Cognitive Processing of Crisis Communication: Effects of CSR and Crisis Response Strategies on Stakeholder Perceptions of a Racial Crisis Dynamics

Abstract

In order to provide a more refined understanding of crisis situations, especially crises resulting from race issues, the researchers identified crisis dynamic variables from existing literature (e.g., Coombs & Holladay, 2002) and connected these links in a model. The cognitive processing model of crisis communication investigates how precrisis corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice and different crisis-response strategies affect stakeholders’ attributions of organizational responsibility, emotional response, organizational reputation, and supportive intention in the time of a crisis. An experiment was conducted as the primary research method. The significant findings include 1) direct effects of both positive CSR history and accommodative crisisresponse on organizational reputation, which are mediated to stakeholders’ supportive intentions, 2) interaction between CSR history and crisis-response on organizational responsibility, and 3) mediation of emotional response aroused by a crisis. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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