of Social Media for gathering and sharing information and participating in discussions about election campaigns, candidates and parties. For example, a study conducted in March 2011, by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that one in five adult Internet users turned to social networks to get or share information about the midterm elections last year. “The study also found that 53 percent of Internet users went online to engage in some kind of. 30.

(44) campaign-related activity,” like watching political videos or sharing and discussing information (Preston, 2011). Gulati and Williams (2007) researched Facebook usage during the 2006 midterm elections and found that Facebook played an important role in the 2006 races by transmitting information, thus SNSs are capable of influencing the electoral process. However, due to the fact that social networking is mainly the activity of young adults (18-to-29 year olds) who have a lower voter turnout rate, the authors were not completely convinced that Facebook use helped the candidates to achieve a greater support. Similar results were found by Karan et al. (2008), studying the 2007 elections in the Philippines. Baumgartner and Morries (2010). 治政大social networking. The authors researched the political engagement of young adults through 立 concluded that the potential for SNS to raise the political engagement of youths has not been ‧ 國. 學. realized, thus they question that the Internet has the possibility to revolutionize political. ‧. activeness among the new generation. Their main consideration is that users tend to visit. y. Nat. likeminded sites, thus rarely meeting with opposite views and that their political engagement. er. io. sit. is limited to Internet activity.. With regards to blogs, Drezner and Farrell (2008) provide a complete investigation. al. n. v i n into the consequences of blogging C on h politics. The authors e n g c h i U bring up several examples when blogs actually shaped politics and political outcomes, however, they also point out that this. process is usually random. The main reason is that blogs, according to a 2006 poll by the Reuters, are the least trusted sources of information (Drezner and Farrel, 2008: 5), since they are written by ordinary individuals. Drezner and Farrel (2008: 8) also indicate that there is a high degree of disparity in the relative visibility of blogs. This leads to the creation of elite blogs which attract attention from other bloggers and the political elite overall, and thus easily reframe political issues.. 31.

(45) The idea of elite blogging was also presented by Davis, concerning the case of the UK (Davis, 2010: 110-113). The author found that ordinary citizens are becoming disconnected as policy elites form ‘elite discourse networks’ through new media channels that only give limited access to the wider public, and instead, is open to a privileged, politically-oriented reader-audience. Davis states that the proliferation of new media sites and especially blogs, are only useful for those who have been already engaged with politics and rarely attracts those who turned away from party and institutional politics. Davis (2005: 67) had similar findings in an earlier book researching the political impact of electronic discussion. He states that online debates in reality are quite far from. 治政大 dominance by a few, who what they ideally could be. Online political talk “features 立 consciously act to maintain … hegemony.” In addition, Davis points out that bloggers often ‧ 國. 學. undermine the standards of traditional news media as they often lack of respect, resources and. ‧. expertise (2005: 43). However, blogs are nearly costless and easily accessible sources of. y. Nat. information, therefore, they should stand as a supplement and not as a substitute for. er. io. sit. traditional media channels.. Van Ham (2010: 96-105) researched social power in the era of new media. He claims. al. n. v i n Cbeh brought about justUby these media revolutions, blogs that although political change cannot engchi. and another Social Media channels can set agendas and attract public attention on certain issues. Van Ham brought up the example of governmental control over blogs and other Internet-based communication tools in autocratic states, which indicates the growing political importance of blogging (van Ham, 2010: 99). The author was positive about the potential political impact of Social Media, but pointed out that since anyone can write, edit and add to these media channels, there is a huge uncertainty and distrust over the reliability of information.. 32.

(46) Kushin and Kitchener (2009) focused on the Internet’s, in particular Facebook’s potential for political debate equally exposing supportive and opposing viewpoints. The authors studied a politically centered Facebook group and found that Facebook plays a minor role in encouraging posting oppositional ideas to the group’s original stance. However, they also admitted that possibilities for group creation are unlimited, therefore, Facebook users with different viewpoints have the chance to find a group with likeminded members or create a group on their own. The study also found that the style of the posts is sometimes uncivil or aggressive, although, 75% of the posts were civil and represented a willingness of participants to engage in a discussion group (Kushin and Kitchener, 2009: 14). Therefore, the authors. 治政大the participation of polite and refused the idea that online discussion would discourage 立 respectful commentators (e.g., Davis, 1999). ‧ 國. 學. Perhaps the most related research was developed by Clay Shirky (2011a) in his article. ‧. about the political power of Social Media. The author claims that Social Media enhances the. y. Nat. chances for information access and the ability for collective action helping a loosely. er. io. sit. coordinated mess of people express their desire for change (Shirky, 2011a: 29-30). However, Shirky also admits that these tools can only work in the long run and “that they have the most. al. n. v i n where C a h public sphere already e n g c h i U constrains. dramatic effects in states. the actions of the. government.” As a response to the claims (e.g., boyd and Ellison, 2008) that Social Media is only used for commerce, socialization and self-disclosure, Shirky refers to political works that had great influence in the past, although, were not the most popular readings. Shirky recalls the role of traditional media in the Eastern European demonstrations in 1989 and states that its main function was to strengthen the public sphere and thus support the initiative for social change. The major opportunity inherent in either traditional or Social Media is that it allows people to carry on discussions about different viewpoints. “A slowly developing public sphere, where public opinion relies on both media and conversation, is the. 33.

(47) core of the environmental view of Internet freedom” (Shirky, 2011a: 34). Shirky’s main point is that Social Media is not a replacement for real actions, but a supplement, a tool to coordinate the public and strengthen civil society. These views entailed an enormous amount of literature, especially after the break out of the ‘new’ Arab revolts in the beginning of 2011. Malcolm Gladwell (Gladwell, 2011) addresses the question of whether these uprisings could have happened in the absence of Social Media. Similarly, Lisa Anderson (Anderson, 2011) refers back to the protests of the Arab world in 1919 when there was no Social Media and indeed, there wasn’t even a need of it to spark upheavals. Shirky (2011b) replies that Social Media only provides a tool for. 治政大to raise their voice, express their altering the picture of the public sphere. It enables citizens 立 opinions and organize actions at a higher level than before these tools were at hand. Social ‧ 國. 學. Media cannot substitute traditional media, but should be a supplement of it.. ‧. The above discussion serves as a proof for the power of Social Media, indicated by. y. Nat. political related discourses. It is clear that Social Media offers a range of possibilities,. n. Ch. engchi. er. io. a. 2.3 Social Media and l Image Formation. sit. however, those are not entirely exploited yet.. i n U. v. Many studies have pointed out the role of Social Media in political image shaping. Election campaigns on Social Networking Sites, candidate-blogs, politically centered Facebook groups, public summons are all examples of Social Media usage for attracting public attention and influencing public opinion. However, the role of Social Media to provide governments and businesses with a practical way to reexamine how they do things, to monitor how they are perceived by the public, and to change practices in a way that improves their images, have not yet been fully understood.. 34.

(48) Landsbergen (2010: 135) claimed that Social Media is a response to the increased need for social communication, and the government [and businesses have] to understand how Social Media can support these needs: First, the expansion and universal accessibility of ‘human networks’ as a third institution besides the government and the private sector makes it urgent to get access to the control of the flow of information. Second, the focus on one-way or broadcast communication via traditional media has shifted to a two-way or interactive communication proceeded through Social Media. In addition, rather than only using texts, Social Media allows a simple usage of video and audio (multimedia) as well. Since humans are visual creatures, multimedia can make a greater impact than texts.. These three 治政大 characteristics facilitate and hasten communication. 立 The private and public sectors have the chance to be an integral part of these networks. ‧ 國. 學. and thus, participate in the process of information shaping or stay on the margin and let the. ‧. information flow to take its own path. Users of networks encounter fewer communication. y. Nat. barriers through “the reduction of formality, the highly interactive and rapid nature of. er. io. sit. technology, and the blurring of what public and private is” (Landsbergen, 2010: 136). Hereby, if it stays on the margin, Social Media will still ‘operate’ and its technology will enable. al. n. v i n people to interact, share, collaborateC and and information (see p. 20). h construct e n g cideas hi U. Edosomwan et al. (2011: 85-86) listed the following as the most important benefits of. Social Media in the case of businesses: it strengthens “brand experience which will support brand building [and thus] a company becomes more attractive to the customers…As a result, Social Media will help in building a good reputation for a business organization… Social Media forum acts as a powerful way to communicate the brand value and brand attributes as they facilitate open forms of communication.” Social Media “helps to communicate collaboratively between current and potential customers, in receiving feedback, product. 35.