Page Center Graduate Student Lab Group
The Page Center Graduate Student Lab Group was founded in 2015 to promote student-led collaborative research in corporate and public communication. Lab group members lead innovative research projects that tackle real-world communication issues under the guidance of stellar faculty members in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. The group frequently hosts training workshops that cover a variety of important topics such as grant writing, computational methods, and public relations curriculum development.
Current Lab Group Faculty and Students
Denise Bortree, Page Center director
Holly Overton, Page Center research director
Maranda Goke
Cassandra Troy
Yin Yang
Jiaqi (Agnes) Bao
Megan Pietruszewski Norman
Yongnam Jung
Yanan Wu
Peixin Hua
Lab Group Alumni
Carlina DiRusso, Managing Consultant, Ketchum
Jason Freeman, Assistant Professor, Brigham Young University
Pratiti Diddi, Assistant Professor, George Mason University
Virginia Harrison, Assistant Professor, Clemson University
Nahyun Kim, Assistant Professor, Drexel University
Anli Xiao, Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina
Michail Vafeiadis, Associate Professor, Auburn University
Christen Buckley, Assistant Professor, University of Florida
Nicholas Eng, Assistant Professor, University of Georgia
Olivia Reed, Assistant Professor, Minot State University
Jin Chen, Assistant Professor, Grand Valley State University
Adrienne Darrah, Assistant Teaching Professor, Penn State College of the Liberal Arts
Conferences
Research that is conducted within the Page Center Lab Group is often shared with scholars, practitioners, and the public, at conferences such as IPRRC, AEJMC,NCA and ICA.
2024
- Reed, O., Eng, N., Hua, P., Goke, M., Wu, Y., Vafeiadis, M., & Bortree, D. (2024). Navigating a social media influencer crisis: Crisis response strategies and the mediating effects of identification, authenticity, emotions, and reputation. IPRRC
- Buckley, C., Norman, M. L. P., Troy, C. L. C., Yang, Y., Bao, J., Overton, H., & Jung, Y. (2024). Storytelling, AI, and transparency in public relations for social change. IPRRC.
- Diddi, P., Vafeiadis, M., & Bortree, D. (2024). The role of religiosity and self-transcendent emotions in Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS). IPRRC.
2023
- Darah, A. (November, 2023). An examination of professional fundraising in accordance with resource dependence and stewardship theories [paper presentation]. National Communication Association Conference, National Harbor, MD.
-Bortree, D. S., Eng, N., Chen, J., Berndt, M., Reed, O., & Kurniasari, T. (August, 2023). Health influencers: How influencer type and sponsorship disclosure influence perceptions and intended behavior [poster presentation]. AEJMC, Washington, D.C.
- Eng, N., Reed, O., Berndt, M., Chen, J., Kurniasari, T., & Bortree, D. (2023). Health influencers: How influencer type and area of expertise influence source credibility, message trust, and intended behavior on social media. IPRRC.
- Harrison, V. S., Vafeiadis, M., & Overton, H. (2023).“In this day in age, you have to stand for something”: Examining source effects and fan reactions to the NBA’s corporate social advocacy (CSA) statements. IPRRC.
- Overton, H., Vafeiadis, M., Bhalla, N. Buckley, C., (2023). The Medium is the Message: Testing the Effect of Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA) Messages and Call-to-Action Statements on Advocating Behavioral Intentions. IPRRC.
2022
- Bortree, D., Kim, N., Eng, N., Dardis, F., Darrah, A., Freeman, J., & Vafeidadis, M. (2022). Promoting environmental responsibility: A big data examination of corporate digital communication on UN Sustainable Development Goals themes. IPRRC.
- Bortree, D., Troy, C., Eng, N., Pietruszewski, M., & Freeman, J. (2022). Improving environmental legitimacy: A test of CSR and CSA environmental messages. AEJMC.
- Dardis, F., Buckley, C., Xiao, A., Heaton C., Mitra P. (2022). Improving Nonprofit Engagement on Social Media: Using Big Data, Machine-learning, and Sentiment/Emotion Analysis to Evaluate Leading NPO Message Strategies. IPRRC.
- Eng, N., Troy, C., & Bortree, D. (2022) Symbolic and substantive legitimation: Examining corporate commitments to sustainable development goal 12. NCA.
- Harrison, V. S., Overton, H., & Vafeiadis, M. (2022). Should athletes take a stand on controversial issues? Examining athlete activism, parasocial relationships, and athlete-cause fit. AEJMC.
- Overton, H., Harrison, V., Eng, N., & Kim, J. (2022). Are we legit? Measuring perceptions of organization, issue, and actional legitimacy across CSR partnership types. IPRRC.
2021
- DiRusso, C., Buckley, C., Diddi, P., Dardis, F., Vafeiadis, M., Eng, N. (2021). Designing effective corporate social advocacy campaigns using issue salience, emotional intensity, and emotional valence. AEJMC.
- Eng, N., DiRusso, C., Troy, C., Freeman, J., Liao, M., & Sun, Y. (2021). “I had no idea that greenwashing was even a thing”: Identifying the cognitive mechanisms of exemplars in greenwashing literacy interventions. AEJMC.
- Harrison, V., Vafeiadis, M., Diddi, P., Buckley, C., & Dardis, F. (2021). Corporate social responsibility for nonprofits: The roles of short-duration partnerships, commitment, satisfaction, and mission accomplishment. ICA.
2020
- Eng, N., Chen, J., Freeman, J., & Dirusso, C. (2020). Testing the efficacy of carbon footprint calculator messaging on climate action: An emotion-as-frames approach. Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division, AEJMC.
- Kim, N., Harrison, V. S., Diddi, P., Vafeiadis, M., & Bortree, D. S. (2020). Issue-oriented approach to understand the public’s supportive behavioral intentions for nonprofit organizations. IPRRC.
- Madden, S., Kim, N., Buckley, C., Freeman, J. (2020). The intersection of expertise and social media influence: Theorizing the need for social media “influectuals”. AEJMC.
- Vafeiadis, M., Harrison, V., Diddi, P., Dardis, F. & Buckley, C. (2020). How CSR partnerships affect nonprofit organizations (NPOs): The mediating role of consumer-brand identification, CSR motives, and NPO social objective achievement. AEJMC.
2019
- Bortree, D. S., Harrison, V., Buckley, C., Vafeiadis, M., Yang, G., Freeman, J., Kim, N., & Gessner, J. (2019). Countering misinformation on social media: How stakeholders’ attitudes and behavioral intentions are influenced by source and supporting evidence of the rebuttal message. IPRRC.
- Bortree, D.S., Vafeiadis, M., Diddi, P., Gessner, J., Harrison, V., & Chai, Y. (2019). The role of self-transcendent emotions and empathy in motivating communication about social and environmental issues. AEJMC.
- Harrison, V. S., Buckley, C., & Xiao, A. (2019). Donation experience and advocacy: extending the organization-donor relationship model. ICA.
- Xiao, A., Harrison, V. & Buckley, C. (2019). Volunteer motivation fulfillment: The antecedents and outcomes. AEJMC.
2018
- Harrison, V. S., Vafeiadis, M., Diddi, P., & Conlin, J. (2018). What about our cause? The influence of corporate social responsibility on nonprofit reputation. AEJMC.
- Vafeiadis, M., Bortree, D.S., Buckley, C., Diddi, P. (2018). Combatting fake news: Examining the role of crisis response strategies and issue involvement in refuting misinformation on social media. AEJMC.
2017
- Formentin, M., & Bortree, D. S., (2017). Giving from the heart: Exploring how ethics of care emerges in corporate social responsibility. AEJMC.
- Harrison, V., Xiao, A., Ott, H., & Bortree, D. S. (2017). Calling all volunteers: The role of stewardship and involvement in volunteer-organization relationships. ICA.
- Huang, Y., Bortree, D. S., Yang, F., & Wang, R. (2017). Encouraging volunteer retention in the nonprofit organizations: The role of organizational inclusion and volunteer need satisfaction. ICA.
2016
- Bortree, D. S., Xiao, A., Yang, F., Wang, R., Wu, M., Huang, Y., Li, R., (2016). Credibility and deception in native advertising: Examining awareness, persuasion, and source credibility in sponsored content. AEJMC.
- Wu, M., Huang, Y., Li, R., Bortree, D. S., Yang, F., Xiao, A., Wang, R. (2016). A tale of two sources in native advertising: Examining the effects of source credibility and priming on content, organizations, and media evaluations. IPRRC.
- Xiao, A., Huang, Y., Bortree, D. S., (2016). Fundraising on social media: how message concreteness and framing influence donation outcomes. AEJMC.
Awards
2024
- Coming Soon
2023
- Coming Soon
2022
2022 Institute for Public Relations W. Ward White Awards for Top Three Papers of Practical Significance
Overton, H., Harrison, V., Eng, N., & Kim, J. (March, 2022). Are we legit? Measuring perceptions of organization, issue, and actional legitimacy across CSR partnership types. Manuscript presented at the 25th International Public Relations Research Conference. Orlando, Florida, USA.
2021
Literati Award for Outstanding Paper
Vafeiadis, M., Bortree, D.S., Buckley, C., Diddi, P. and Xiao, A. (2020). Refuting fake news on social media: Nonprofits, crisis response strategies and issue involvement. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 29(2), 209-222. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-12-2018-2146
2020
2020 Lori Eason Award for Graduate Student Research
Eng, N., Chen, J., Freeman, J., & Dirusso, C. (August, 8, 2020). Testing the efficacy of carbon footprint calculator messaging on climate action: An emotion-as-frames approach.* Paper presented to the Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division at the 103rd Annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference. (Virtual Conference)
2016
Brigham Young University Top Ethics Paper Award.
Wu, M., Huang, Y., Li, R., Bortree, D. S., Yang, F., Xiao, A., Wang, R. (2016). A tale of two sources in native advertising: Examining the effects of source credibility and priming on content, organizations, and media evaluations. IPRRC.
Second Place Top Paper Award – PRD
Xiao, A., Huang, Y., Bortree, D. S., (2016). Fundraising on social media: how message concreteness and framing influence donation outcomes. AEJMC.
Top Paper Award – PRD
Bortree, D. S., Xiao, A., Yang, F., Wang, R., Wu, M., Huang, Y., Li, R., (2016). Credibility and deception in native advertising: Examining awareness, persuasion, and source credibility in sponsored content. AEJMC.
Publications
2024
- Coming Soon
2023
- Eng, N., Troy, C. L. C., Bortree, D. S. (2023). Symbolic and substantive legitimation: Examining corporate commitments to sustainable development goal 12. Journal of Communication Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-06-2022-0075
- Troy, C. L. C., Norman, M. L. P., Eng, N., Freeman, J., & Bortree, D. S. (2023). Effects of climate CSA and CSR messaging: The moderating role of green consumer identity. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 28(6), 873-892. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-02-2023-0019
- Harrison, V. S., Vafeiadis, M., Diddi, P., Buckley, C., & Dardis, F. E. (2022). Understanding how corporate social responsibility partnership factors influence nonprofit supportive intentions. Public Relations Review, 48(5), 102184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102184
- Harrison, V. S., Vafeiadis, M., Diddi, P., & Conlin, J. (2022). The impact of CSR on nonprofit outcomes: How the choice of corporate partner influences reputation and supportive intentions. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 27(2), 205-225. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-02-2021-0020
2022
- DiRusso, C., Buckley, C., Diddi, P., Dardis, F. E., Vafeiadis, M., & Eng, N. (2022). Designing effective corporate social advocacy campaigns using valence, arousal, and issue salience. Public Relations Review, 48(3), 102207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102207
- Eng, N., Buckley, C., & Peng, R. (2022). Tracking the path of the green consumer: Surveying the decision-making process from self-transcendent values to supportive CSR intentions. Sustainability, 14(3), 1106. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031106
- Harrison, V. S., Vafeiadis, M., Diddi, P., Buckley, C., & Dardis, F. E. (2022). Understanding how corporate social responsibility partnership factors influence nonprofit supportive intentions. Public Relations Review, 48(5), 102184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102184
- Harrison, V. S., Vafeiadis, M., Diddi, P., & Conlin, J. (2022). The impact of CSR on nonprofit outcomes: How the choice of corporate partner influences reputation and supportive intentions. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 27(2), 205-225. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-02-2021-0020
2021
- Eng, N., DiRusso, C., Troy, C., Freeman, J., Liao, M., & Yuan, S. (2021). “I had no idea that greenwashing was even a thing”: Identifying the cognitive mechanisms of exemplars in greenwashing literacy interventions. Environmental Education Research, 27(11), 1599-1617. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1976732
- Harrison, V., Buckley, C., & Xiao, A. (2021). The roles of donation experience and advocacy: Extending the organization-donor relationship model. Journal of Communication Management, 25(1), 85-103. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-06-2020-0057
- Formentin, M., Bortree, D.S., & Kim, N. (2021). The big assist: exploring nonprofit practitioner beliefs about sport CSR relationships. Journal of Sports Media 16(2), 133-163. http://doi.org/10.1353/jsm.2021.0006
- Vafeiadis, M., Harrison, V. S., Diddi, P., Dardis, F., & Buckley, C. (2021). Strategic nonprofit communication: Effects of cross-sector corporate social responsibility (CSR) alliances on nonprofits and the mediating role of social-objectives achievement and consumer brand identification. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 15(4), 275-292. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2021.1945610
2020
- Vafeiadis, M., Bortree, D.S., Buckley, C., Diddi, P. and Xiao, A. (2020). Refuting fake news on social media: Nonprofits, crisis response strategies and issue involvement. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 29(2), 209-222. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-12-2018-2146
- Huang, Y., Bortree, D. S., Yang, F., Wang, R. (2020). Encouraging volunteering in nonprofit organizations: The role of organizational inclusion and volunteer need satisfaction. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 32(2), 147-165. https://doi.org/10.1080/10495142.2019.1589624
2019
- Xiao, A., Hilton, E., & Mohammed, W. F. (2019). A critical analysis of corporate social responsibility in Ghana’s telecommunications industry. Communicatio: South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research, 45(3), 4-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/02500167.2018.1552601
2017
- Harrison, V. S., Xiao, A., Ott, H. K., & Bortree, D. (2017). Calling all volunteers: The role of stewardship and involvement in volunteer-organization relationships. Public Relations Review, 43(4), 872-881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2017.06.006
2016
- Wu, M., Huang, Y., Li, R., Bortree, D. S., Yang, F., Xiao, A., & Wang, R. (2016). A tale of two sources in native advertising: Examining the effects of source credibility and priming on content, organizations, and media evaluations. American Behavioral Scientist, 60(12), 1492–1509. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764216660139
