scholarly journals Organizational Image Repair Tactics and Crisis Type: Implications for Crisis Response Strategy Effectiveness

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gribas ◽  
James DiSanza ◽  
Nancy Legge ◽  
Karen Hartman
Keyword(s):  
Relative Effectiveness ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organizational Crisis ◽  
Image Repair ◽  
Organizational Image ◽  
Situational Variables ◽  
Crisis Type

Existing models of organizational crisis response effectiveness provide useful insights but are limited in terms of offering a guide for practitioners dealing with actual crisis situations. This analysis examines the relative effectiveness of image repair tactics based on differences in root causes of crisis events. Results suggest that certain image repair tactics are seen as the most and the least effective regardless of crisis type. At the same time, there were some differences across crisis types that could guide practitioner tactic choices. Limited results here and in past research raise questions about whether image repair tactic effectiveness can be usefully mapped to situational variables, such as audience or crisis type. This article concludes with discussion on this matter and suggestions for future research.

Debunking the myth of denial’s effectiveness in crisis communication: context matters

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Timothy Coombs ◽  
Sherry Jean Holladay ◽  
An-Sofie Claeys
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Primary Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Organizational Reputation ◽  
Action Strategy ◽  
Positive Action

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the under-researched issue of how formal determinations of organizational responsibility for a crisis affect the effectiveness of the denial strategy in protecting organizational reputation. Because studies that omit later determinations of responsibility produce misleading representations of the value of denial, a pilot study and primary study investigated how later determinations of organizational culpability in a management misconduct crisis interact with crisis response strategies to affect reputation and anger. Design/methodology/approach Two studies used experimental designs to assess how denial interacted with determinations of crisis responsibility to influence reputation and anger. Findings The pilot study demonstrated reputational damage and stakeholder anger increased when an organization initially denied responsibility and then was found to be responsible for the crisis. The second study replicated the pilot study findings and also demonstrated that later determinations of guilt decreased reputation scores. When found guilty, the organization’s reputation was significantly more favorable when the positive action strategy was used. Comparison of three response strategies (no response, denial, and positive action) revealed the denial and no response conditions were significantly less effective than the positive response strategy when the organization was found guilty. Research limitations/implications Paper demonstrates the need for research on the denial strategy to consider later determinations of crisis responsibility (guilt) when assessing denial’s impact on organizational reputation. Practical implications When selecting response strategies in situations where crisis responsibility is unclear, practitioners should consider how later determinations of responsibility could affect reputation. Originality/value This paper questions past research on the value of the denial strategy, integrates findings from the trust violations research, and demonstrates the importance of considering formal judgments of organizational responsibility when selecting crisis response strategies.

Understanding emotionally involved publics

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeesun Kim ◽  
Yan Jin
Keyword(s):  
Management Practice ◽  
Product Category ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Categories ◽  
Crisis Type ◽  
Main Effects ◽  
A Company ◽  
Crisis Situations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the interplay of crisis type and felt involvement as well as product category on publics’ anger toward the company and empathy for the victims. Design/methodology/approach This study uses an experiment based on a 2 (crisis type: accident vs transgression) × 2 (publics’ felt crisis involvement: high vs low) × 2 (product category in crisis: food-related vs technology-related) mixed design. Findings Differential main effects on emotions were detected in different consumer product crises. One of the most interesting findings in this study was the main effects of high felt involvement over low felt involvement in strong feelings of anger toward a company and empathy for the victims in both food- and technology-related crisis situations. There was an interaction effect between crisis type and product category on feelings of anger toward a company. Participants in the food-related crisis condition reported more anger when exposed to a transgression crisis than an accident crisis. Research limitations/implications Future research needs to study other important crisis emotions and to measure them with multiple items instead of a single item. It would be useful to find out what combinations among crisis variables would produce interaction effects to better understand how different publics’ emotions are inducted and processed in different crisis situations. Practical implications The role of felt involvement on public emotions may not be product category specific, but rather be affectively influential across different product categories. From the standpoint of crisis management practice, the main contribution of the present study is to provide empirical evidence that crisis communication managers could use the level of publics’ felt crisis involvement to better predict publics’ emotions that are likely to be felt and displayed in crisis situations. Originality/value This study investigates the crisis-generated discrete emotions as a function of crisis type and felt involvement. Felt involvement should be considered as an important construct due to its potential consequences on publics’ emotions and their behaviors beyond perceptions of crisis responsibility. Crisis response messages should be strategically developed with a consideration of the interplay of crisis type, publics’ felt involvement, and product categories.

Organizational Crisis Communication: Suboptimal Crisis Response Selection Decisions and Behavioral Economics

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
An-Sofie Claeys ◽  
W Timothy Coombs
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Economics ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Information Overload ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Organizational Crisis ◽  
Crisis Response Strategy ◽  
The Moment

Abstract Organizations in crisis often fail to select the optimal crisis response strategy, preferring strategies that avoid short-term losses over the ones that offer long-term gains. This article proposes a descriptive theory of behavioral crisis communication that uses principles of behavioral economics to explain the recurrence of suboptimal anomalies found in crisis communication. Based on decision-making literature we first argue that the distinct context in which crisis communication takes place (e.g., time pressure, information overload) determines whether or not decisions are made in an analytical or an intuitive manner. Behavioral economics further allows us to explain how intuitive decisions can sometimes be biased by heuristics, which can result in the choice for a suboptimal crisis response strategy in the heat of the moment.

scholarly journals Swept to the Shores: An Analysis of Crisis Response Strategies by Canadian Political Leaders in the Aylan Kurdi Crisis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Siddiqi
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Communication Theory ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Image Repair ◽  
Canadian Government ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
And Performance ◽  
National Reputation ◽  
Image Repair Strategies

Motivation: This MRP explored Stephen Harper and Chris Alexander’s responses to the Aylan Kurdi crisis Canada faced in September 2015. Aylan Kurdi, a three-yearold boy, was found dead and photographed on the Turkish shore, close to where he drowned on September 2, 2015. Tima Kurdi, Aylan Kurdi’s aunt, told the media that the family had been trying to come to Canada through a G5 sponsorship agreement but had been denied entry by the Canadian government. Alexander and the Canadian government were criticized – and a crisis resulted. The crisis was particularly important as it came forward during the 2015 Canadian election, when the Conservative government’s refugee policies gained increasing attention. Arguably, this impacted professional image and reputation, as well as Canada’s national reputation. Purpose: The purpose of this MRP is to identify the types of image repair strategies Chris Alexander and Stephen Harper used to respond to the crisis in terms of both professional and national reputation. Methods: Two video responses were selected for examination; they were representative of Harper’s and Alexander’s initial responses to the Aylan Kurdi Crisis. The videos were chosen based on frequency of words such as: crisis, apologize, tragedy, failure, action, and blame. These words have come up frequently in the literature review conducted for this MRP. A content analysis was conducted for this MRP. Both videos were transcribed and coded to determine the types of crisis response strategies used by these leaders. The strategies examined are categorized into four types: denial, evasion of responsibility, reducing offensiveness, and mortification. Descriptors for each category (or sub-strategies under each category) included shifting the blame, defeasibility, bolstering, and apology. All 15 descriptors were drawn from the works of Coombs and Benoit (based on Image Repair Theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory). To quantify percentages, the entire numbers of crisis responses were divided the number of times a particular crisis response strategy was used. Results: Results indicated that both Harper and Alexander used crisis response strategies of reducing offensiveness, denial, evasion of responsibility, and mortification. Both leaders mainly focused on reducing offensiveness in terms of transcendence, bolstering, corrective action, and performance history. Through an analysis of their responses, it was evident that both leaders addressed Canada’s national reputation. Conclusion: The findings of this MRP present a key area for further exploration in crisis communication: how nations use image repair strategies to restore a tarnished image.

scholarly journals Swept to the Shores: An Analysis of Crisis Response Strategies by Canadian Political Leaders in the Aylan Kurdi Crisis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Siddiqi
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Communication Theory ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Image Repair ◽  
Canadian Government ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
And Performance ◽  
National Reputation ◽  
Image Repair Strategies

Motivation: This MRP explored Stephen Harper and Chris Alexander’s responses to the Aylan Kurdi crisis Canada faced in September 2015. Aylan Kurdi, a three-yearold boy, was found dead and photographed on the Turkish shore, close to where he drowned on September 2, 2015. Tima Kurdi, Aylan Kurdi’s aunt, told the media that the family had been trying to come to Canada through a G5 sponsorship agreement but had been denied entry by the Canadian government. Alexander and the Canadian government were criticized – and a crisis resulted. The crisis was particularly important as it came forward during the 2015 Canadian election, when the Conservative government’s refugee policies gained increasing attention. Arguably, this impacted professional image and reputation, as well as Canada’s national reputation. Purpose: The purpose of this MRP is to identify the types of image repair strategies Chris Alexander and Stephen Harper used to respond to the crisis in terms of both professional and national reputation. Methods: Two video responses were selected for examination; they were representative of Harper’s and Alexander’s initial responses to the Aylan Kurdi Crisis. The videos were chosen based on frequency of words such as: crisis, apologize, tragedy, failure, action, and blame. These words have come up frequently in the literature review conducted for this MRP. A content analysis was conducted for this MRP. Both videos were transcribed and coded to determine the types of crisis response strategies used by these leaders. The strategies examined are categorized into four types: denial, evasion of responsibility, reducing offensiveness, and mortification. Descriptors for each category (or sub-strategies under each category) included shifting the blame, defeasibility, bolstering, and apology. All 15 descriptors were drawn from the works of Coombs and Benoit (based on Image Repair Theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory). To quantify percentages, the entire numbers of crisis responses were divided the number of times a particular crisis response strategy was used. Results: Results indicated that both Harper and Alexander used crisis response strategies of reducing offensiveness, denial, evasion of responsibility, and mortification. Both leaders mainly focused on reducing offensiveness in terms of transcendence, bolstering, corrective action, and performance history. Through an analysis of their responses, it was evident that both leaders addressed Canada’s national reputation. Conclusion: The findings of this MRP present a key area for further exploration in crisis communication: how nations use image repair strategies to restore a tarnished image.

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