Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Public attention to the great smog event: a case study of the 2013 smog event in Harbin, China

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Natural Hazards Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The 2013 outbreak of smog in China triggered unprecedented public attention in the country, which played a critical role in crisis communication and management. This study explores the determinants that influence public attention from the non-smog-stricken cities to the smog events. Following the literature on proximity, this study identified three influencing factors, namely cognitive, geographical, and organizational proximity, between two cities. We tested these factors by analyzing the public attention to the smog event that occurred in Harbin, China, on October 21, 2013. Data collected from Sina Weibo yielded 5409 Harbin smog-related Weibo posts sent between October 20, 2013, and October 31, 2013, from 113 cities. Results provide some support for the hypothesis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Antonio C, Messeni PA (2014) Partner geographic and organizational proximity and the innovative performance of knowledge-creating alliances. Eur Manag Rev 11(1):63–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balland PA (2009) Proximity and the evolution of collaboration networks: evidence from R&D projects within the GNSS industry (No. 0914). Utrecht University, Section of Economic Geography

  • Bauer MW, Allum N, Miller S (2007) What can we learn from 25 years of PUS survey research? Liberating and expanding the agenda. Public Underst Sci 16(1):79–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berelson B, Steiner GA (1964) But what are the behavioral sciences? (economics and the social sciences: human behavior-an inventory of scientific findings). Twin Res Hum Genet 15(1):1–5

    Google Scholar 

  • Bickerstaff K, Walker G (2001) Public understandings of air pollution: the ‘localisation’ of environmental risk. Glob Environ Change 11(2):133–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biel A, Dahlstrand U (1995) Risk perception and the location of a repository for spent nuclear fuel. Scand J Psychol 36(1):25–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bord RJ, O’Connor RE, Fisher A (2000) In what sense does the public need to understand global climate change? Public Underst Sci 9(3):205–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boschma R (2005) Proximity and innovation: a critical assessment. Reg Stud 39(1):61–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw M (2001) Multiple proximities: culture and geography in the transport logistics of newsprint manufactured in Australia. Environ Plan A 33(10):1717–1740

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brulle RJ, Carmichael J, Jenkins JC (2012) Shifting public opinion on climate change: an empirical assessment of factors influencing concern over climate change in the US, 2002–2010. Clim Change 114(2):169–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burmeister A, Colletis-Wahl K (1997) Proximity in production networks the circulatory dimension. Eur Urban Reg Stud 4(3):231–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns WJ, Slovic P (2012) Risk perception and behaviors: anticipating and responding to crises. Risk Anal 32(4):579–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chetty S, Michailova S (2011) Geographical proximity and inter-firm collaboration: the role of knowledge access and knowledge acquisition. J General Manag 36(4):71–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chew C, Eysenbach G (2010) Pandemics in the age of Twitter: content analysis of Tweets during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak. PLoS ONE 5(11):e14118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • China.com (2013) The country have experienced the most serious smog weather since 2013. http://news.china.com/news100/11038989/20131230/18251698.html

  • Cramton CD (2001) The mutual knowledge problem and its consequences for dispersed collaboration. Organ Sci 12(3):346–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham SW, Werker C (2012) Proximity and collaboration in European nanotechnology. Pap Reg Sci 91(4):723–742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desrochers P (2001) Geographical proximity and the transmission of tacit knowledge. Rev Aust Econ 14(1):25–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong Y, Ishikawa M, Liu X, Hamori S (2011) The determinants of citizen complaints on environmental pollution: an empirical study from China. J Clean Prod 19(12):1306–1314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downs A (1972) The issue–attention cycle. The Public Interest 28:38–50

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunlap RE (1975) The impact of political orientation on environmental attitudes and actions. Environ Behav 7:428–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easterly W, Levine R (2003) Tropics, germs, and crops: how endowments influence economic development. J Monet Econ 50(1):3–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frenken K, Van Oort F, Verburg T (2007) Related variety, unrelated variety and regional economic growth. Reg Stud 41(5):685–697

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gertler MS (1995) Being there—proximity, organization, and culture in the development and adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies. Econ Geogr 71(1):1–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gertler M (2008) Buzz without being there? Communities of practice in context. Commun Econ Creat Org 1(9):203–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill J, Butler RJ (2003) Managing instability in cross-cultural alliances. Long Range Plan 36(6):543–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldenberg J, Levy M (2009) Distance is not dead: Social interaction and geographical distance in the internet era. arXiv preprint arXiv:0906.3202

  • Gomes-Casseres B, Hagedoorn J, Jaffe AB (2006) Do alliances promote knowledge flows? J Financ Econ 80(1):5–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greunz L (2003) Geographically and technologically mediated knowledge spillovers between European regions. Ann Reg Sci 37(4):657–680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heath R (1998) Looking for answers: suggestions for improving how we evaluate crisis management. Saf Sci 30(1):151–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart R (1995) Public support for environmental protection: objective problems and subjective values in 43 societies. PS. Polit Sci Polit 28(01):57–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jepson C, Chaiken S (1990) Chronic issue-specific fear inhibits systematic processing of persuasive communications. J Soc Behav Pers 5(2):61

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahn ME, Kotchen MJ (2010) Environmental concern and the business cycle: The chilling effect of recession (No. w16241). National Bureau of Economic Research

  • Kirat T, Lung Y (1999) Innovation and proximity territories as loci of collective learning processes. Eur Urban Reg Stud 6(1):27–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knoben J, Oerlemans LA (2006) Proximity and inter-organizational collaboration: a literature review. Int J Manag Rev 8(2):71–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koopmans R, Vliegenthart R (2010) Media attention as the outcome of a diffusion process—A theoretical framework and cross-national evidence on earthquake coverage. Euro Soc Rev 27(5):636–653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuttschreuter M (2006) Psychological determinants of reactions to food risk messages. Risk Anal 26(4):1045–1057

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lim JM, Lee JH, Moon JH, Chung YS, Kim KH (2010) Source apportionment of PM10 at a small industrial area using positive matrix factorization. Atmos Res 95(1):88–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindell MK, Perry RW (2012) The protective action decision model: theoretical modifications and additional evidence. Risk Anal 32(4):616–632

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lujala P, Lein H, Rød JK (2015) Climate change, natural hazards, and risk perception: the role of proximity and personal experience. Local Environ 20(4):489–509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslow AH, Frager R, Fadiman J (1970) Motivation and personality, vol 2. Harper & Row, New York, pp 1887–1904

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattes J (2012) Dimensions of proximity and knowledge bases: innovation between spatial and non-spatial factors. Reg Stud 46(8):1085–1099

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meister C, Werker C (2004) Physical and organizational proximity in territorial innovation systems Introduction to the special issue. J Econ Geogr 4(1):1–2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Messeni Petruzzelli A (2008) Proximity and knowledge gatekeepers: the case of the Polytechnic University of Turin. J Knowl Manag 12(5):34–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller AG, McHoskey JW, Bane CM, Dowd TG (1993) The attitude polarization phenomenon: role of response measure, attitude extremity, and behavioral consequences of reported attitude change. J Pers Soc Psychol 64(4):561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Geographic (2013) Harbin smog crisis highlights china’s coal problem. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/10/131022-harbin-ice-city-smog-crisis-china-coal/

  • Newig J (2004) Public attention, political action: the example of environmental regulation. Ration Soc 16(2):149–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nooteboom B (2000) Learning and innovation in organizations and economies. OUP Oxford, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Oerlemans L, Meeus M (2005) Do organizational and spatial proximity impact on firm performance? Reg Stud 39(1):89–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prati G, Pietrantoni L, Zani B (2011) A social–cognitive model of pandemic influenza H1N1 risk perception and recommended behaviors in Italy. Risk Anal 31(4):645–656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prittwitz V (1990) Das Katastrophenparadox: Elemente einer Theorie der Umweltpolitik. Leske + Budrich, Opladen

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ripberger JT, Jenkins-Smith HC, Silva CL, Carlson DE, Henderson M (2014) Social media and severe weather: do tweets provide a valid indicator of public attention to severe weather risk communication? Weather Clim Soc 6:520–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenkopf L, Almeida P (2003) Overcoming local search through alliances and mobility. Manag Sci 49(6):751–766

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell Neuman W, Guggenheim L, Jang SM, Bae SY (2014) The dynamics of public attention: agenda-setting theory meets big data. J Commun 64(2):193–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakaki T, Okazaki M, Matsuo Y (2010) Earthquake shakes Twitter users: real-time event detection by social sensors. In: Proceedings of the 19th international conference on World Wide Web. ACM, pp 851–860

  • Shaw AT, Gilly JP (2000) On the analytical dimension of proximity dynamics. Reg Stud 34(2):169–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spence A, Poortinga W, Butler C, Pidgeon NF (2011) Perceptions of climate change and willingness to save energy related to flood experience. Nat Clim Change 1(1):46–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torre A, Rallett A (2005) Proximity and localization. Reg Stud 39(1):47–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay KR, Dunlap RE (1978) Rural-urban residence and concern with environmental quality: A replication and extension. Rural sociol 43(3):474

    Google Scholar 

  • Tumasjan A, Sprenger TO, Sandner PG, Welpe IM (2010) Predicting elections with Twitter: What 140 characters reveal about political sentiment. ICWSM 10:178–185

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Hu Z, Chen Y, Chen Z, Xu S (2013) Contamination characteristics and possible sources of PM10 and PM2.5 in different functional areas of Shanghai. China Atmos Environ 68:221–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber EU, Stern PC (2011) Public understanding of climate change in the United States. Am Psychol 66(4):315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weersink A, Raymond M (2007) Environmental regulations impact on agricultural spills and citizen complaints. Ecol Econ 60(3):654–660

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkof MV, Brown DW, Selsky JW (1995) When the stories are different: the influence of corporate culture mismatches on inter organizational relations. J Appl Behav Sci 31(3):373–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wuyts S, Colombo MG, Dutta S, Nooteboom B (2005) Empirical tests of optimal cognitive distance. J Econ Behav Organ 58(2):277–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xinhua News Agency (2013) Respiratory diseases caused by fog and hazy days surge. http://hlj.xinhuanet.com/news/2013-10/21/c_132815675.htm

  • Yuan Y, Liu S, Castro R, Pan X (2012) PM2.5 monitoring and mitigation in the cities of China. Environ Sci Technol 46(7):3627–3628

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The first author and the second author acknowledge the financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of China (71522013, 71373250, and 61004108).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, 230026, Anhui Province, People’s Republic of China

    Jiuchang Wei & Wanling Zhan

  2. Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia

    Xiumei Guo & Dora Marinova

Authors
  1. Jiuchang Wei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wanling Zhan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiumei Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dora Marinova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wanling Zhan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wei, J., Zhan, W., Guo, X. et al. Public attention to the great smog event: a case study of the 2013 smog event in Harbin, China. Nat Hazards 89, 923–938 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-3000-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-3000-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation