Review Journal

Apologies and Public Relations Crises at Chrysler, Toshiba, and Volvo

 By Keith Michael Hearit

And

Attribution Theory as a guide for post-crisis communication research
 by W. Timothy Coombs

Apologies are a unique type of communication that organizations can use to rebuild their public image and their relationships with stakeholders after a crisis. Scholars in many disciplines have studied apologies, and apologies have been the most heavily studied crisis communication strategy. Despite the attention scholars have paid to this concept, no single, unifying definition of an apology exists. (Joshua,2013)

The first journal analyzed asserts that most crisis management research tends to neglect the communication component of crisis situations. As a corrective, this study suggests that a terminological approach is useful to studying public relations crises, particularly those in which the organization is guilty of wrongdoing and delivers an apology. This study analyzes the corporate apologetic discourses of three paradigmatic case.-at Chrysler, Toshiba, and Volvo-and examines the use of persuasive descriptions and strategic dissociations preferred by these corporate apologists. The author is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Northern Illinois University.

The conclusion of this journal is crisis management is a form of issue management, in which crisis managers attempt to control the terms used to describe corporate actions. While ultimate determination of guilt or innocence occurs in a courtroom, organizational communicators realize that the court of public opinion adjudicates a verdict that they can ill afford to lose. With increasing frequency, corporations publicly respond to charges of wrongdoing with justifications of their actions.

The second journal discuss about The field of crisis communication is poised to take the next in its evolution. Now is the time to move beyond the limits of the case study methods that shape the field’s development and shift to empirical methods. As the field matures, crisis managers need recommendations that are based on scientifically tested evidence rather than speculation. The argument for scientifically tested evidence for action is based on the evidence-based in management and medicine. This article discusses the role Attribution Theory has played and can continue to play in building scientifically tested evidence for crisis managers as well as providing an integrative mechanism for the diverse crisis research that spans a variety of disciplines.

The summary of this journal is Attribution Theory is an historical and still viable theory for
integrating crisis communication research. A common theoretical link allows for the integration of research from various researchers in diverse fields. We begin to build upon one another’s work and see how the pieces can begin to be integrated into a larger whole. Moreover, there is a broad research agenda to pursue based upon Attribution Theory. A partial list would include application of fundamental attribution error to crises and implications for crisis communication, the ability of crisis response strategies to shape perceptions of the crisis frames, how crisis response strategies can trigger the discounting principle, and relationship of crisis frames to counter-factual thinking. With Attribution Theory as a connecting point, diverse streams of research can converge into to a river of post-crisis communication knowledge that provides a mechanism for evidence-based crisis communication.

None of the apology components significantly affected attributions of responsibility. Also, feelings of empathy had a small negative effect on behavioral intentions. Overall the best predictor of account acceptance, organizational reputation, attribution of responsibility, post-crisis relationship quality, anger, and empathy was not the apology but the quality of the organization-stakeholder relationship before the crisis. The best predictor of behavioral intentions was the quality of the relationship after the crisis. (Joshua,2013)

According to Linda (2015) The organization has an ethical responsibility to ensure that crises are honestly assessed and that the strategies selected aren’t ones that will simply seek to minimize or shift blame. If this this responsibility isn’t taken seriously, the organization risks further reputational damage by losing the trust of a public that believes they have been misled. In many cases, this may mean that the public relations practitioner will need to objectively explain the criteria for the crisis category, explain why the crisis falls into a specific category, and firmly recommend the appropriate strategies. The organization must also ensure key information that may impact crisis analysis is not withheld in order to put the crisis in a more favorable light.

According to Ware & Linkugel in Thomas (2012)  Early research into crisis response strategies focused on how organizations could protect their reputations from public attack using apologia. However, recognition that organizations were using additional strategies resulted in the development of Coombs’ (1995, 1998, 2007) Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT). According to SCCT, a crisis manager who understands a crisis situation “can determine which crisis response strategy or strategies will maximize reputational protection” (Coombs, 2007, p. 166).

References :

Hearit,K.M.(1994).Apologies and Public Relations Crises at Chrysler, Toshiba, and Volvo. Public Relations Review, 20(2),p.113-125

Coombs,W.T.(2006).Attribution Theory as a guide for post-crisis communication research. Public Relations Review, 33 (2007),p. 135–139

Bentley, J. M. (2013). Talk is cheap: Organizational apologies from the stakeholder's perspective (Order No. 3587407). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection. (1426849370). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1426849370?accountid=25704

Gorman, L. (2015). Incorporating situational crisis communication and attribution theories into a crisis communication plan for xyz organization (Order No. 1591244). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection. (1697862139). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1697862139?accountid=25704

Isaacson, T. E. (2012). Evaluating the crisis response strategies of a university basketball program: How do reactions differ based on apologies, crisis severity, and team identification?(Order No. 3524109). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection. (1038381127). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1038381127?accountid=25704

Sausan Putri

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