Erich J Sommerfeldt
Biographic Data
| ID | 942619 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Erich J Sommerfeldt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Erich J |
| FAMILY NAME | Sommerfeldt |
| SIGNATURE | SOMMERFELDT E J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Maryland, College Park |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 6 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 9 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
When Consumers Smell a Sell in Personal Stories
The rapid growth of social media has prompted many corporations to collaborate with social media influencers (SMIs) to create sponsored personal stories to engage their consumers. While the positive effects of narrative transportation have been examined in the SMI context, its potential backfire effects are rarely explored. Through two online experiments, Study 1 ( N = 161) found that narratives (vs. non-narratives) resulted in less positive ad r…
Network dynamics of civil society
This article explores the role of macro-level factors, specifically political opportunity structures (POS), in shaping interorganizational network tie formation and persistence. Grounded in the POS literature and the multitheoretical multilevel (MTML) framework-specifically using the theories of resource dependency and collective action-we examine how changes in POS are associated with network structures in Malaysian civil society. Data were coll…
Civil Society Networks and Malaysian Government Reform
While communication research on interorganizational homophily has grown, little is known about how issue homophily—defined here as the propensity to form ties based on shared issue priorities—influences interorganizational relationships in civil society. Our theoretical framework brings together homophily research and issue niche theory to explore the potential influence issues have on interorganizational network tie formation. Our empirical case…
What Influences Relationship Formation in a Global Civil Society Network? An Examination of Valued Multiplex Relations
Recent interorganizational communication research has taken up the question: why are networks structured the way they are? This line of inquiry has advanced communication network research by helping explain how and why networks take on certain structures or why certain organizations become positioned advantageously (or not). Yet, those studies assume relationships among organizations are either present or absent. This study considers how the stre…
Interorganizational homophily and social capital network positions in Malaysian civil society
The interorganizational relationship communication literature has identified homophily – the tendency for actors to form ties with similar others – as a mechanism predictive of tie formation among organizations in civil society networks. This study examined the connection between homophily and network structures equated with different types of social capital and perceptions of influence. Using survey data gathered from a network of Malaysian civi…
Defining the Contours of Contention
The contentious issues endemic to many cases within social issues management practice share a common feature: intractability, or the perception of being unsolvable. This study takes steps toward clarifying and defining the concept of intractability as part of strategic communication engagement with contentious challenges, asking how practitioners make meaning of ostensibly intractable issues. Data from in-depth interviews with 41 practitioners pr…
Drivers and barriers in public diplomacy evaluation
While the need for evaluation has become increasingly emphasized within the global public diplomacy community, recent research suggests the state of the practice is grim. However, the few writings that exist on evaluation practices in public diplomacy are anecdotal and focus mainly on obstacles to enacting evaluation behavior. Little is known about evaluation-related perceptions, motivations, and attitudes of public diplomacy practitioners themse…
Civil Society, Networks, and Relationship Management
Given the importance of relationships to civil society, many scholars have positioned strategic communication as essential to the civil society process. Using social network analysis, this study extends relationship management theory into the civil society arena and offers implications on how network approaches to examining relationships may help to move the theory forward. Using data gathered from a network of Peruvian civil society organization…
The Dynamics of Activist Power Relationships
The segmentation of publics is acknowledged to be a central component of effective strategic communication practice. Although most research on segmentation has used Grunig's situational theory of publics—a functional theory created for profit-based organizations—little attention has been paid to the process or thought behind how activist group organizations may segment their own publics. As such, this article discusses why the situational theory …
Drivers and barriers in public diplomacy evaluation
While the need for evaluation has become increasingly emphasized within the global public diplomacy community, recent research suggests the state of the practice is grim. However, the few writings that exist on evaluation practices in public diplomacy are anecdotal and focus mainly on obstacles to enacting evaluation behavior. Little is known about evaluation-related perceptions, motivations, and attitudes of public diplomacy practitioners themse…
Civil Society, Networks, and Relationship Management
Given the importance of relationships to civil society, many scholars have positioned strategic communication as essential to the civil society process. Using social network analysis, this study extends relationship management theory into the civil society arena and offers implications on how network approaches to examining relationships may help to move the theory forward. Using data gathered from a network of Peruvian civil society organization…
Interorganizational homophily and social capital network positions in Malaysian civil society
The interorganizational relationship communication literature has identified homophily – the tendency for actors to form ties with similar others – as a mechanism predictive of tie formation among organizations in civil society networks. This study examined the connection between homophily and network structures equated with different types of social capital and perceptions of influence. Using survey data gathered from a network of Malaysian civi…
The Dynamics of Activist Power Relationships
The segmentation of publics is acknowledged to be a central component of effective strategic communication practice. Although most research on segmentation has used Grunig's situational theory of publics—a functional theory created for profit-based organizations—little attention has been paid to the process or thought behind how activist group organizations may segment their own publics. As such, this article discusses why the situational theory …
The Dynamics of Activist Power Relationships
The segmentation of publics is acknowledged to be a central component of effective strategic communication practice. Although most research on segmentation has used Grunig's situational theory of publics—a functional theory created for profit-based organizations—little attention has been paid to the process or thought behind how activist group organizations may segment their own publics. As such, this article discusses why the situational theory …
Civil Society, Networks, and Relationship Management
Given the importance of relationships to civil society, many scholars have positioned strategic communication as essential to the civil society process. Using social network analysis, this study extends relationship management theory into the civil society arena and offers implications on how network approaches to examining relationships may help to move the theory forward. Using data gathered from a network of Peruvian civil society organization…
Drivers and barriers in public diplomacy evaluation
While the need for evaluation has become increasingly emphasized within the global public diplomacy community, recent research suggests the state of the practice is grim. However, the few writings that exist on evaluation practices in public diplomacy are anecdotal and focus mainly on obstacles to enacting evaluation behavior. Little is known about evaluation-related perceptions, motivations, and attitudes of public diplomacy practitioners themse…
Defining the Contours of Contention
The contentious issues endemic to many cases within social issues management practice share a common feature: intractability, or the perception of being unsolvable. This study takes steps toward clarifying and defining the concept of intractability as part of strategic communication engagement with contentious challenges, asking how practitioners make meaning of ostensibly intractable issues. Data from in-depth interviews with 41 practitioners pr…
Civil Society Networks and Malaysian Government Reform
While communication research on interorganizational homophily has grown, little is known about how issue homophily—defined here as the propensity to form ties based on shared issue priorities—influences interorganizational relationships in civil society. Our theoretical framework brings together homophily research and issue niche theory to explore the potential influence issues have on interorganizational network tie formation. Our empirical case…
What Influences Relationship Formation in a Global Civil Society Network? An Examination of Valued Multiplex Relations
Recent interorganizational communication research has taken up the question: why are networks structured the way they are? This line of inquiry has advanced communication network research by helping explain how and why networks take on certain structures or why certain organizations become positioned advantageously (or not). Yet, those studies assume relationships among organizations are either present or absent. This study considers how the stre…
Interorganizational homophily and social capital network positions in Malaysian civil society
The interorganizational relationship communication literature has identified homophily – the tendency for actors to form ties with similar others – as a mechanism predictive of tie formation among organizations in civil society networks. This study examined the connection between homophily and network structures equated with different types of social capital and perceptions of influence. Using survey data gathered from a network of Malaysian civi…
Network dynamics of civil society
This article explores the role of macro-level factors, specifically political opportunity structures (POS), in shaping interorganizational network tie formation and persistence. Grounded in the POS literature and the multitheoretical multilevel (MTML) framework-specifically using the theories of resource dependency and collective action-we examine how changes in POS are associated with network structures in Malaysian civil society. Data were coll…
When Consumers Smell a Sell in Personal Stories
The rapid growth of social media has prompted many corporations to collaborate with social media influencers (SMIs) to create sponsored personal stories to engage their consumers. While the positive effects of narrative transportation have been examined in the SMI context, its potential backfire effects are rarely explored. Through two online experiments, Study 1 ( N = 161) found that narratives (vs. non-narratives) resulted in less positive ad r…
Political science (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Law (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Public relations (6 works) · Law (5 works) · Social science (5 works) · Public Relations and Crisis Communication (4 works) · Social Capital and Networks (4 works) · Social Psychology (4 works)