Surviving a Crisis: How Crisis Type and Psychological Distance Can Inform Corporate Crisis Responses

So Young Lee (), Yoon Hi Sung (), Dongwon Choi () and Dong Hoo Kim ()
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So Young Lee: The University of Texas at Austin
Yoon Hi Sung: The University of Texas at El Paso
Dongwon Choi: Kookmin University
Dong Hoo Kim: Inha University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2021, vol. 168, issue 4, No 7, 795-811

Abstract: Abstract This research examines how one’s construal level of a crisis differs by crisis type, and how the interplay of crisis type (self-threatening vs. society-threatening) and apology appeal type (emotional vs. informational) impacts the effectiveness of apology messages in a corporate crisis context. Findings indicate that one’s mental construal toward a crisis varies by crisis type, with a self-threatening crisis leading to a lower level of construal than a society-threatening one. Findings further suggest that in a society-threatening crisis condition, an informational apology was more effective than an emotional one. However, in a self-threatening crisis condition, there was no significant difference between two different message types. These findings offer valuable guidelines for developing effective crisis response strategy.

Keywords: Construal level theory; Crisis type; Apology message appeal; Crisis management communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-019-04233-5

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