INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CRISIS MANAGEMENT AMONG CORPORATE ORGANISATIONS IN KENYA: A CASE STUDY OF SAFARICOM PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

ABSTRACT
This study set out to investigate the influence of social media in crisis management,
among corporate firms in Kenya. Safaricom Public Limited Company was used in the
study. The study was guided by three objectives; it sought to establish the social
media platforms used in crisis management and their benefits, to assess the
effectiveness of social media platforms used during crisis management, and to
establish the critical success factors in the management of social media during crisis
management. The study was guided by the Organisation Public Relationship Theory,
Situational Crisis Communication Theory and Social Network Theory. The study site
was the social media platforms of Safaricom public limited company. The study
adopted a descriptive study design, in order to understand the what, and the how
social media can be of influence during crisis management. The method chosen
allowed for collection of comprehensive, intensive data and provided a deeper
investigation on the utilisation of social media in crisis management. The target
population were all individuals from the Safaricom public limited company social
media page. The sample size was 384 people because the population size was over
10,000 people. The target population was arrived at using the Cochran formula. A
survey method was used and questionnaires were the instrument of choice in the
study. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and correlation analysis in
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and the resultant information was
presented in tables and charts. The study concluded that social media aspects
influence crisis management and that effectiveness of social media use in crisis
management will augment crisis management practices. Further conclusions are that
there were various social media platforms being used but Facebook was the main
social media platform and most appropriate in inquiring about crisis or crisis
management. However, most of Safaricom customers do not use social media to raise
queries. It was also concluded that social media is a better communication platform in
crisis management and it reaches the intended audience on time during a crisis
situation. Social media provided useful or relevant information to help during crisis.
The study also established that the number of people connected with social media
networks today makes social media a valuable communication tool. It was
recommended that academics will find the research useful when adding to the
literature on the role of social media in crisis management. The study recommended
that corporates should be able to develop a communication and crisis strategy with
social media platforms being incorporated in their strategy plans.