Others Share this Message, So We Can Trust It? An Examination of Bandwagon Cues on Organizational Trust in Risk

Consideration of social media use for issues of risk communication has received rapid attention in the scholarly literature. However, specific features of social media and their relevance for risk communication warrant continued investigation. The current study examines how system-generated cues available in social media impact perceptions of trust at the organizational level. After viewing one of three mock Twitter pages from an organization that varied the number of retweets concerning the risk of contaminated food in grocery stores, participants were asked to report their perceived trust in the organization. Data indicate a reverse bandwagon or snob effect, such that having too many retweets results in lower judgments of organizational trust. Results are discussed in addition to limitations and future directions for research.