Jun Zhang (Ph.D. Syracuse University) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media at Middle Tennessee State University. She teaches courses in public relations, social media, and research methods. Her research focuses on crisis spillover effects, CSR/CSA legitimacy, organizational adoption of innovative technologies, and health misinformation. Her work has been published in leading academic journals, including Public Relations Review, Asian Journal of Communication, Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Health Communication, and Journal of Brand Management, among others. She also regularly presents papers at the annual conferences of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the International Communication Association (ICA). She serves as the co-director of the Social Media Insights Lab at MTSU.

Zhang earned her doctorate in mass communications in 2021 from the Newhouse School of Syracuse University. At Newhouse, Zhang taught courses about social media and quantitative research methods.

Previously, Zhang was a research analyst at the Center for Social Media Research at Peking University, China. She served as the key member of the Social Media Impact Measurement Project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the lead project manager for the social listening projects for Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the International Organization for Migration.

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Peer-Reviewed Journals

Zhang, J., Xu, D., & Li, C. (2024). Enhancing supportive intention through perceived legitimacy: Social media influencer leadership and charismatic legitimization in CSR communication. Public Relations Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2024.102511.

Zhang, J., & Lim, J. S. (2024). Efficacy of Response Strategies in Brand Spillover Crises: The Roles of Perceived Similarity, Blame Attribution, and Attitude Toward Response Messages. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12548

Lim, J. S., Zhang, J., Kim, J., & Lee, C., (2024). Understanding PM2.5 Risk Information Seeking and Processing Among South Koreans: Evidence of Desensitization? Asian Journal of Communication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2024.2384033.

Lim, J. S., Schneider, E., Tsyruleva, M., Zhang, J., & Peters, D. (2024) Effects of AI versus Human Source Attribution on Trust and Forgiveness in the Identical Corporate Apology Statement for a Data Breach Scandal. Public Relations Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2024.102520

Lim, J. S., Lee, C., Kim, J., & Zhang, J. (2024). Influence of COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation Beliefs on the Third-Person Effect: Implications for Social Media Content Moderation and Corrective Action. Online Information Review. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-04-2024-0220

Lim, J. S., Shin, D., Zhang, J., Masiclat, S., Luttrell, R., & Kinsey, D. (2023). News Audiences in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Perceptions and Behaviors of Optimizers, Mainstreamers, and Skeptics. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2022.2162901

Lim, J. S., & Zhang, J. (2022). Adoption of AI-driven personalization in digital news platforms: An integrative model of technology acceptance and perceived contingency. Technology in Society, 101965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101965

Lim, J. S., & Zhang, J. (2022). Cognitive and Affective Routes to the Adoption of Protective Behaviors Against Health Risks of PM2. 5 in China. Health Communication, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2061122

Zhang, J., & Lim, J. S. (2021). Mitigating negative spillover effects in a brand product-harm crisis: Strategies for market leaders and market challengers. Journal of Brand Management. 28, 77-98. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-020-00214-6

Lim, J. S., & Zhang, J. (2021). The impact of message appraisals of Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty on information seeking and electronic word-of-mouth intentions of US female consumers. Telematics and Informatics. 61, 101594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2021.101594

Lim, J. S., Choi, M., Zhang, J., & Noh, G. (2020). The role of wishful identification, emotional engagement, and parasocial relationships in repeated viewing of livestreaming games: A social cognitive theory perspective. Computer in Human Behavior. 108, 106327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106327

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