Dr Michael Koch at the Kent Business School comments on the lack of visibility from Facebook's CEO
‘On one hand, it is quite surprising that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg does not communicate on a timely basis to reassure shareholders and the public regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In such a case, you would expect the CEO of a company to react very swiftly to defuse the situation as well as possible, especially since the Facebook share price is sliding.
‘On the other, this is a very delicate situation for Facebook, considering that this scandal, which involves sharing data about Facebook users, touches the heart of Facebook’s business model. Any statement by Zuckerberg is likely to have strong implications for the way Facebook conducts their business and respects their users’ rights. Regulators are also increasingly aware of the need to address Facebook’s problems.
‘It might well be that Facebook is still trying to devise a proper communication strategy, or that management intends to ride out the worst of the storm before Zuckerberg issues any communication.
‘In the past, Facebook has been faced with similar problems which haven’t created a similar backlash, so perhaps management is surprised by the extent of the negative reactions.’
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