594:
crisis managers make in the wake of a crisis could have great consequences, either positive or negative. It is imperative that crisis managers act strategically to save the organization's reputation. According to Coombs: "Crisis response strategies have three objectives relative to protecting reputations: (1) shape attributions of the crisis, (2) change perceptions of the organization in crisis and (3) reduce the negative effect generated by the crisis."
148:. It provided one of the first links between crisis situations and crisis responses. Attributions of responsibility that shape strategic crisis responses formed the foundation for SCCT. Coombs built upon Attribution Theory, using it as a base to predict the severity of potential reputational harm—or reputational threat—a crisis may bring to an organization and, using that prediction, guide communication response decisions to minimize damage.
398:, and as a result, behaviors. If a person perceives an organization to have a high level of crisis responsibility, he or she is more likely to have feelings of anger toward the organization. Conversely, lower levels of crisis responsibility can evoke feelings of sympathy. Both of these feelings can affect the behaviors of the person toward the organization, whether that person will act positively or negatively toward the organization.
602:
a higher pedestal than the average for-profit organization and are always being shaped by the wants and needs of their external environments. These matters make nonprofits vulnerable to crisis' so having a strategy and being ready to implement is mandatory. Research done by Hilary
Fussell Sisco in 2012 found that participants favor nonprofits more positively that utilize a response strategy from Coombs.
442:, attempts to increase positive reputational perceptions by presenting "new, positive information about the organization and/or remind stakeholders of past good works by the organization". This strategy can bolster goodwill and arouse feelings of sympathy toward the organization, but Coombs warns, should be used to supplement the primary responses, not as replacements.
426:
crisis responses attempt to assure the organization's publics that the crisis is not as bad as it seems or that the organization had nothing to do with the situation. These strategies help lessen the connection between the organization and the crisis and help the organization's publics see the crisis
406:
Once the levels of crisis responsibility and reputational threat have been determined, SCCT provides crisis managers with a theoretical base to their strategic crisis response. SCCT's list for responding to crises assumes that the organization has accepted some level of responsibility for the crisis.
377:
Once it is determined which type of crisis, or which cluster, the organization's situation falls under, managers can predict how much attribution will be placed on the organization and how much reputational threat it is facing. In fact, Coombs’ own prior research showed that crisis responsibility and
601:
standpoint. While these two industries operate differently, both still need their crisis situations properly addressed and in a timely manner. Not only building, but maintaining trust and reputation is essential in both types of organizations. Nonprofits depend on their publics and are often held on
72:
to support his theory, Coombs provided a summary of crisis response strategy guidelines for crisis managers, given here in Table 1. SCCT provides crisis managers with an evidence-based guide to assessing and responding to crises, allowing them to make informed, strategic, and beneficial decisions.
52:
Coombs created his experimentally based SCCT to give communicators scientific evidence to guide their decisions, essentially stating that the actions an organization takes post-crisis depend on the crisis situation. "SCCT identifies how key facets of the crisis situation influence attributions about
419:
strategies help establish a crisis frame and sever any perceived connection between the organization and the crisis. If the organization is not involved, or if the crisis is a rumor the organization can dispel, and stakeholders and the media accept that there is no crisis, no reputational harm will
189:
In the victim cluster, the organization is not attributed as the cause of the crisis; rather, the organization is viewed as a victim. In the accidental cluster, the organization has been nominally attributed as the cause of the crisis, but the situation is generally viewed by stakeholders as being
390:
in the past—its prior relational reputation—also plays a part in assessing reputational threat. These two elements are involved in the second step crisis managers must take in evaluating the reputational threat facing the organization: if either of these elements exist within the organization, it
45:
According to SCCT, evaluating the crisis type, crisis history and prior relationship reputation will help crisis managers predict the level of reputational threat of an organization and how that organization's publics will perceive the crisis and attribute crisis responsibility. Thus SCCT can be
593:
SCCT suggests that how an organization communicates with its publics—what it says—will affect its publics’ perceptions of the organization. Those perceptions can shape how an organization's publics emotionally react to or behave toward to the organization. Therefore, the communication decisions
168:
SCCT suggests that the key to determining the most effective strategic crisis response is understanding the crisis situation and the amount of reputational threat being posed by the crisis. Reputational threat is how much damage a crisis could inflict on an organization if no action is taken to
159:
in his conceptualization of responsibility and reputational threat, stating that perception is fundamental to assessments of both components. If the audience perceives that the organization is at fault, a reputational threat is put into existence and the organization is held responsible.
391:
will intensify attributions of the organization and increase the level of reputational threat. If an organization has a history of facing crises or a poor history of dealing with its stakeholders, attributions of crisis responsibility and the level of reputational threat are greater.
176:
attribute the crisis to the organization; how responsible the key publics hold the organization itself for the crisis. In assessing the level of reputational threat facing an organization, crisis managers must first determine the type of crisis facing the organization.
410:
Each of these strategies helps the organization get its side of the story into the media. After all how the crisis is framed in the media will determine how the organization's publics view the situation. The media's frames become the stakeholders’ frames.
427:
in a less negative light. However, these strategies must be reinforced with credible evidence. If conflicting crisis frames are presented in the media, the organization's publics will adopt whichever frame comes from the most credible source.
433:
strategies help change perceptions of an organization during a crisis by offering real or symbolic forms of aid to victims and asking their forgiveness. These strategies attempt to take the focus off the crisis by taking positive
105:
4. Diminish crisis response strategies should be used for crises with low attributions of crisis responsibility (accident crises), which have no history of similar crises, and a neutral or positive prior relationship reputation.
88:
1. Informing and adjusting information alone can be enough when crises have minimal attributions of crisis responsibility (victim crises), no history of similar crises and a neutral or positive prior relationship reputation.
190:
unintentional or simply accidental. In the intentional cluster, the organization is given all or most of the attributions for the crisis and shoulders the responsibility. In this case the crisis is considered deliberate.
99:
3. Diminish crisis response strategies should be used for crises with minimal attributions of crisis responsibility (victim crises) coupled with a history of similar crises and/or negative prior relationship reputation.
111:
5. Rebuild crisis response strategies should be used for crises with low attributions of crisis responsibility (accident crises), coupled with a history of similar crises and/or negative prior relationship reputation.
132:
Source: Coombs, W.T. (2007b). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate
Reputation Review, 10(3), 163-176.
185:
Coombs has identified three "crisis clusters," or types of crises, in his SCCT research: the victim cluster, the accidental cluster, and the intentional cluster. Table 2 outlines these crisis clusters.
117:
6. Rebuild crisis response strategies should be used for crises with strong attributions of crisis responsibility (preventable crises) regardless of crisis history or prior relationship reputation.
386:
Another element that threatens an organization's reputation is its history of crisis, whether it has faced similar crises in the past. Within this context, how well an organization has treated its
127:
8. Maintain consistency in crisis response strategies. Mixing deny crisis response strategies with either the diminish or rebuild strategies will erode the effectiveness of the overall response.
407:
Coombs found that the primary responses to crises in SCCT form three groups: deny, diminish, and rebuild. The SCCT list of crisis response strategies is shown in Table 3.
1013:
Coombs, W. Timothy; Holladay, Sherry (1 October 2001). "An
Extended Examination of the Crisis Situations: A Fusion of the Relational Management and Symbolic Approaches".
809:
Coombs, W. Timothy; Holladay, Sherry (1 October 2001). "An
Extended Examination of the Crisis Situations: A Fusion of the Relational Management and Symbolic Approaches".
507:: Crisis manager minimizes organizational responsibility by denying intent to do harm and/or claiming inability to control the events that triggered the crisis.
53:
the crisis and the reputations held by stakeholders. In turn, understanding how stakeholders will respond to the crisis informs the post-crisis communication".
169:
respond to it. Reputational threat is influenced by three elements: (1) initial crisis responsibility, (2) crisis history and (3) prior relational reputation.
597:
Coombs' research of situational crisis communication theory has focused on crisis response and the effect of the corporate reputation but never on the
992:
Coombs, W. Timothy; Holladay, Sherry J. (October 1996). "Communication and
Attributions in a Crisis: An Experimental Study in Crisis Communication".
782:
Coombs, W. Timothy; Holladay, Sherry J. (October 1996). "Communication and
Attributions in a Crisis: An Experimental Study in Crisis Communication".
911:
Coombs, W. T. (1 July 2004). "Impact of Past Crises on
Current Crisis Communication: Insights From Situational Crisis Communication Theory".
844:
Sisco, Hilary
Fussell (January 2012). "Nonprofit in Crisis: An Examination of the Applicability of Situational Crisis Communication Theory".
631:
Coombs, W. T. (1 July 2004). "Impact of Past Crises on
Current Crisis Communication: Insights From Situational Crisis Communication Theory".
315:: In these crisis types, the organization knowingly placed people at risk, took inappropriate actions or violated a law/regulation.
959:"Protecting Organization Reputations During a Crisis: The Development and Application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory"
693:"Protecting Organization Reputations During a Crisis: The Development and Application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory"
890:
Claeys, An-Sofie; Cauberghe, Verolien (March 2012). "Crisis response and crisis timing strategies, two sides of the same coin".
49:
Three types of crises have been identified by Coombs: the victim cluster, the accidental cluster, and the intentional cluster.
538:: Crisis manager indicates the organization takes full responsibility for the crisis and asks stakeholders for forgiveness.
1138:
1123:
94:
2. Victimage can be used as part of the response for workplace violence, product tampering, natural disasters and rumors.
1133:
156:
769:
Game off!: Understanding newspaper portrayals of the NHL lockout using situational crisis communication theory
950:
619:
122:
7. The deny posture crisis response strategies should be used for rumor and challenge crises, when possible.
387:
173:
598:
194:
732:
Coombs, W. Timothy (3 March 2016). "Reflections on a meta-analysis: Crystallizing thinking about SCCT".
27:
574:: Crisis manager praises stakeholders and/or reminds them of past good works by the organization.
476:: Crisis manager confronts the person or group claiming something is wrong with the organization.
1095:
1049:
Ide, B; Martin, SH; Totten, M (July 2011). "Crisis management and maintaining the public trust".
1030:
980:
938:
861:
826:
749:
714:
658:
242:
145:
69:
1087:
1058:
270:: In these crisis types, the organizational actions leading to the crisis were unintentional.
31:
1079:
1022:
1001:
970:
928:
920:
899:
853:
818:
791:
741:
704:
648:
640:
225:
949:
Coombs, W. T. (2007a). Crisis management and communications. Retrieved March 20, 2012 from
618:
Coombs, W. T. (2007a). Crisis management and communications. Retrieved March 20, 2012 from
582:: Crisis managers remind stakeholders that the organization is a victim of the crisis too.
1128:
492:: Crisis manager blames some person or group outside of the organization for the crisis.
1083:
1070:
Kelley, Harold H.; Michela, John L. (January 1980). "Attribution Theory and
Research".
394:
Because of crisis responsibility and reputational threat, crises can effect changes in
300:
152:
1117:
1034:
984:
942:
865:
830:
753:
718:
662:
57:
1099:
745:
34:
should match strategic crisis responses to the level of crisis responsibility and
1026:
1005:
975:
958:
903:
857:
822:
795:
709:
692:
326:
275:(Minimal attributions of crisis responsibility = Moderate reputational threat)
354:
283:: Stakeholders claim an organization is operating in an inappropriate manner.
35:
924:
644:
320:(Strong attributions of crisis responsibility = Severe reputational threat)
236:: False and damaging information about an organization is being circulated.
1091:
1062:
951:
http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/crisis-management-and-communications/
620:
http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/crisis-management-and-communications/
211:: In these crisis types, the organization is also a victim of the crisis.
216:(Weak attributions of crisis responsibility = Mild reputational threat)
933:
653:
395:
515:: Crisis manager minimizes the perceived damage caused by the crisis.
193:
One example where SCCT was used was the lockout that began within the
39:
1106:
Wilcox, D. L., Cameron, G. T., Reber, B. H., & Shin, J. (2011).
366:: Stakeholders are placed at risk by management and injuries occur.
56:
Coombs would later expand his work with SCCT through reflections of
566:: Tell stakeholders about the past good works of the organization.
291:: A technology or equipment failure causes an industrial accident.
1045:. (3 ed.). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
246:: Current or former employee attacks current employees onsite.
172:
Initial crisis responsibility is how much the organization's
530:: Crisis manager offers money or other gifts to victims.
771:. International Communication Association. Phoenix, AZ.
42:. SCCT was proposed by W. Timothy Coombs in 2007.
254:: External agent causes damage to an organization.
886:. (10 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
484:: Crisis manager asserts that there is no crisis.
378:organizational reputation are negatively related.
358:: Laws or regulations are violated by management.
81:Table 1: SCCT crisis response strategy guidelines
884:Cutlip & Center's Effective Public Relations
46:applied in an organization's crisis management.
339:: Human error causes a product to be recalled.
228:damage an organization such as an earthquake.
331:: Human error causes an industrial accident.
299:: A technology or equipment failure causes a
202:Table 2: SCCT crisis types by crisis clusters
164:Crisis responsibility and reputational threat
8:
347:: Stakeholders are deceived without injury.
686:
684:
682:
680:
678:
676:
674:
672:
1043:Crisis communication: A casebook approach
974:
932:
708:
652:
450:Table 3: SCCT crisis response strategies
444:
382:Crisis history and relational reputation
199:
75:
64:SCCT crisis response strategy guidelines
611:
345:Organizational misdeed with no injuries
20:Situational Crisis Communication Theory
1110:. (1 ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
557:Bolstering crisis response strategies
7:
1015:Journal of Public Relations Research
994:Journal of Public Relations Research
957:Coombs, W Timothy (September 2007).
846:Journal of Public Relations Research
811:Journal of Public Relations Research
784:Journal of Public Relations Research
734:Journal of Public Relations Research
691:Coombs, W Timothy (September 2007).
549:Secondary crisis response strategies
364:Organizational misdeed with injuries
1084:10.1146/annurev.ps.31.020180.002325
498:Diminish crisis response strategies
144:The roots for SCCT can be found in
521:Rebuild crisis response strategies
459:Primary crisis response strategies
353:Organizational misdeed management
14:
913:Journal of Business Communication
633:Journal of Business Communication
26:,), is a theory in the field of
767:Formentin, Melanie (May 2012).
467:Deny crisis response strategies
438:A secondary type of responses,
371:'Source: Coombs, W.T. (2007b).
606:References and further reading
587:Source: Coombs, W.T. (2007b).
1:
746:10.1080/1062726X.2016.1167479
252:Product tampering/Malevolence
1027:10.1207/S1532754XJPRR1304_03
1006:10.1207/s1532754xjprr0804_04
976:10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049
904:10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.09.001
858:10.1080/1062726X.2011.582207
823:10.1207/S1532754XJPRR1304_03
796:10.1207/s1532754xjprr0804_04
710:10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049
297:Technical-error product harm
1072:Annual Review of Psychology
963:Corporate Reputation Review
697:Corporate Reputation Review
16:Emergency management theory
1155:
402:Crisis response strategies
289:Technical-error accidents
1041:Fearn-Banks, K. (2007).
925:10.1177/0021943604265607
645:10.1177/0021943604265607
337:Human-error product harm
157:Image Restoration Theory
1108:Think: Public relations
892:Public Relations Review
599:nonprofit organization
301:product to be recalled
195:National Hockey League
882:Broom, G. M. (2009).
140:Theoretical framework
1139:Communication theory
1124:Emergency management
28:crisis communication
1134:Mass media theories
313:Intentional cluster
204:
197:in September 2012.
30:. It suggests that
474:Attack the accuser
268:Accidental cluster
243:Workplace violence
200:
146:Attribution Theory
70:empirical evidence
38:threat posed by a
591:
590:
375:
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137:
136:
1146:
1103:
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764:
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729:
723:
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712:
688:
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666:
656:
628:
622:
616:
445:
222:Natural disaster
205:
151:Coombs draws on
76:
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1114:
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1069:
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404:
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181:Types of crises
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66:
32:crisis managers
17:
12:
11:
5:
1152:
1150:
1142:
1141:
1136:
1131:
1126:
1116:
1115:
1112:
1111:
1104:
1078:(1): 457–501.
1067:
1046:
1039:
1021:(4): 321–340.
1010:
1000:(4): 279–295.
989:
969:(3): 163–176.
954:
947:
919:(3): 265–289.
908:
887:
878:
875:
872:
871:
836:
817:(4): 321–340.
801:
790:(4): 279–295.
774:
759:
740:(2): 120–122.
724:
703:(3): 163–176.
668:
639:(3): 265–289.
623:
610:
609:
607:
604:
589:
588:
584:
583:
576:
575:
568:
567:
560:
559:
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226:Acts of nature
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209:Victim cluster
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153:William Benoit
141:
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513:Justification
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58:meta-analysis
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37:
33:
29:
25:
21:
1107:
1075:
1071:
1054:
1050:
1042:
1018:
1014:
997:
993:
966:
962:
916:
912:
898:(1): 83–88.
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891:
883:
849:
845:
839:
814:
810:
804:
787:
783:
777:
768:
762:
737:
733:
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592:
579:
572:Ingratiation
571:
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548:
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528:Compensation
527:
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388:stakeholders
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174:stakeholders
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150:
143:
80:
79:
67:
55:
51:
48:
44:
36:reputational
23:
19:
18:
1057:(7): 15–8.
934:10818/19239
852:(1): 1–17.
654:10818/19239
327:Human error
1118:Categories
440:bolstering
355:misconduct
281:Challenges
1035:143601768
985:167311536
943:154326081
866:154360810
831:143601768
754:147912618
719:167311536
663:154326081
580:Victimage
490:Scapegoat
329:accidents
1100:15258190
1092:20809783
1063:21870695
564:Reminder
424:Diminish
420:be done.
396:emotions
1051:Trustee
877:Sources
536:Apology
434:action.
431:Rebuild
1129:Crisis
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505:Excuse
482:Denial
40:crisis
1096:S2CID
1031:S2CID
981:S2CID
939:S2CID
862:S2CID
827:S2CID
750:S2CID
715:S2CID
659:S2CID
234:Rumor
68:With
1088:PMID
1059:PMID
417:deny
415:The
24:SCCT
1080:doi
1023:doi
1002:doi
971:doi
929:hdl
921:doi
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649:hdl
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