Nationalism Versus Animal Rights: A Semantic Network Analysis of Value Advocacy in Corporate Crisis

This case study provides an illustrative example of how nationalism can be exploited to shift media attention in a crisis involving international organizations. Semantic network analysis is used to explore the relationships among different meanings packaged in a corporation’s value advocacy messages. The semantic network analysis shows the semantic structure of the value advocacy messages and maps the structure of media coverage before and after the advocacy messages were released. The findings indicate that the value advocacy campaign effectively diversified the focus of media coverage. Implications for business communication research and practice are provided.