Organizational Crisis Communication: A Multivocal Approach / Edition 1

by Finn Frandsen, Winni Johansen

Overview

When a crisis breaks out, it’s not always just the organization that reacts - the news media, customers, employees, trade associations, politicians, activist groups, and PR experts may also respond.

This book offers a new and original perspective on crisis communication based on the theory of the Rhetorical Arena and the so-called multivocal approach. According to this approach, we gain a more dynamic and complex understanding of organizational crises if we focus not only on the communication produced by the organization but also take into account the many other voices who start communicating when a crisis breaks out.

It provides:

• An in-depth overview of the five key dimensions of organizational crises, crisis management and crisis communication
• A comprehensive introduction to the theory of the Rhetorical Arena and the multivocal approach to crisis communication, including some of the most important voices inside the arena
• A series of important international case studies and case examples in each chapter.

Suitable for students studying crisis communication modules on corporate communication, public relations, and management and organization studies courses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781446297056
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	01/26/2017
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.53(h) x (d)

About the Author

Finn Frandsen (mag. art., Aarhus University) is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Business Communication, Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS), Aarhus University (Denmark). His research interests include crisis management and crisis communication, environmental communication, public communication, stakeholder theory, and the institutionalization of strategic communication in private and public organizations. Together with Winni Johansen, he is the originator of Rhetorical Arena Theory and the multivocal approach to crisis communication.

His research has been published in international journals, handbooks and encyclopedias, such as Corporate Communications: An International Journal, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Management Communication Quarterly, Public Relations Inquiry, Public Relations Review, Scandinavian Journal of Public Management and The Handbook of Crisis Communication, Encyclopedia of Public Relations, The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication, and Handbook of International Crisis Communication Research.

He is regional editor (Europe) of Corporate Communications: An International Journal and member of the advisory board of the European Communication Monitor. He has served as visiting professor at highly ranked universities and business schools in Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy and Senegal. He has also consulted with organizations in the private and public sector.

Winni Johansen (Ph D, Aarhus School of Business) is Professor of Corporate Communication and Crisis Management at the Department of Business Communication, Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS), Aarhus University (Denmark).

Her research interests include crisis management and crisis communication, environmental communication, public communication, social media, and the institutionalization of strategic communication in private and public organizations. Together with Finn Frandsen, she is the originator of Rhetorical Arena Theory and the multivocal approach to crisis communication.

Her research has been published in international journals, handbooks and encyclopedias, such as Corporate Communications: An International Journal, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Management Communication Quarterly, Public Relations Inquiry, Public Relations Review, Scandinavian Journal of Public Management and The Handbook of Crisis Communication, Encyclopedia of Public Relations, The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication, and Handbook of International Crisis Communication Research. She is co-editor of International Encyclopedia of Strategic Communication I-III.

She has served as visiting professor at highly ranked universities and business schools in Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy and Senegal. She has also consulted with organizations in the private and public sector.

Table of Contents

General Introduction
PART I: KEY DIMENSIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CRISES, CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND CRISIS COMMUNICATION
Chapter 1: Living in a Crisis Society
Chapter 2: What Is a Crisis? Definitions and Typologies
Chapter 3: Crisis Management (I) General Perspectives: From Anticipation to Resilience
Chapter 4: Crisis Management (II): Staged Approaches - Before, During, and After Crisis
Chapter 5: Crisis Communication (I): Rhetorical and Text-oriented Approaches
Chapter 6. Crisis Communication (II): Strategic and Context-oriented Approaches
Chapter 7: Crisis Communication Across Cultures
PART II: INSIDE THE RHETORICAL ARENA
Chapter 8: The Rhetorical Arena: A New Theoretical Framework
Chapter 9: Consumers and Citizens: Emotions and Social Media
Chapter 10: News Media: Mediatization and Crisis Journalism
Chapter 11: Intermediaries: Trade Associations
Chapter 12: Managers and Employees: Inside the Organization
Epilogue: The Future of Organizational Crisis Communication: Agendas for Research, Education, and Practice

Editorial Reviews

This is an incredible book and, as reviewers have identified, potentially 'changes the intellectual landscape of the field'. I am an admirer of Frandsen & Johansen's work and in this book they have provided both a historical account of the field of crisis communications from a needed European perspective, and a direction for future research. I shall be recommending this book to students and colleagues.

Adrian Crookes

Rich with case studies and practical examples, this book is a must read for anyone with an interest in this critical area of management. There is probably no better book and no better team of authors on the subject of crisis communication. Frandsen and Johansen walk the reader through different types of organizational crises, and present their own distinctive arena model of crisis communication that is adept to the current media landscape in which issues emerge and almost over night amplify into full-blown crises for many organizations. Read this book and you will be better able to identify and analyse organizational crises and figure out the right communication response.

Joep Cornelissen

"Rare are the cases of the 'big idea' that forever alter the intellectual landscape of the field. You are about to read a book by two authors who have lent such a voice in crisis communication."

W. Timothy Coombs

The importance of this book lies in its new and original perspective on crisis communication, introducing new meanings of the words “arena” and “voices”, which leads to a much deeper understanding of how risk and crisis intertwine. The authors have written each chapter diligently to make the book very useful and interesting for all who want to learn about crisis communication or who face crises on daily basis, and in that respect they made a truly remarkable work.

Marta Takahashi