Seventy-four highly experienced communications and public relations (PR) professionals serving top-level global corporations responded to a survey investigating types of organizational rumors, their prevalence and effects, the effectiveness of management strategies used to handle them, and psychological and situational variables with which they are associated. Results showed that harmful rumors are commonplace. Respondents indicated that organizational rumors about which they are concerned reach their ear almost weekly. The majority of these rumors were internal in nature and were most likely to be about personnel changes, job security, or job satisfaction. External rumors were most likely to consist of hearsay of concern to the general public, such as those rumors affecting the organization's reputation and those about product/service quality.

A variety of strategies were used to prevent and/or neutralize rumors. The most effective were: stating the values and procedures by which upcoming changes will be made, setting a time-line for full information releases, specifically attempting to increase trust, and confirming the rumor. In addition, two broad approaches emerged. These were comprised of strategies that structured (i.e., gave boundaries to) uncertainty and strategies focusing on enhancing the efficacy of official comments. Of these, the strategies that structured uncertainty were rated as most effective, followed closely by those comprising the official comments approach.

We offer 4 implications for PR professionals that follow from these findings. Based upon these implications and previous research (DiFonzo & Bordia, 1998; DiFonzo et al., 1994; Hirschhorn, 1983) we also propose general action plans to prevent and manage rumors.