Browsing by Author "PHIRI, Falesi"

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Assessing the Effectiveness of Social Media in Crisis Communication. A Case of Zesco Limited, Lusaka
    (2026) PHIRI, Falesi
    Electricity is one of the most important commodities in every contemporary society. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of social media in crisis communication with a specific case Lusaka. This study, therefore, sought to: investigate the perception of customers towards the social media channels adopted to communicate crisis by ZESCO Limited; describe the most effective communication channels of social media in communicating with stakeholders during crisis at the utility company; and determine the effectiveness of crisis communication in minimizing the impact of crisis to the organization and its stakeholders. The study adopted an exploratory research design. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. This meant that there was triangulation of information collected through different instruments and from different sources. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to 384 ZESCO limited customers. However, only 366 were returned and 16 of these ruled out as invalid. Interviews were also conducted with 8 ZESCO Limited members of staff. Stratified random sampling was employed to select ZESCO Limited customers whereas employees were sampled using purposive sampling. In terms of data analysis, qualitative data was coded based on the themes and sub-themes that emerged. Quantitative data, on the other hand, was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Software (SPSS). The use of SPSS involved recording variables and presentation of data using percentages as well as other graphical representations such as graphs, pie charts and frequency distribution tables. The findings of the study revealed that most customers, specifically 78.31%, accessed information on service disruptions through social media, particularly Facebook and although the perception on the information shared was mostly positive, a considerable number of respondents felt that it not accurate enough which represented 74.57% of the respondents. WhatsApp was also considered highly useful in reporting outages even though it was discovered to be a one-way communication platform. The communication was considered to be effective by most of the participants as it enabled them to plan their business and as well as personal activities. The study recommends the introduction of social media monitoring tools, implementation a two-way communication mechanism across all platforms and regular benchmarking of social media communication strategies against other African utility companies. Key Words: Effectiveness Electricity, Communication, Crisis, Social media, Perception