The Handbook of Crisis Communication

Edited by W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay

A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication

The Handbook of Crisis Communication

Handbooks in Communication and Media This series aims to provide theoretically ambitious but accessible volumes devoted to the major fields and subfields within communication and media studies. Each volume sets out to ground and orientate the student through a broad range of specially commissioned chapters, and also to provide the more experienced scholar and teacher with a convenient and comprehensive overview of the latest trends and critical directions. The Handbook of Children, Media, and Development, edited by Sandra L. Calvert and Barbara J. Wilson The Handbook of Crisis Communication, edited by W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay Forthcoming The Handbook of Critical Intercultural Communication, edited by Rona Halualani and Thomas Nakayama The Handbook of Global Communication and Media Ethics, edited by Robert Fortner and Mark Fackler The Handbook of Global Research Methods, edited by Ingrid Volkmer The Handbook in International Advertising Research, edited by Hong Cheng The Handbook of Internet Studies, edited by Robert Burnett, Mia Consalvo, and Charles Ess The Handbook of Rhetorical and Public Address, edited by Shawn Parry-Giles

The Handbook of Crisis Communication

Edited by W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay

A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication

This edition first published 2010 © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell. Registered Office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom Editorial Offices 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148–5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. The right of W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay to be identified as the authors of the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The handbook of crisis communication / edited by W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay. p. cm. — (Handbooks in communication and media) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4051-9441-9 (hbk. : alk. paper) 1. Crisis management. 2. Communication in management. I. Coombs, W. Timothy. II. Holladay, Sherry J. HD49.H35 2010 658.4′5—dc22 2009041493 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Set in 10/13pt Galliard by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong Printed in Singapore 01

2010

Contents

Notes on Contributors Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Robert L. Heath Part I 1 2 3

Crisis and Allied Fields

Parameters for Crisis Communication W. Timothy Coombs Crisis Communication and Its Allied Fields W. Timothy Coombs Crisis Communication Research in Public Relations Journals: Tracking Research Trends Over Thirty Years Seon-Kyoung An and I-Huei Cheng

Part II

Methodological Variety

Case Studies 4 Organizational Networks in Disaster Response: An Examination of the US Government Network’s Efforts in Hurricane Katrina Gabriel L. Adkins 5 Regaining Altitude: A Case Analysis of the JetBlue Airways Valentine’s Day 2007 Crisis Gregory G. Efthimiou Textual Analysis 6 The Press as Agent of Cultural Repair: A Textual Analysis of News Coverage of the Virginia Tech Shootings Mohamad H. Elmasry and Vidhi Chaudhri

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Content Analysis 7 Are They Practicing What We Are Preaching? An Investigation of Crisis Communication Strategies in the Media Coverage of Chemical Accidents Sherry J. Holladay Experimental 8 Examining the Effects of Mutability and Framing on Perceptions of Human Error and Technical Error Crises: Implications for Situational Crisis Communication Theory W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay 9 How Do Past Crises Affect Publics’ Perceptions of Current Events? An Experiment Testing Corporate Reputation During an Adverse Event J. Drew Elliot 10 Crisis Response Effectiveness: Methodological Considerations for Advancement in Empirical Investigation into Response Impact Tomasz A. Fediuk, Kristin M. Pace, and Isabel C. Botero Part III

The Practice

11 “We tell people. It’s up to them to be prepared.” Public Relations Practices of Local Emergency Managers Robert Littlefield, Katherine Rowan, Shari R. Veil, Lorraine Kisselburgh, Kimberly Beauchamp, Kathleen Vidoloff, Marie L. Dick, Theresa Russell-Loretz, Induk Kim, Angelica Ruvarac, Quian Wang, Toni Siriko Hoang, Bonita Neff, Teri Toles-Patkin, Rod Troester, Shama Hyder, Steven Venette, and Timothy L. Sellnow 12 Thirty Common Basic Elements of Crisis Management Plans: Guidelines for Handling the Acute Stage of “Hard” Emergencies at the Tactical Level Alexander G. Nikolaev Part IV

Specific Applications

Organizational Contexts 13 Oil Industry Crisis Communication Michelle Maresh and David E. Williams 14 Educational Crisis Management Practices Tentatively Embrace the New Media Barbara S. Gainey 15 FEMA and the Rhetoric of Redemption: New Directions in Crisis Communication Models for Government Agencies Elizabeth Johnson Avery and Ruthann W. Lariscy

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Contents Crisis Communication and Race 16 Effective Public Relations in Racially Charged Crises: Not Black or White Brooke Fisher Liu 17 Public Relations and Reputation Management in a Crisis Situation: How Denny’s Restaurants Reinvigorated the Firm’s Corporate Identity Ali M. Kanso, Steven R. Levitt, and Richard Alan Nelson Part V

Technology and Crisis Communication

18 New Media for Crisis Communication: Opportunities for Technical Translation, Dialogue, and Stakeholder Responses Keri K. Stephens and Patty Malone 19 Organizational and Media Use of Technology During Fraud Crises Christopher Caldiero, Maureen Taylor, and Lia Ungureanu 20 Organizational Use of New Communication Technology in Product Recall Crises Maureen Taylor Part VI

Global Crisis Communication

21 Crisis Communication, Complexity, and the Cartoon Affair: A Case Study Finn Frandsen and Winni Johansen 22 Crisis Communication and Terrorist Attacks: Framing a Response to the 2004 Madrid Bombings and 2005 London Bombings María José Canel and Karen Sanders 23 Negotiating Global Citizenship: Mattel’s 2007 Recall Crisis Patricia A. Curtin 24 Celebrating Expulsions? Crisis Communication in the Swedish Migration Board Orla Vigsø Part VII

Theory Development

25 Crisis Communicators in Change: From Plans to Improvisations Jesper Falkheimer and Mats Heide 26 Contingency Theory of Strategic Conflict Management: Directions for the Practice of Crisis Communication from a Decade of Theory Development, Discovery, and Dialogue Augustine Pang, Yan Jin, and Glen T. Cameron 27 Crisis-Adaptive Public Information: A Model for Reliability in Chaos Suzanne Horsley

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28 Communicating Before a Crisis: An Exploration of Bolstering, CSR, and Inoculation Practices Shelley Wigley and Michael Pfau 29 Who Suffers? The Effect of Injured Party on Attributions of Crisis Responsibility Sun-A Park and María E. Len-Ríos 30 The Dialectics of Organizational Crisis Management Charles Conrad, Jane Stuart Baker, Chris Cudahy, and Jennifer Willyard 31 Exploring Crisis from a Receiver Perspective: Understanding Stakeholder Reactions During Crisis Events Tomasz A. Fediuk, W. Timothy Coombs, and Isabel C. Botero 32 Credibility Seeking through an Interorganizational Alliance: Instigating the Fen-Phen Confrontation Crisis Timothy L. Sellnow, Shari R. Veil, and Renae A. Streifel Part VIII

Future Research Directions

33 Future Directions of Crisis Communication Research: Emotions in Crisis – The Next Frontier Yan Jin and Augustine Pang 34 Complexity and Crises: A New Paradigm Dawn R. Gilpin and Priscilla Murphy 35 Considering the Future of Crisis Communication Research: Understanding the Opportunities Inherent to Crisis Events through the Discourse of Renewal Robert R. Ulmer, Timothy L. Sellnow, and Matthew W. Seeger 36 Toward a Holistic Organizational Approach to Understanding Crisis Maureen Taylor 37 What is a Public Relations “Crisis”? Refocusing Crisis Research Michael L. Kent 38 Crisis and Learning Larsåke Larsson 39 Pursuing Evidence-Based Crisis Communication W. Timothy Coombs Afterword Name Index Subject Index

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Notes on Contributors

Gabriel L. Adkins (MA, Wichita State University) is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Oklahoma. His research interests include organizational communication, interorganizational networking, intercultural communication, crisis communication, and communication technology. His other forthcoming publications examine issues such as the role of communication and technology in business continuity planning, employee resistance to organizational control of nonwork-related behaviors, and the role of communication technology in advancing monoculturalism and cyborgism in postmodern society. His most recent work involves an examination of the role of collaborative relationship building among interorganizational networks in disaster planning and the development of resistant and resilient communities. Seon-Kyoung An (PhD, University of Alabama) is a research assistant at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her research interests include crisis communication, organizational response strategies, anger and emotion management, new technologies and online communication, advertising and public relations effects, news frames, entertainment-education campaigns, and health communication. Her work has appeared in Public Relations Review, Korean Journal of Journalism and Communication Studies, Korean Journal of Public Relations Research, and Speech and Communication. Before joining the doctoral course in the University of Alabama in 2006, she was an instructor in Kyung Hee University and Seoul Women’s University, and participated as a research fellow in various research projects sponsored by the Korean Broadcasting Institute, Brain Korea 21 Project, Korean Broadcasting Advertising, and Government Youth Commission. Elizabeth Johnson Avery (PhD, University of Georgia) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Advertising and Public Relations in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Avery’s research utilizes persuasion and public opinion theory to enhance public relations practice and research, specifically in political and public health campaign contexts, including

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negativity in political campaigns, young voters’ political involvement, reaching disparate populations with health information, health crisis communication, practice of public information officers at health departments, and use of new technology for health information. Her research has been published in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Journal, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Health Communication, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of Advertising, Cancer Control, and Information, Communication and Society. Jane Stuart Baker (MA, University of Houston) is a doctoral candidate in organizational communication at Texas A&M University and will begin a faculty position at the University of Alabama in fall 2009. Her current research program addresses issues of diversity and group communication in organizations. Her dissertation is titled, “Are We Celebrating Diversity or Conformity? A Bona Fide Group Perspective of Corporate Diversity Networks.” Her work has appeared in Rhetorical and Critical Approaches to Public Relations and Applied Health Communication. In 2006, she was granted the John “Sam” Keltner Award for Most Outstanding Student Paper by the Peace and Conflict Division of the National Communication Association. Kimberly Beauchamp (BS, North Dakota State University) is currently a graduate student at NDSU with specific interests in risk and crisis communication, health communication, emergency preparedness, food safety, and food protection and defense. She is completing a double MS degree in mass communication and food safety at NDSU. Beauchamp is a 2007–9 National Needs Fellow through the Great Plains Institute of Food Safety. She currently serves as the Budget Director and Information Officer for the Risk and Crisis Communication Project Office – NDSU site under the direction of Robert S. Littlefield, and participates in research funded by the Department of Homeland Security. Isabel C. Botero (PhD, Michigan State University) is an assistant professor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University. Her research interests include understanding dynamic functions and communication behaviors of leaders in teams, perceptions of justice in work teams, voice and silence as information sharing mechanisms in the organization, and influence processes in the organization. Her work has appeared in Communication Monographs, Journal of Management Studies, and Management Communication Quarterly. Christopher Caldiero (PhD, Rutgers University) is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ. His research interests include crisis communication, organizational communication, and rhetorical analysis. His work has appeared in the American Communication Journal, Public Relations Review, and the Journal of Public Relations Research. Glen T. Cameron (PhD, University of Texas) is Gregory Chair in Journalism Research and Professor of Family and Community Medicine, University of MissouriColumbia. Cameron has authored more than 300 articles, chapters, conference

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papers, and books on public relations and health communication topics. His newest book, Public Relations Today: Managing Competition and Conflict (2008), focuses on strategic conflict management across the lifecycle of public relations issues. Cameron’s best-selling Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics is adopted at over 250 universities in the US, with translations in Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Romanian, Latvian, Serbian, and Greek. His Health Communication Research Center participates in over $38 million of external funding, from sources such as NIH, NCI, Missouri Foundation for Health, USDA, CDC, NIDR, the US Department of Defense, and Monsanto. María José Canel (PhD, University of Navarra, Spain) is Professor of Communication and Public Relations at Madrid Complutense University, Spain. She has published nationally and internationally on government communication and related matters (relations with the media, media effects, corporate communication strategies): Opinión Pública, Comunicación Política, Retrato de la profesión periodística, Morality Tales: Political Scandals in Britain and Spain in the 1990s (co-authored); Comunicación de las instituciones públicas. Her work has also appeared in Local Government Studies, Journal of Political Communication, European Journal of Communication, and Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism. She is Vice-President of the Political Communication Section of the International Association for Mass Communication Research (IAMCR) and President of ACOP (Asociación de Comunicación Política). She has practical experience in strategic communications for public institutions, having served as Chief of the Minister’s Cabinet for the Spanish Minister for Education, Culture, and Sport (2000–4). Vidhi Chaudhri (MA, Purdue University) is a doctoral candidate in organizational communication and public relations at Purdue University. Her research interests include corporate social responsibility, business ethics, globalization, and organizational rhetoric. Her work has appeared in Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, and Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. She was also named a 2009 Alan H. Monroe Graduate Scholar for professional scholarship by the Department of Communication, Purdue University. I-Huei Cheng (PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising at the National Chengchi University (NCCU), Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Cheng’s research interests center around health communication, information processing, and public relations, including risk management, communication ethics, and academic–industry relationships. Her work has appeared in Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Public Relations Review, and Journal of Public Relations Research. Forthcoming publications include research in the International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Health Communication, and Health Communication. Prior to joining NCCU, she was on the faculty at the University of Alabama and also taught at the University Kansas. Charles Conrad is Professor of Communication at Texas A&M University and former editor of Management Communication Quarterly. He teaches classes

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in organizational communication, organizational rhetoric, and communication, power, and politics. His research focuses on the symbolic processes through which organizations influence popular attitudes and public policies. He currently is working on two book manuscripts, Organizational Rhetoric: Resistance and Domination, and In the Long Run We’re All Dead: Organizations, Rhetoric, and Health Policymaking. W. Timothy Coombs (PhD, Purdue University) is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Eastern Illinois University. He is the 2002 recipient of the Jackson, Jackson, & Wagner Behavioral Science Prize from the Public Relations Society of America for his crisis research, which has led to the development and testing of situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). He has conducted crisis-related work for the federal government and lectured on crisis communication in the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Dr. Coombs has published widely in the areas of crisis management and preparedness, including articles in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Journal of Public Affairs, Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Business Communication, Journal of Communication Management, and Corporate Reputation Review. His award-winning books include Ongoing Crisis Communication and Code Red in the Boardroom: Crisis Management as Organizational DNA, It’s Not Just Public Relations: Public Relations in Society (co-authored with Sherry J. Holladay), and Today’s Public Relations (co-authored with Robert Heath). He and Sherry have also co-authored PR Strategy and Application: Managing Influence. He also edited the PSI Handbook of Business Security. Chris Cudahy is a doctoral student at Texas A&M University. Patricia A. Curtin (PhD, University of Georgia) is Professor and SOJC Endowed Chair of Public Relations at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. Dr. Curtin’s research interests include international and cross-cultural public relations, agenda building, ethics, and critical/cultural public relations theory. Her work has appeared in a number of journals and books, including the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Journal of Communication Management, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Communication Yearbook, and the Handbook of Public Relations. She is co-author of International Public Relations: Negotiating Culture, Identity and Power. Marie L. Dick (PhD, Purdue University) is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mass Communications at St. Cloud State University. Professor Dick’s previous industry experience includes print journalism, public relations, and upper management in corporate training/development. Her research interests are in risk/crisis communication, health communication, and science communication. In addition to her academic work, she and fellow artist Keith Fox have created a series of 21 acrylic paintings based on various aspects of Professor Dick’s and Professor Fox’s academic work. “GynTalk: Visual Fiction” has been featured in various galleries nationwide.

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Gregory G. Efthimiou (MA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a Communications Manager for Duke Energy in Charlotte, North Carolina. He specializes in corporate communications relating to renewable energy, sustainability, and environmental issues. Prior to this role, he worked for Accenture as a change management and communications consultant. His professional interests include crisis communication, reputation management, corporate social responsibility, and stakeholder relations. He has contributed to the book Corporate Communication and to PR Strategist magazine. J. Drew Elliot (MA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) works in corporate communications for Progress Energy, a Raleigh, NC-based Fortune 500 regulated utility with approximately 3.1 million electric customers in the Carolinas and Florida. His research interests include crisis communication, new media, and reputation management. Before accepting a Roy H. Park Fellowship to UNC Chapel Hill, Mr. Elliot worked as an advisor to legislators in both Houses of Congress in Washington, DC. Mohamad H. Elmasry (MA, University of Minnesota) is a Presidential Fellow and doctoral candidate in journalism and mass communication at the University of Iowa. His dissertation about news production in Egypt is expected in summer 2009. Mr. Elmasry’s research interests include the sociology of news, national and global press systems, western portrayals of Islam and Muslims, and Islam and the public sphere. He has accepted an assistant professor position at Qatar University and is scheduled to start work there in fall 2009. Jesper Falkheimer (PhD, Lund University) is Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies and Communication Management at Lund University, Campus Helsingborg, Sweden. Dr. Falkheimer’s research interests include crisis communication, news management, communication strategy, and place branding. His work has appeared in Public Relations Review, Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, Nordicom Review, and Event Management – an International Journal. He is editor of Geographies of Communication: The Spatial Turn in Media Studies and has published several textbooks in Sweden on public relations and crisis communication. Tomasz A. Fediuk (PhD, Michigan State University) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University. His research interests include strategic communication, crisis communication strategy effects, persuasive communication, public communication campaigns, and research methods. His work has appeared in Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, and Journal of Applied Communication Research. Finn Frandsen (mag. art., Åarhus University) is Professor of Corporate Communication and Director of the ASB Center for Corporate Communication at Åarhus School of Business, Åarhus University in Denmark. His primary research interests are crisis communication and crisis management, environmental communication, public relations, marketing communication, organizational communication,