Effects of apologies and crisis responsibility on corporate and spokesperson reputation (original) (raw)
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Public Relations Review, 2010
This study attempts to provide empirical evidence for Coombs ' (2007) Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), which provides guidelines for matching crisis response strategies to crisis types to best restore organizational reputations in times of crisis. The impact of crisis type and crisis response strategies on perceptions of corporate reputation is measured for 316 consumers participating in a 3 (crisis type: victim crisis, accidental crisis, preventable crisis) × 3 (crisis response: deny strategy, diminish strategy, rebuild strategy) between-subjects experimental design. The results show that preventable crises have the most negative effects on organizational reputation and that the rebuild strategy leads to the most positive reputational restoration. Moreover, the more severe people judge a crisis to be, the more negative are their perceptions of the organization's reputation. The interaction effect between crisis type and crisis response strategies on corporate reputation is not significant. However, a person's locus of control has a moderating impact on the relationship between crisis response strategy and organizational reputation. Specifically, the results show that people with an external locus of control prefer the use of deny strategies more than people with an internal locus of control. .be (A.-S. Claeys), verolien.cauberghe@ugent.be (V. Cauberghe), patrick.vyncke@ugent.be (P. Vyncke). 1 Tel.: +32 472 23 07 87. 2 Tel.: +32 09 264 68 91. 0363-8111/$ -see front matter
Why say sorry? Influencing consumer perceptions post organizational crises
Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 2009
Organizational crises can have devastating consequences to reputation, an important, intangible asset that can threaten an organization's long term viability. Therefore, choosing post-crisis communication responses mitigating negative consumer, public and stakeholders' perceptions are critical to managing corporate reputation. This exploratory, Australian based research tests crisis responses across the continuum of 'defensive' and 'accommodative' alternatives. Findings indicate that highly accommodating responses lead to significantly higher impressions of the organization and trust levels indicating less reputational damage. Conversely, the highly defensive strategy of denial indicated reputational damage had occurred. Surprisingly, a 'neutral' response strategy (no comment), a moderate 'accommodative' strategy (apology), and a moderate 'defensive' strategy (excuse) did not result in significantly different consumer impressions of, or trust in, the organization. Results indicate Australian perceptions of highly accommodative and highly defensive strategies are consistent with results found internationally. However, findings challenge existing literature and assumptions regarding affects of different crisis response strategies, suggesting it may be feasible to make no comment, rather than defend or apologize, if desired providing new insight into crisis responses strategy options available to managers.
Organizational apology and defense: Effects of guilt and managerial status
Journal of Managerial Issues, 2012
Prior research has shown that in the aftermath of an organizational product or service failure, accommodative communication approaches, such as apologies, are not just expected by the general public, but are also more beneficial to the organization in many ways, compared to defensive communication approaches. However, much of this research has assumed that communication decisions of this nature are shaped by factors that are purely rational or strategic. In this paper, the role that guilt—a moral emotion—plays in ...
Responding to Reputational Crises: A Stakeholder Perspective
Corporate Reputation Review, 1999
In this article, we explore the management of corporate reputation crises caused by sudden and unexpected incidents like industrial accidents, scandals, and product failures. Drawing on the stakeholder and crisis management literatures, we develop a model of reputational crises useful in understanding what they are, how they develop over time, and how they can be managed. Based on our model, we present a number of propositions concerning the complex relationship among the initial triggering event, stakeholder reactions, and the managerial responses that characterize reputational crises. Throughout the paper, we use the examples of the Union Carbide disaster at Bhopal and the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska to illustrate our theoretical points. We conclude with a discussion of future directions for research in this area.
We're sorry but it's not our fault: Organizational apologies in ambiguous crisis situations
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management
Crisis management theories encourage organizations to use different response strategies depending on how much responsibility for the crisis stakeholders attribute to organizations. However, theory has not fully addressed what organizations ought to say when responsibility for the crisis is ambiguous, as in a data breach crisis. This study uses a content analysis to (i) examine what organizations say in response to data breaches and (ii) compare what organizations say after data breaches with what organizations say when they are clearly responsible. The findings suggest that organizations are more likely to acknowledge responsibility and show empathy when they are clearly to blame, but are more likely to invite contact and advise stakeholders how to protect themselves in data breach situations.
Journal of Communication and Media Research , 2018
This study is a meta-analysis of empirical studies in crisis communication research. It provides a clearer picture of the overall trends and paradigm shifts in crisis communication discourse over the years. Its major objective is to examine thematic trends, theoretical framework and methodology that have characterized the discourse. Seventy relevant articles were identified, coded and content-analyzed. Findings revealed that dominant themes include stakeholder perceptions of communication strategies, crisis communication, crisis communication strategies and corporate reputation. Also, experiment, case study and survey are the dominant research methods that characterize research in this discourse. Findings also revealed a large domination of the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) and the Image Repair Theory. However, research in this area lacks significant empirical evidence from Africa and Nigeria in particular, where crisis seems to be a recurring phenomenon. Majority of the reviewed studies were conducted in the Western clime, with little attention on Africa. Scholarship needs to move beyond this point to provide a holistic and balanced view on crisis by exploring cases in Africa and particularly, in Nigeria. This gap will provide an opportunity for understanding the crisis dynamics in Africa and will further determine whether findings can be consistent across the world.
Public Relations Review, 2012
In one of only a few crisis communication research studies taking a relational approach, examining the effects of a company's prior reputation in publics' responses to a given crisis situation, Lyons and Cameron (2004) found that both reputation and response profoundly affected publics' attitude and behavioral intentions toward an organization involved in a crisis situation, using hypothetical, fictitious organizations and crises. Using actual organizations and crises, our research team designed a 2 (reputation: good vs. bad) × 2 (crisis response: apologetic vs. defensive) × 2 (CEO visibility in immediate crisis response: visible vs. invisible) within-subjects experiment (N = 102) to examine the variances in stakeholders' attitudes and behavioral intentions toward a company after being exposed to online video that delivered a corporate crisis response. Findings were counter-intuitive: a defensive response to a crisis is as acceptable to crisis stakeholders as an apologetic response if the CEO is visible (or audible) in the response and if the pre-crisis company-stakeholder reputation is positive. Good reputation, defensive crisis response and CEO visibility in immediate response to a crisis resulted in the best stakeholder attitudes and purchase intentions.
11th International Conference on …, 2007
The aim of the present study is the proposal of a set of drivers on which the organization can operate to improve its reputation. These drivers are derived from a new model ("Governance-structure-system" model), which enables the understanding of the working mechanisms of corporate communication activities of large companies. Starting from the individualization of the differences between corporate image and reputation, we propose a causal map of key influences on image and reputation. Then, we describe the factors of GSS model and select, from them, the specific drivers for corporate reputation management. In other words, we individualize the drivers through which it is possible to act on corporate key influences affecting corporate reputation. In the second part of the study, we present a critical analysis of the drivers actually used in some crisis cases, come to some conclusions and try to point out some directions for future research.