Understanding the effects of perceived ethics failure, compassionate leadership, and communication strategy on anti‐government sentiment

• Author: Lisa Tam,Seung Bach,Soojin Kim
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1848
• Published date: 01 November 2018
• Date: 01 November 2018

ACADEMIC PAPER

Understanding the effects of perceived ethics failure,

compassionate leadership, and communication strategy on

anti‐government sentiment

Soojin Kim

1

|Lisa Tam

2

|Seung Bach

3

1

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences School of

Communication, University of Technology

Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia

2

School of Advertising, Marketing and Public

Relations, Queensland University of

Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

3

California State University at Sacramento,

Sacramento, California

Correspondence

Soojin Kim, University of Technology Sydney,

City Campus, Building 10, Level 9, Room 219,

Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia.

Email: soojin.pr@gmail.com

This study conceptualizes anti‐government sentiment and tests the relationships

between anti‐government sentiment and three antecedents (i.e., ethics failure, com-

passionate leadership, and communication strategy). An online survey (n= 1,112)

was conducted in South Korea. Exploratory factor analysis with principal component

analysis and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the measures proposed

for anti‐government sentiment. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation

modeling. Results show that publics' perceptions of the government's ethics failure,

lack of compassionate leadership, and use of a buffering strategy for communication

are positively related to their anti‐government sentiment toward the incumbent

government.

1|INTRODUCTION

On April 16, 2014, the Korean ferry MV Sewol—carrying 476 people

and a large volume of cargo—capsized en route between Inchon and

Jeju Island. Only 172 people survived (“South Korea Coast Guard Cap-

tain Jailed,”2015). The 304 fatalities included 250 high school stu-

dents (“First Anniversary of Sewol Ferry Disaster,”2015). Eighty‐two

percent of 1,008 survey participants in Korea reported that the

government's actions in handling the disaster were improper (Gallup

Korea, 2014). The disaster caused conflict between victims' families

and the Korean Government, resulting in fraught emotions in society

and confrontations between anti‐government activists and the gov-

ernment (Song, Park, & Park, 2015). According to weekly surveys con-

ducted by Gallup Korea in 2014 and 2015, Korean people were

frustrated with the Korean Government due to its lack of transparency

in communication, dismal performance, and lack of responsible leader-

ship (Gallup Korea, 2014).

The ferry disaster is an example of an incident that triggered pub-

lic antagonism against the Korean Government. Because public antag-

onism against the government could be detrimental to public

administration, it is crucial for governments to understand how and

why anti‐government sentiment such as this emerges. Anti‐govern-

ment sentiment is a complex phenomenon caused by multiple social

and cultural causes (Mansbridge, 1997). It can be multifaceted in form

and meaning in different countries. However, there is a lack of

consensus on how to define and measure anti‐government sentiment

(Owen & Dennis, 2001).

To respond to the lack of research on this phenomenon, this study

takes the following steps. First, we conceptualize anti‐government

sentiment as publics' hostile emotions toward their incumbent

government's behaviors that publics find problematic. Second, we pro-

pose five measurement items based on exploratory factor analysis

(EFA) with principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor

analysis (CFA). Third, on the basis of Owen and Dennis' (2001) study

on political support, we identify three antecedents to anti‐government

sentiment: ethics failure, compassionate leadership, and buffering

strategy (specifically government communication). Finally, by examin-

ing the relationships among anti‐government sentiment and its ante-

cedents via structural equation modeling (SEM), this study seeks to

propose a theoretical framework of anti‐government sentiment.

2|LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 |Conceptualization of anti‐government

sentiment

Public relations research has found associations between the quality

of the organization–public relationship (OPR) and publics' supportive

and/or hostile behaviors toward an organization (e.g., J.‐N. Kim &

Received: 21 May 2018 Accepted: 17 June 2018

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1848

J Public Affairs. 2018;18:e1848.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1848

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of10