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When Things Go Wrong: Account Strategy Following a Corporate Crisis Event

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Abstract

The CEO is often the ‘face’ of a corporation during a crisis event or transgression. However, the current research finds that the type of account strategy employed in a crisis communication – denial, justification, excuse or apology – has differential effects on stakeholder perceptions, as well as on impressions of the corporation and the CEO. Using an experimental research design and a scenario-based approach, the reactions of 796 study participants to four account strategy types offered by a CEO in response to a corporate crisis event were analyzed. Research results suggest that an apology or an excuse decreases negative impressions of the CEO, whereas a justification or denial decreases negative impressions of the corporation. Thus, a company and its CEO may be at odds when determining the appropriate account strategy to use following a corporate crisis event.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the IC2 Institute at The University of Texas at Austin and Iowa State University College of Business.

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Brocato, E., Peterson, R. & Crittenden, V. When Things Go Wrong: Account Strategy Following a Corporate Crisis Event. Corp Reputation Rev 15, 35–51 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/crr.2011.24

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