Keeping consistency is one of the key rules of strategic crisis communication. Consistency implies stability and stability indicates a balance in communication which helps with safeguarding reputation and integrity of the company. Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) claims that firstly, the crisis manager needs to recognize the right type of crisis and secondly, adapt their crisis response its respective type. SCCT along with theories of consistency and attribution will help answer the question of consistency in crisis communication.
The aim of this thesis is to explore whether changes of crisis communication strategy during the crisis affect the public perception of the company, as well as the perception of crisis responsibility. The reseach section includes a two-part case study of corporate crises which highly resemble each other. American airline companies United Airlines and Southwest Airlines have become part of two separate crises in 2017, when authorities violently deplaned their passengers. In both cases, the incident was recorded on mobile phones by other passengers and the videos were shared on social media. The videos triggered a wave of negative comments by the public and just when it looked like the crises were identical, the crisis responses by both companies generated completely different outcomes.
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