(In)consistency in Crisis Communication

Ohranjati doslednost je eno izmed ključnih pravil strateškega kriznega komuniciranja. Doslednost pomeni stabilnost in stabilnost nakazuje na ravnovesje v komuniciranju, kar pripomore k ohranjanju ugleda in integritete podjetja. Pri situacijski teoriji kriznega komuniciranja (SCCT) velja, da mora krizni menedžer prepoznati pravilen tip krize, nato pa svoj odziv primerno prilagoditi. SCCT bo v nalogi povezana s teorijami doslednosti in atribucije, celotni skupek pa bo pomagal odgovoriti na vprašanje o doslednosti v kriznem komuniciranju. Namen te diplomske naloge je raziskati, ali spremembe strategije kriznega komuniciranja med v času krize vplivajo na percepcijo podjetja v javnosti, prav tako pa na percepcijo odgovornosti za krizo. Raziskovalni del se opira na študijo dveh primerov korporativnih kriz, ki sta si po izvoru zelo podobni. Ameriški letalski družbi United Airlines in Southwest Airlines sta v letu 2017 postali predmet krize, ko so pristojni organi iz njunih letal nasilno izvlekli potnika/-co. V obeh primerih so dogodek z mobilnimi telefoni posneli preostali potniki in videoposnetke delili na spletnih družbenih omrežjih. Videoposnetki so sprožili val negativnih komentarjev javnosti in ko je že zgledalo, da sta krizi identični, so krizni odzivi obeh podjetij poskrbeli za popolnoma nasproten izid.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