In:
Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Emerald, Vol. 23, No. 4 ( 2018-10-09), p. 512-527
Abstract:
As crises are largely perceptual, the deeper the understanding is of how stakeholders perceive crisis situations, the more effectively corporations can target their crisis communication messages. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different stakeholder groups process information during transgression-based corporate crises. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on 17 qualitative interviews with the internal, external and media stakeholders of an organisation that experienced a major transgression-based crisis. A case study approach is adopted to analyse and understand how these stakeholders process and respond to the same crisis event. Findings Findings suggest that there are considerable differences in the crisis evaluations of different stakeholder groups. This study identifies several elements specific to internal, external and media stakeholders’ crisis information processing. Research limitations/implications Although the findings are tied to the specific case, the authors extend the existing theory by shedding light on the specific factors that shape the evaluations of different stakeholder groups during a transgression. Practical implications The findings may help managers in building more accurate assumptions and knowledge with respect to crisis effects on an organisation’s stakeholders and thus provide the basis for more effective crisis communication. Originality/value Prior crisis information-processing models provide fragmented and generic insights into the specifics of different stakeholder groups and thus lead crisis communication to miss opportunities to attenuate the loss of a corporation’s social approval. This study moves towards an integrated framework of how different stakeholders evaluate a transgression-based corporate crisis.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1356-3289
DOI:
10.1108/CCIJ-10-2017-0096
Language:
English
Publisher:
Emerald
Publication Date:
2018
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2029376-8
SSG:
3,2
SSG:
3,5
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