Why and How Do Sojourners Talk about Macao? Effects of Perceived Risk and Expected Benefit

Abstract

Due to the growing popularity of digital platforms, social media conversations have been proposed and used as an indicator of public diplomacy outcomes. Despite this, existing research has found that most publics were unwilling to engage with foreign countries on social media. Considering this, this study seeks to identify factors that motivate and/or constrain individuals’ engagement in conversations about foreign countries. A survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted with sojourners who temporarily resided in Macao. When choosing how (i.e., channels) and what (i.e., content) to transmit, they managed the tension between perceived risk and expected benefit. Reflecting the theory of planned behavior, where individuals’ motivation (i.e., intended outcomes) and perceived behavioral control (i.e., ability to manage the tension between perceived risk and expected benefit to achieve such intended outcomes) predict behavioral intentions, the findings unveil the limitations of monitoring and tracking social media conversations as an indicator of public diplomacy outcomes.