Why are CEOs not active on social media? It is increasingly critical for CEOs to not only be physically present at work but also be virtually present in the digital sphere. However, many CEOs are still reluctant to adapt social media or struggle to find the efficient approach to incorporate the tools into their communication strategy. The study explores how CEOs orient themselves in the digital world and make sense of social media. In particular, based on the view of impression management and institutional work, the research examines how CEOs translate their understanding into communication and selfpresentation strategies and activities. The results from 31 in-depth interviews with Chinese and Dutch CEOs suggest that leadership communication on social media is still going through the process of legitimisation in both institutions. Despite the growing popularity of personal branding, most CEOs do not interpret social media as the outlet for their personal and private use or independent from the organisational identities. While most CEOs champion the necessity of digital transformation for their organisations, they do not see clearly how their personal digital habits could potentially influence the process, despite their leadership roles. They typically identify social media as the functional platforms for information circulation and network connection. Multiple narratives and orientations do, however, coexist and they dictate social media decisions simultaneously depending on the context. There is also a prominent difference between the narratives of social media in the Netherlands and in China. Most Dutch CEOs wish active engagement from the organisations but practice passive roles themselves, while most Chinese CEOs are active for both personal and organisational use pressured by the intuitional norms. The research highlights the significance of cultural context regarding leadership communication even on social media. Given most platforms are designed, and arranged to have an international audience, CEOs and companies should be aware of distinctive norms and beliefs they are operated in the different societal institutions.
This paper explores community-based flood disaster risk governance by applying a sensemaking approach. The conceptual sensemaking framework consists of individual experience, dialogue, and socialization components, which together comprise an interconnected system. This study presents a method for applying this framework by using a concerns table and a SWOT analysis to examine the concerns of residents living in a flood plain. A series of community-based workshops on flood risk reduction was conducted with residents of the floodprone Muraida community in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. During the workshops, residents’ concerns regarding flood risk surfaced. This study used an idiographic approach to examine the proceedings of the workshops. SWOT issue analysis was used to examine the strengths and weaknesses in the Muraida community’s internal capacities, and examine the opportunities and threats in the external capacities (e.g., local government). Additionally, a SWOT strategy analysis was conducted to identify strategies for knowledge sharing and development of cooperative countermeasures that can be undertaken between the Muraida community and the local government. The results show that the concerns table can not only summarize the main concerns of all workshops, but also provide an understanding of alternative flood risk countermeasures that can be carried out.