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CLASS 6: ORGANIZATIONAL CRISISCOMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL MEDIAProf. Dr. Hannah Trittin-UlbrichLeuphana University LüneburgSummer term 2020Hannah.trittin@leuphana.de

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1. Understand why organizations engage in crisis communication, and recognizecommunicative crisis response strategies.

2. Reflect on the emergent, socially constructed nature of crises such as the Covid19pandemic.

3. Recognize the role of the media, particularly social media in the social co-production of crisis.

4. Understand the challenges that organizations face when communicating via socialmedia in times of crisis (and beyond).

Learning aims

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Crisis: A reputational thread for corporate reputation

Situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) (Coombs, 2007)

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Situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) (Coombs, 2007)

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1. Rumor 2. Natural disaster3. Malevolence/product tampering4. Workplace violence5. Challenge 6. Technical breakdown accident7. Technical breakdown product recall8. Mega damage

9. Human breakdown accident10. Human breakdown product recall11. Organizational misdeeds, with no

injuries12. Organizational misdeed, management

misconduct13. Organizational misdeeds, with injuries

low responsibility high responsibility

Coombs 2007

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Sources: https://www.wuv.de/marketing/mercedes_bietet_reichweite_gegen_corona & Facebook

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Crisis communication strategies for public organizations (Olsson, 2014)

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Source: Olssen, 2014

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The transmission model of communication

Communication in/by/on organizationsCommunication as simple process of

package-like information transfer

Message

Corporate Communication

Org. Comm.

Source: Schoeneborn & Trittin, 2013

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OrganizationalCommunication

Corporate Communication

Org. Comm. Comm. Org.

Transmission model of communication:Communication as simple process of

package-like information transfer

Constitutive model of communication: Communication as complex meaning-

negotiation process

Comm.

Source: Schoeneborn & Trittin, 2013)

How crisis are performedMedia myths (Tierney et al. 2006)

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• Extant disaster research suggests that disasters do not lead toanti-social behavior, but the opposite.

• However, media and governmental reports on African Americanvicitims in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrinaconstructed two images:

a) Aggressive individuals attacking other victims or emergency responders or

b) Helpless refugees that are unable to cope and deserve charity living in a «warzone»

• In turn, these constructed ‘media myths’ led to particular strategicresponse measures, including curfews, and first responder werereassigned to law-enforcement activities.

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— Situational crisis communication theory suggests various strategies how organizations can respondto crisis.

— While crisis communication of business firms aims to restore organizational reputation, crisiscommunication of public organizations largely aims at community resilience and crisis relief.

— Natural disaster cast particular challenges for organizations and can turn into other organizationalcrisis.

— A variety of actors is involved in the communicative co-construction of organizational crisis, a processthat is facilitated through social media.

— Social media create a dynamization, pluralization but also polarization of communication, andunderlines the role of emotions.

Conclusion

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List of references

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Coombs, W. T. (2007). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and application of situational crisiscommunication theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 10(3), 163-176.Etter, M., Ravasi, D., & Colleoni, E. (2019). Social media and the formation of organizational reputation. Academy of ManagementReview, 44(1), 28-52.Houston, J. B., Hawthorne, J., Perreault, M. F., Park, E. H., Goldstein Hode, M., Halliwell, M. R., ... & Griffith, S. A. (2015). Socialmedia and disasters: a functional framework for social media use in disaster planning, response, and research. Disasters, 39(1), 1-22.Tierney, K. J. (2007). From the margins to the mainstream? Disaster research at the crossroads. Annual Review of Sociolofy,33(1), 503-525.Tierney, K., Bevc, C., & Kuligowski, E. (2006). Metaphors matter: Disaster myths, media frames, and their consequences inHurricane Katrina. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 604(1), 57-81.Schoeneborn, D., & Trittin, H. (2013). Transcending transmission: Towards a constitutive perspective on CSR communication.Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 18(2), 193-211.Veil, S. R., Buehner, T., & Palenchar, M. J. (2011). A work-in-process literature review: Incorporating social media in risk and crisiscommunication. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis mManagement, 19(2), 110-122.Zaslawski, V. (2020). Die neue Rezo geht durch die Decke. NZZ, https://www.nzz.ch/panorama/mai-thi-nguyen-kim-die-neue-rezo-geht-durch-die-decke-ld.1551892?mktcid=smsh&mktcval=OS%20Share%20Hub (Access: 19.04.2020)

Contact

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Leuphana University of LüneburgInstitute for Management and OrganisationProf. Dr. Hannah Trittin-UlbrichAssistant Professor for Business Administration, particularly Business EthicsUniversitätsallee 121335 Lüneburg

Hannah.trittin@leuphana.dehttps://www.leuphana.de/en/institutes/imo/persons/hannah-trittin.htmlTwitter: @HaTrittin