In depth-interviews allow for practitioners from different companies and industries explain which communication responses they have used in the past during different crisis situations.
The Situational Crisis Communication Theory allows for different ways of approaching and solving different situations. While social media has gained attention from the technological and historical perspective, little research has been done that studies the use of this new media platform in crisis communications Landau, , p. The intersection of these two areas of study is further researched in this study. These sources, in addition to other findings, will help to increase the knowledge of the importance of incorporating social media into crisis communication practice.
Research questions and purpose Each of the three, outlined research questions were designed in order to explore which practices are considered most important by each interview participant, when responding to publics during the crisis communication process. The purpose of this study is to explore which practices are most important when companies respond to the public during the crisis communication process, and how they utilize social media as a response tool. By using qualitative research methods and building upon previous data, the results of this study should prove that crisis management professionals have incorporated social media into the communication process, and value the platform as an important means of reaching their public.
Participants received an initial email inviting them to participate in the study, and were then given a brief summary of the purpose of the research. Once the potential participants agreed to be apart of the study, a face-to-face interview or phone interview was set up.
While face-to-face interviews were preferred, some participants lived outside of the Houston area, or requested to have the interview over the phone instead. The participants were given an informed consent form that invited them to participate voluntarily, and outlined the purpose of the study, their rights as participants, and what they would be asked to do. Public relations practitioners and crisis communications managers were sought out from various industries including the oil and gas industry, health care, education, etc.
This allowed for a wide variety of answers, and covered different responsibilities that public relations professionals hold. We reached out to an initial 36 public relations and crisis management professionals, and the resulting sample consisted of 18 participants. Out of the 18 participants, 11 were male and seven were female. Participants were mainly from Texas, 11 being from the Houston area, three from Dallas, and two from College Station.
The two remaining participants were in Denver, Colorado. Since we did not think to compare business-to-business companies initially before conducting research, participants were not sought out after which of these two industries they worked in. Although, the participants ended up being almost equally divided.
Eight of our participants identified with business-to-business organizations, and ten belonged to business-to- consumer companies. The industries represented in our study are: oil and gas operations, health- care, nonprofit, the food industry, housing development, private crisis management firm, and financial banking. We later chose to focus on the difference in business-to-business companies and those who are consumer related companies, because by comparing these two main sectors of business, the study is able to draw comparisons about how social media is used in crisis situations, and if it is valued as a communications tool.
Procedure Participants were asked open-ended questions regarding the most important practices and strategies used during each stage of crisis communication, as well as the best practices on social media. Questions ranged from asking about the greatest challenges they have faced in their current job, to asking questions that dealt with previous experience and apply to the study. The in-depth interviews focused on how social media has added to dealing with crisis, responding to publics, and how it is used as a means of communication.
Each interview was recorded and transcribed. In order to enhance the interview process, I took notes and recorded key information aside from answers to the structured questions that aided and contributed to this study. Interviews ranged from minutes, and were conducted in person and over the phone. Data Analysis Once the interviews were completed and the data was recorded, answers from each participant were analyzed by looking for themes and common effective practices that are used during crisis communication.
To interpret the data, we used thematic analysis. Thematic analysis was used as an open- coding procedure to find and consider themes that occurred in each of the interviews Boyatzis, The interviews were coded and applied to the different themes and research questions that guided the research.
The three main codes were social media, crisis communication responses, and utilizing social media during a crisis event. By identifying which themes where similar in each of the 18 interviews, these codes were chosen. Results Little research has explored companies using social media as a means of communicating with publics during times of crisis.
The best practices of risk and crisis communication outlined in this study were explored and examined during the qualitative research process. This previous data related to the research because it acted as a framework for interview questions, and helped to guide open-ended questions that further explained each process. The practices depended on whether the participant worked for a business-to-business or business-to-consumer company. Expert round table on social media and risk communication during times of crisis : strategic challenges and opportunities.
Washington, D. Retrieved December 8, , Author : Lucinda L. Duhe Ed. Blog functions as risk and crisis communication during Hurricane Katrina. Filled with real-world examples and case studies, it is an ideal self-study resource. Its easy-to-navigate structure and numerous exercises also make it suitable for courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
From crowdsourcing and digital volunteers to mapping and collective intelligence, Social Media, Crisis Communication, and Emergency Management: Leveraging Web 2. Examples of such technological crises are industrial mishaps, oil spills and software failures. Such examples include boycotting products, picketing also known as holding demonstrations or protesting , blocking or occupying a building forcefully, resisting arrest or defying police and sit-ins that make claims to those in authority.
They can also seek to gain from it so as to destroy its functions or destabilize its operations. Crisis of skewed Management Values-occurs when a manager in the organization gives special attention to short-term economic gains from investors over wider social values of the organization and its shareholders. This practice goes against the interests of the customers, the community and employees of the organization.
Crisis of Management Misconduct- It is usually on another scale of wrongdoing where deception, skewed values are part. The managerial department of an organization decides to be deliberately illegal in its customer dealings and without a sense of morality in its operations. It defies all ethical codes of operation.
The latter argued that the product contained genetically modified organisms GMO , after Unilever ran a successful campaign to promote Aromat. This declaration by the National Biosafety Authority resulted in a withdrawal of the product from supermarket shelves and retail stores countrywide.
Internet mishaps such as a poor internet connection, virus infection in computers resulting in slow computer functions password errors all end up in a crisis. The management of the organization should handle its personnel appropriately and not entertain a casual attitude at work.
He stopped to watch black smoke pour from the place of impact—an awful lot of smoke, it seemed, for what was probably a small plane that had lost its way. Failure can result in serious harm to stakeholders, losses for an organization, or end its very existence. Unlike the lengthy pre-planned solutions to predictable problems, which incidence managers use, the crisis manager has to work out the unexpected problem in an organization, with professionalism, care and creativity.
This helps to avoid deepening the problem. In Kenya today, the active use of social media as a means to lobby for rights against injustice, for instance the Kenyans On Twitter hash tag KOT , has kept organizations and government departments on their toes as far as accountability is concerned Twitter, Crisis management is designed to prevent or lessen the damage a crisis can inflict on an organization and its stakeholders.
It is divided into three phases: a. Pre-crisis -: Prevention and preparation of a crisis b. Crisis response -: Crisis management team responds to a crisis c. Post-crisis -: Crisis management team looks for ways to avoid another crisis from happening and how to handle it if it occurred.
Effective communication during a crisis requires a good ability to communicate before, during and after the crisis. Communication is very vital in an organization and when a crisis occurs, the art of communicating should be carefully looked at, to avoid misguidance or miscommunication, especially from the media and the public. Communication requires coordination, cooperation and a great deal of internal communication.
Everyone in the organization should have great communication skills to achieve organizational goals and objectives. This will minimize the possibility of the crisis from occurring. In reference to Reynolds.
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