Crisis communication : corporate social responsibility in Organizational Renewal Theory

Abstract

This study further develops Organizational Renewal Theory through the incorporation of corporate social responsibility as a feature of a post crisis response strategy. Internal publics (e.g., employees of an organization, students of a higher education institution) have strong cognitive and emotional reactions surrounding a crisis because of their distinct connection to a company. This study links the importance of internal publics and the effective strategies to communicate with internal publics following a crisis, and examines if the communication of CSR in the forward-looking, prospective method of an Organizational Renewal crisis response strategy leads to more positive cognitive and emotional responses by internal publics. The results indicate that when communicating a renewal crisis response strategy, both the type of crisis and the presence or absence of a corporate social responsibility frame can influence the emotions, specifically fear, of the internal public.