Self-mocking crisis strategy on social media: Focusing on Alibaba chairman Jack Ma in China

Through qualitative and quantitative content analyses, this study examines China's largest e-commerce company, Alibaba, and its successful management of a paracrisis on social media. The study indicates that during the early paracrisis stage, Alibaba was successful at averting a social media reputation crisis by adopting the crisis response strategy of humorous self-mockery. The study also illustrates the importance of utilizing a CEO's personality and parasocial relationship in a crisis response, of choosing a communication style well suited to social media, and of analyzing existing public sentiment towards social media crisis communication. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.