Thirteen qualitative interviews have been conducted with key individuals who have profound knowledge and experience in the subject of crisis communication. The thesis used a theory testing approach and highlights the main issues regarding the influence of intercultural competence in crisis information, and to what extent social media channels are used for crisis communication. Also, it covers how the leadership during crises affects the communication from the perspectives of the key individuals. In this empirical investigation, the analytical method of thematization has been used in order to select essential themes throughout the qualitative interviews. These themes have been compared to the relevant theories within the subject - crisis communication, intercultural competence, and social media in crisis situations. The emerging conclusions from this study were the importance of pre-existing relations between organizations and authorities in crisis situations, and the amplifications of crisis communication through crisis networks operating between organizations. Another conclusion was that proactive crisis communication plans need to be of a consise and general design to be practical in crisis situations. Furthermore, one conclusion was that most organizations according to the interviewees were aware of the absence of intercultural competence, but due to lack of resources this was not prioritized. The last conclusion was that social media channels have a high interest level during crisis situations, but was seldom used to a large extent during crises

Master of Science - Agricultural Education and Communication / Department of Communications and Agricultural Education / Jason D. Ellis / The Situational Crisis Communications Theory (SCCT) states that what organizations say to various publics during a crisis should influence the extent of the reputational and financial damage a crisis can inflict on the organization's image. Past research has focused on distinguishing types of crises and what crisis-communication strategies should be used with traditional media. Research exists, but looks at social media and its effects on brand reputation during a crisis via case studies or is an experimental design focused on the information source. There is a lack of controlled experimental studies that investigate the role of social media in crisis-communications strategies. Guided by Coombs’ Situational Crisis Communications Theory, this controlled experimental design employed a 2x2 factorial design. The independent variables were (a) type of crisis (preventable, accidental) and (b) type of response (rebuild, diminish) used on Twitter. The dependent variable was organizational brand reputation. Survey participants were recruited through a paid Qualtrics panel who were millennials that live in Midwestern states. Specific research questions were RQ 1: Will all participants begin with the same pre-test score; RQ 2: Is there a time effect on brand reputation; RQ 3: Does an accidental crisis change brand reputation; RQ 4: Does a preventable crisis change brand reputation; RQ 5: Does brand reputation change vary by crisis type? Based on findings in previous research, hypotheses developed were: H1: Brand reputation will be consistent from pre-brand to post-brand test for matched crisis responses; H2: Post-brand tests for unmatched accidental responses will be consistent with or better than pre-brand tests; H3: Post-brand tests for unmatched preventable responses will be lower than pre-brand tests. The findings from this study give insight to how SCCT translates to Twitter. In this study, matched responses did not maintain reputation as the SCCT literature suggests. In addition, the accidental unmatched condition did not perform better than the matched condition. However, unmatched preventable did have a bigger decline in brand reputation than matched, suggesting it could be better to have no response than the wrong response in some situations. This study confirms the need for practitioners to understand the crisis type prior to responding and understand the role of social media in communication. Throughout the study, it was found that using an unmatched response could cause a decrease in brand reputation. This is especially true when using a low-attribution response for a high-attribution situation, as the response will fall short of what the crisis requires.

The existing literature has discussed crisis communication as a tool to minimise reputational damage to a company in the event of a crisis. The Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) provide guidelines for managers in times of crises on how to protect their reputational assets and their corporate image in specific crisis situations with a set of communication strategies. The theory emphasise the importance of stakeholders in a crisis since they could oppose as a threat to companies´ reputation. Despite the realisation of stakeholders’ role in crisis communication, explorative studies aiming at understanding the consumer's perspective and how they prefer to be communicated are limited.   The purpose of this thesis is to understand, from consumers’ perspective, how companies should communicate in a time of crisis. This was done through using the existing Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) as a basis. The purpose was accomplished by conducting focus groups were crisis scenarios and strategies based on the SCCT played a fundamental role in generating results. The findings from the research suggest that there is a cycle explaining preferred crisis communication from consumers’ perspective. The suggested cycle includes three influencers that is: responsibility, communication, and reputation. This cycle suggest how consumers prefer to be communicated, what influences them to making that choice, and how it reflects back on the corporate image. The main finding of the research was the preferred communication in specific situations. The study showed that there is a set of generally applicable strategies, which consumers prefer in all crisis situations whereas additional preferences are added based on attributed responsibility.

The growth of social media has set demands on organizations to be online and interact with stakeholders, especially during a crisis. The public are no longer seen as passive receivers of marketing messages. Previous studies have shown that the need for information increases during a crisis. Social media can be a powerful tool if is used strategically. This case study looks deeper into Oxfam’s 2018 Haiti sexual exploitation scandal, as an attempt to understand how organizations communicate on social media during a crisis. By co-applying multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA) and the social-mediated crisis communication (SMCC) model, a broader understanding of how the crisis was handled can be developed. The data consists of four Instagram posts that will be analyzed, drawing upon four multimodal frameworks from Machin (2017): Iconography: the ‘hidden meanings’ of images; The meaning of color in visual design; The meaning of typography; and Representation of social actors in images. In order to obtain a broader picture of the strategies, key public and relationships, the components of the SMCC model will be identified and presented for this case. The result of this study shows that multiple response strategies have been used to communicate both tailored messages and unified organizational messages. It is apparent that Oxfam did not have a clear strategy and altered between apologizing, “blaming” individuals within the organization and distancing themselves from the crisis.

When the coronavirus disease COVID-19 spread through the world’s countries in early 2020 and dominated the news media, a contrast between how Sweden was combatting the virus compared to other countries who used stricter restrictions quickly became apparent and frequently discussed in media. Through a comparative content analysis, this study aims to investigate how narratives concerning the coronavirus have been presented in Swedish public news medium SVT compared to its Danish equivalent, DR. Any differences in such news reporting could indicate the possibility of media influence behind why one country implemented and adhered to stricter restrictions than the other did.Utilizing a quantitative as well as a quantitative approach, 245 articles from Danish and Swedish sources were coded and analysed through theory grounded in situational crisis communication (SCCT). The findings however revealed similar results, identifying the same four key SCCT-narratives in both countries: anxiety, blame, flattery and care. The theoretical contribution of this study is centred on the reflection of how these similar results may relate to one another on a societal and sensemaking level. The study ultimately also emphasises the flexibility of SCCT strategies as useful narrative tools for further research.

The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of how crisis communication strategies, specifically digital crisis communication, used by public organizations and governments, can reduce uncertaintyduring a crisis. The researchmethod of this studyis amixed method approachwhichobtainsqualitative data through interviews and quantitative data through a survey. The data for this research wasprocessed and analysed using thematic analysis, by looking for similar themes in the primary qualitative and quantitative data, where the themes aretreated as codes.Overall, from the findings of this research, it can be concluded that governments can usedigital crisis communication during acrisis to reduce uncertaintyby acknowledgingthe importance of trust, transparency and reputation, quick responses to the quickly changing situation, the use of multiple communication channels and the spread of misinformation.

Abstract In January 2020 the TV-program, Uppdrag granskning, was aired on channel SVT in Sweden and it was about the company Arla and their animal husbandry. Today's consumers place higher demands on food and which products they choose to buy, which shows that more and more people are making more conscious choices. The purpose of this study is to see how Arla handles their communication during a crisis on social media in the aftermath of the TV-program airing. Within the theoretical framework, situational crisis communication, image repair theory and crisis communication will be presented for this study. There are different types of qualitative content analysis and this study intends to start from a targeted qualitative content analysis. The critical rhetorical analysis will be based on ethos, logos and pathos in this study, which will be a complement to the other selected method.  The result from Arlas's crisis communication is supported by the predefined questions that were based on critical rhetorical analysis and Image repair theory. Furthermore, it is possible to interpret the results using a thematic division based on the appendices with an approach from the study's question. The conclusion is that Arla has used several different strategies in its crisis communication. It can be discerned both in their response comments on Facebook, but also in their press release and Facebook posts. However, the recurrence of certain responses implies a reliance on specific phrases to deflect responsibility.

No description available.

Problem  Crisis management has never been as important as it is today. Considering that criticism is being spread in a fast pace through social media, the reputation of an organisation can quickly be damaged. Several organisations however lack internal knowledge about crisis management. The majority of the previous research about crisis management has been conducted from the organisations’ perspective. There is however relatively little research done from an external actor’s role in supporting an organisation in crisis. Purpose  This study aims to contribute in the crisis management and communication field by investigating how an external actor can support an organisation in crisis. Method  The study was conducted through a qualitative single case study of crisis management support provided to firms by one external actor, a PR-agency. Primary data for the case was collected from six semi-structured interviews. Conclusion  External actors are a suitable helping hand in crises because they possess experience and knowledge in media and crisis communication and can view the situation objectively. Crisis consultants support their clients by providing a response strategy that is built on being honest and open. Proactive and post work are not prioritised by clients but are highly important for crisis preparedness and building a strong reputation. Social media is a standard part of today’s crisis communication but is also a demanding channel that creates incentives for hiring external support.

Carema Care (numera Vardaga) är ett privat ägt vårdföretag med verksamhet inom äldreomsorgen. Under hösten och vintern 2011 utsattes företaget för en intensiv mediebevakning där de anklagades för besparingar och vanvård. I denna uppsats undersöks Carema Cares externa kriskommunikation under mediedrevet. Kriskommunikationen analyseras utifrån situational crisis communication theory. Teorin beskriver vilka försvarsstrategier som ett företag kan och bör använda för att rädda sitt anseende. Teorin gör gällande att den viktigaste faktorn vid val av försvarsstrategi bör vara typ av kris som uppstått. Studien har utgått ifrån en kvalitativ textanalys med systematiserande frågeställningar och klassificering som tillvägagångssätt. Först analyserades nio nyhetsartiklar för att försöka fastställa vilken typ av kris som ägt rum. Därefter studerades Carema Cares pressmeddelanden för att identifiera vilka försvarsstrategier som Carema Care använt sig av och om dessa överensstämmer med vad som föreskrivs inom situational crisis communication theory. Resultatet visar på att Carema Care inte i något pressmeddelande använt sig av de försvarsstrategier som föreskrivs i situational crisis communication theory. / Carema Care (now by the name Vardaga) is a privately owned company within the field of elder care. During the autumn and winter of 2011, the company was the focal point of an intense media reporting. The company was accused of budget cuts and neglected care. This thesis investigates the external crisis communication from Carema Care during the intense media reporting. The crisis communication is analyzed using situational crisis communication theory. The theory describes which crisis response strategies that a company can and shall use when faced with a crisis in order to restore its image. The theory claims that the most important factor when choosing crisis response strategy is what type of crisis that has occurred. The investigation was carried out using qualitative text analysis, more specifically the method systematic questions and classification was used. In the first step, nine news articles were analyzed in order to determine what type of crisis that had occurred. In the second step, the press releases following each news article were analyzed in order to determine what response strategy that had been used and how it compared to what the theory recommended. The study shows that Carema Care did not use the response strategy recommended from situational crisis communication theory in any of its press releases.