To limit the reputational damage inflicted on an organization during crises, crisis communication scholars have spent
considerable effort analyzing the appropriate crisis response strategies that coincide with certain crisis situations (Benoit, 1997;
Coombs 1995, 2006, 2007; Coombs & Holladay, 2014; Seeger & Ulmer, 2002). Although it is valuable and essential to gain
understanding of the implications of post-crisis communication, scholars have also alluded to the importance of pre-crisis preparation and
the devising of a pre-crisis plan (Coombs, 2007; Coombs & Holladay, 2001, 2002, 2006; Heath 1997). However, a majority of crisis
communication research has focused on post-crisis reactive strategies rather than pre-crisis preparation and prevention (Avery, Lariscy,
Kim, & Hocke, 2010). In addition, crisis communication scholars have studied the influence of the organization-public relationship
(OPR), a dominant public relations paradigm, on organizations post-crisis reputational assessments (Brown & White, 2011; Coombs,
2000). Nevertheless, no known research has examined the effects of pre-crisis plan exposure on post-crisis evaluations of organizations,
specifically the attitudinal measures trust and forgiveness. As a result, the current study sought to empirically test the effects of
transparently communicating a pre-crisis plan to stakeholders on their levels of organizational trustworthiness and forgiveness. To test
this effect, a 2 X 1 between-subject experiment was conducted, in which participants were either exposed to a pre-crisis plan or an
alternative plan (i.e. control group). Following a two-day delay, participants were then exposed to a crisis scenario description and
corresponding crisis response, as suggested by SCCT. Lastly, dependent measures and demographics were reported. Participants who completed
the experiment were rewarded extra credit. Statistical analysis revealed that while stakeholders who are exposed to a pre-crisis plan do
report slightly higher levels of organizational trustworthiness and forgiveness in comparison to those not exposed to a pre-crisis plan,
the mean difference between the groups is not significant. However, it is important to report that analysis of scale items did reveal a
significant difference between groups on their evaluations of organizational dependability. Thus, several implications and future research
opportunities are suggested. Most importantly, this study expanded the OPR research in crisis communication scholarship by alluding to the
need for further analysis on pre-crisis communication and its effect on organizational dependability. In addition, by empirically testing
the effects of pre-crisis plan exposure, the current study attends to the call for further research in crisis preparation (Avery et al.,
2010). / A Thesis submitted to the College of Communication and Information in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester 2016. / November 2, 2016. / Communication, Crisis, Forgiveness, Pre-Crisis, Preparation, Trust / Includes bibliographical references. / Patrick F. Merle, Professor Directing Thesis; Juliann Cortese, Committee Member; Jaejin Lee,
Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_405620 |
| Contributors | Peirce, Kalani (authoraut), Merle, Patrick F. (professor directing thesis), Cortese, Juliann (committee member), Lee, Jaejin (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Communication and Information (degree granting college), School of Communication (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (75 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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