Exploring the consequences of CEO influencers’ social media firestorms on shaping online public opinion

Public relations in the digital age have been reshaped by how public opinion is formed, shared, and amplified, with social media platforms emerging as decisive arenas for organisational communication and information dissemination. CEO influencers— leaders who merge corporate leadership with carefully curated personal branding—now stand at the centre of these volatile exchanges. Yet scholarship lacks an integrated framework that explains how reputational shocks travel through digital networks and why some controversies escalate into large-scale firestorms that ultimately affect brand equity and organisational reputation. This thesis addresses these gaps through five objectives. Firstly, it explores why netizens participate in social media firestorms, focusing on the dynamics that drive engagement and amplification. Secondly, it evaluates how such participation shapes perceptions of brand equity, including shifts in brand awareness and loyalty. Thirdly, it examines how CEO influencers’ reputations are affected, particularly through heightened scrutiny and backlash. Fourthly, it identifies the communicative strategies CEO influencers deploy to manage online outrage, including response tactics, emotional management, and image surveillance. Lastly, it explains how CEO influencers strategically leverage firestorms to rebuild trust and generate positive brand recall. Using a qualitative research design, fifteen in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with Malaysian netizens and five with CEO influencers who had experienced social media firestorms.