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different phases. Four theories of crisis communication are
discussed, and the common issues that the theories focus on are
used to build the framework. Finally, the author uses Shanghai
Metro’s crisis communication to show how a government agency
can employ the microblog to communicate with the public in
times of crisis.
2. PREVIOUS STUDIES
In this section the author first talks about the stage approach. The
author then discusses four common issues affecting crisis
communication strategies concerned by primary crisis
communication theories. Finally, the author discusses some
features of the microblog.
2.1 Three Stages of a Crisis
According to the stage approach, the development of a crisis can
be divided into phases, according to which different tasks are
assigned [14]. There are many stage models, among which the
three-stage model is the most used [32]. The author will also use
three-stage model due to its simplicity.
Simple as the three-stage approach is, scholars try to assign
various definitions to the phases [15, 30]. Coomb summed up the
previous studies and proposed a summarized three-stage model.
His model includes a pre-crisis stage, crisis event stage, and postcrisis
stage [7].Specifically, the pre-crisis stage is when a crisis
has not happened yet. In this phase, the tasks are to detect crisis
signs, prevent possible risks, reduce the potential harm, and
prepare for possible responses [7, 30]. The crisis event stage is
when crisis has occurred and brought damages. The organization
should recognize the crisis as soon as possible and make
responses to the crisis so as to mitigate negative impact [7, 15].
The post-crisis stage is when the immediate effect of a crisis is
over [7]. In this phase the organization should learn from the crisis,
monitor the public’s impression, and make sure that the crisis is
truly over [7, 27].
2.2 Communication Strategies
In this section, the author discusses four common issues examined
by primary crisis communication theories, namely the corporate
apologia theory, image restoration theory, situational crisis
communication theory (SCCT), and organizational renewal
theory[1, 38].The corporate apologia theory focuses on the
apology strategy in a crisis. The image restoration theory is
concerned with strategies for repairing the reputation under attack.
Apology is included in this theory as a general strategy. The
SCCT argues that an organization should apply strategies
according to the situation of the crisis. Lastly, the organizational
renew theory encourages the organization to emphasize the
positive side of the crisis. These four theories fall in the research
area of public relations and recommend strategies for repairing
and retaining organizational reputation in a crisis. Table 1 shows
the features of each theory.
Table 1. Crisis Communication Theories
Theory Main Arguments
Corporate Apologia
o The theory focuses on apology strategies.
o Depending on the responsibilities for the
crisis, five strategies are suggested.
o Strategies: denial, counterattack, excuse,
promising not to do it again, and seeking a
legal solution which is not a public relation
stance.
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Image Restoration
SCCT
Organizational
Renewal Theory
o This theory focuses on restoring
organizational image when the image is under
attack.
o Two elements of an attack:
-­‐ The accused is held responsible for an
action.
-­‐ The action is considered to be offensive.
o Strategies:
-­‐ Denial and evasion (to the first element).
-­‐ Reducing offensiveness, and corrective
action (to the second element).
-­‐ Mortification (general strategy).
o Crisis strategies depend on the history of the
crisis, previous reputation, and the
responsibilities for the crisis.
o Crisis clusters divided by the responsibility:
victim cluster, accidental cluster, prevention
cluster.
o Strategies applied accordingly: denial,
diminishing, and bolstering.
o The theory is more prospective than
retrospective. It emphasizes rebuilding.
o Four facets of the theory: organizational
learning, ethical communication, prospective
vision, and effective organizational rhetoric.
The theories mainly focus on four factors that an organization
should consider when designing its crisis communication
strategies. These four factors are the crisis situation, the
stakeholders, the values, and the further view. In the following
part of this section the author discusses the four factors one by one.
2.2.1 Crisis situation
The responsibility for a crisis and the level of damage are two
aspects of crisis situations [2, 5].
First of all, the responsibility for a crisis could affect the public’s
attitude towards an organization. This phenomenon is explained
by the attribution theory, which argues that audiences always
search for the cause of an event and try to form attributions for the
responsibility [41]. Various emotions, such as sympathy and anger,
are experienced by audiences after they attribute the responsibility
[41]. For example, if an organization is a victim of the event,
audiences are likely to develop sympathy towards the organization
[5]. Thus, the responsibility becomes an issue one should consider
when designing a crisis communication strategy.
The corporate apologia theory and image restoration theory stress
the importance of crisis responsibility. Depending on whether the
organization is responsible for the crisis, the corporate apologia
theory suggests strategies such as denial, counterattack, excuse,
promising not to do it again, and seeking a legal solution which is
considered as a no-public-relation approach [16]. The image
restoration theory proposes denial and evasion of responsibility
[2].
The SCCT sums up the work of the previous two theories. It
identifies three clusters of crises according to the crisis
responsibility taken by an organization: victim cluster, accidental
cluster, and prevention cluster [13]. Strategies, such as denial,
diminishing, and bolstering, are suggested by the theory [5].
The perceived level of damage is another factor of a crisis
situation. It is argued that if the crisis manager lessens the
perceived harmfulness of the crisis or shows some control over
the damage; then the reputation damage can be reduced [2]. The
level of damages is thoroughly discussed by Benoit in the image