Determinants of public emergency information dissemination on social networks: A meta-analysis

The dissemination of public emergency information on social networks is one of the key concerns for emergency management. Guided by Persuasive and Communication theory, this meta-analysis synthesized 21 empirical studies with a total sample of 1,232,945 individuals to quantify the relationship between various factors and the dissemination of public emergency information. Findings indicated that factors from the information receiver-related aspects (social motivation and emotional motivation) as critical antecedents at a medium-to-large level, whereas information source-related aspects (attractiveness and credibility) yield small, positive, and significant correlations. Among the information-related factors, only the emotional intensity of information was found to have a moderately strong positive relationship with emergency information dissemination. Moderator analysis further revealed that the impacts of several antecedents varied for different types of emergencies. The results of this study reconcile and clarify inconsistencies in research and make theoretical and practical contributions to the field of public emergency information.