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Here's the Story: An Exploration of Narratives and the Attribution of Crisis Responsibility

Hofer, Ashley Nicole
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397588808

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Communication.
The study of crisis communication has developed significantly over the past two decades, especially with the increased testing of the field’s two prominent theories: Image Repair Theory (Benoit, 1997) and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (Coombs, 1995; Coombs & Holladay, 2002). However, despite an increased understanding of crises, the complexities surrounding organizational responses, and the real or perceived threat to organizations, there are still many gaps in the literature. One avenue for growth is the study of narratives, as there is initial evidence that narratives can be effective tools for organizations to use in times of crisis (e.g., van Laer & de Ruyter, 2010). This study explored how the level of crisis responsibility attributed to the organization influenced the effectiveness of narrative responses. Using an experimental design featuring SCCT’s three crisis types and high vs. low narrative responses, this study found evidence of significant differences in narrative effectiveness dependent on empathy with the organization. High narrative messages were more effective in situations with high empathy, while low narrative messages were more effective in situations with low empathy. These findings confirm the importance of crisis type in predicting the effects of a crisis on the public’s views of the organization. Recommendations for future studies of narratives and crisis communication are provided, as are additional conclusions about crisis communication.
Osei Appiah (Advisor)
Emily Moyer-Guse (Committee Member)
100 p.
Communication
crisis communication; narrative persuasion; empathy; identification; strategic communication

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hofer, A. N. (2014). Here's the Story: An Exploration of Narratives and the Attribution of Crisis Responsibility [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397588808

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hofer, Ashley. Here's the Story: An Exploration of Narratives and the Attribution of Crisis Responsibility. 2014. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397588808.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hofer, Ashley. "Here's the Story: An Exploration of Narratives and the Attribution of Crisis Responsibility." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397588808

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1397588808
668
© 2014, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Here's the Story: An Exploration of Narratives and the Attribution of Crisis Responsibility by Ashley Nicole Hofer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.