West Pharmaceutical's explosion: structuring crisis discourse knowledge
Section snippets
Crisis Communication Standards
Researchers have developed a variety of recommendations for crisis response. The main lines of research are image restoration theory (Benoit, 1995), corporate apologia (Hearit, 2001), impression management (Allen & Caillouet, 1994), and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (Coombs, 1995, Coombs and Holladay, 2002). Often the recommendations can appear to be contradictory.1 This is problematic for crisis
Application of Crisis Communication Standards
On January 29, 2003, there was a massive explosion at West Pharmaceutical's Rouse Road facility in Kinston, North Carolina. The incident claimed the lives of six employees. The facility manufactured syringe plungers and intravenous fitments. The facility was a loss but West Pharmaceuticals, known as West, announced it would build a new facility just four miles from the old one. The Kinston explosion was a major crisis for West and it delivered crisis response strategies through the news media
Discussion
Crisis managers must prepare crisis discourse during stressful times which can facilitate errors. Crisis managers can draw upon the Crisis Communication Standards presented in this chapter for guidance during a crisis. The Crisis Communication Standards were derived from a synthesis of the crisis communication literature. The hope is that the crisis communication standards will reduce the chance of error and improve the effectiveness of the crisis discourse designed to protect the
References (22)
- et al.
Legitimate endeavors: Impression management strategies used by an organization in crisis
Communication Monographs
(1994) Accounts, excuses, and apologies: A theory of image restoration
(1995)Choosing the right words: The development of guidelines for the selection of the “appropriate” crisis response strategies
Management Communication Quarterly
(1995)Ongoing crisis communication: Planning, managing, and responding
(1999)- et al.
Communication and attributions in a crisis: An experimental study of crisis communication
Journal of Public Relations Research
(1996) - et al.
An extended examination of the crisis situation: A fusion of the relational management and symbolic approaches
Journal of Public Relations Research
(2001) - et al.
Helping crisis managers protect reputational assets: Initial tests of the situational crisis communication theory
Management Communication Quarterly
(2002) Investigators look at dust build-up, unknown spark in factory blast
(2003 February)Company was notified last fall of serious safety violation at site. State says problems corrected, unrelated to plant's explosion
Winston-Salem Journal
(2003 January 31)- et al.
An integrated symmetrical model for crisis-communications
Journal of Public Relations Research
(1996)
Cited by (37)
How verbal and non-verbal cues in a CEO apology for a corporate crisis affect a firm's social disapproval
2023, Journal of Business ResearchSo sorry, now please watch: Identifying image repair strategies, sincerity and forgiveness in YouTubers’ apology videos
2022, Public Relations ReviewCitation Excerpt :As we examined the response approach in relation to the IRT theory, YouTubers generally employ a combination of strategies, with mortification at the top. The mortification strategy, apologizing to beg forgiveness, is highly valued and defined as a crisis response standard when addressing reputation concerns (Coombs, 2004). It has been recommended that an apology is needed when the accused knows that they did something wrong (Coombs & Holladay, 2008), and this strategy recognizes that they have learned their lessons (Coombs & Schmidt, 2000).
What makes crisis response strategies work? The impact of crisis involvement and message framing
2014, Journal of Business ResearchCitation Excerpt :Organizations in crisis face severe reputational damage (Coombs, 2007). As a response to these crises, organizations best communicate in the most appropriate way to minimize the damage and to restore their organizational reputation (Coombs, 2004). Early research in crisis communication focuses on case studies in order to develop typologies of the crisis response strategies practitioners use (e.g., Benoit, 1995).
Examining the interplay of an organization's prior reputation, CEO's visibility, and immediate response to a crisis
2012, Public Relations ReviewCrisis response and crisis timing strategies, two sides of the same coin
2012, Public Relations ReviewCitation Excerpt :Research on crisis response strategies tested the different types of crisis response strategies in an ex-post crisis timing strategy condition (Coombs, 2004; Huang, 2006). In these ex-post crisis timing strategy situations, the use of crisis response strategies significantly reduces the crisis damage compared to giving only objective information about the crisis (Coombs, 2004; Coombs & Holladay, 2008). However, the impact of the different types of crisis responses has not yet been tested in an ex-ante crisis timing strategy condition.