How do practitioners view Arctic shipping Routes? a cognitive appraisal approach

Abstract

Companies obtain insight into experiences and expectations of stakeholders through social media (SM), where users openly express their opinions and feelings. Shipping companies also exten-sively use SM to engage stakeholders. Having better engagement is directly influenced by to what extent SM posts touch on the emotions and cognition of stakeholders. This study aims to identify the perspectives and sentiments of stakeholders on Arctic shipping routes (ASR) and to explain the emotional and cognitive standings of stakeholders about ASR. The results show that majority of practitioners are against ASR, and they position this issue as an environmental dilemma in their minds. Also, environmental considerations, companies' behaviors & attitudes, and policy themes dominate practitioners' minds. The current paper is the first that identifies the feelings and opinions of stakeholders towards ASR. The findings have the potential for shipping companies to clarify first their Arctic policies and second their SM-based engagement strategies.