Repairing an organization’s image in times of crises: What strategies to use when?

• Main Authors: PANG, Augustine, HO, Benjamin Meng-Keng, MALIK, Nuraini
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2012
• Subjects: Image repair; Crisis; strategy; Reputation; Business and Corporate Communications; Organizational Behavior and Theory; Public Relations and Advertising
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6097; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/7096/viewcontent/Repairing_Orgn_Image_Crisis_2012.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The image repair theory has been described as the “dominant paradigm for examining corporate communication in times of crises” (Dardis & Haigh, 2009, p. 101). While the theory, which posits five major strategies and 14 sub-strategies, has been applied extensively, a fundamental question remains: What strategies should be used when? Through meta-analysis of the image repair studies, we examine the persuasiveness/effectiveness in the use of different strategies. This study addresses the call by Haigh and Brubaker (2010) to conduct more studies to understand the use of strategies across different crisis types with a view to providing a template to equip practitioners on what strategies to use during crises.