How Top PR Professionals Handle Hearsay: Corporate Rumors, Their Effects, and Strategies to Manage Them

Seventy-four experienced public relations professionals serving top global corporations were surveyed to investigate types of organizational rumors, their prevalence and effects, effectiveness of rumor management strategies, and associated psychological and situational variables. Results showed that harmful rumors are commonplace, especially during organizational change. The majority of rumors were internal in nature and were most likely to be about personnel changes, job security, or job satisfaction. External rumors were most likely to consist of hearsay of concern to the general public, such as those rumors affecting the organization's reputation and those about product/ service quality. Rumors incited a variety of effects, most of which were rated as somewhat severe. Three distinct dimensions of rumor effects emerged: external ramifications (e.g., bad press), internal attitudes (e.g., lowered morale), and internal behaviors (e.g., increased absenteeism). Numerous strategies were rated as highly effective in preventing and neutralizing harmful rumors. Two broad approaches, composed of strategies that structured (i.e., gave boundaries to) uncertainty and strategies that focused on enhancing the efficacy of official comments, emerged. Implications for PR professionals are discussed and include anticipating rumors as the norm, monitoring effects in three different dimensions, and proactively creating two-pronged rumor prevention and management action plans that structure uncertainty and enhance formal communications.