Putting Cultural Context into SCCT When Crisis Responsibility Does Not Tell It All

Putting Cultural Context into SCCT When Crisis Responsibility Does Not Tell It All

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are facing an increasingly challenging business environment. Most significant is such firms’ failure to understand the cultural context of host nations as such failures could cause crises. This study brings a cultural context to situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) by exploring variables that influence crisis response decision making in Korea. Inᐨdepth interviews with ten public relations managers working for the top 20 Korean food companies revealed that—contrary to what SCCT suggests—factors other than responsibility influence crisis response decision making. In particular, antiᐨ chaebol sentiment, public opinion, and media influenced crisis responses, often overriding crisis responsibility considerations.

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are facing an increasingly challenging business environment. Most significant is such firms’ failure to understand the cultural context of host nations as such failures could cause crises. This study brings a cultural context to situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) by exploring variables that influence crisis response decision making in Korea. Inᐨdepth interviews with ten public relations managers working for the top 20 Korean food companies revealed that—contrary to what SCCT suggests—factors other than responsibility influence crisis response decision making. In particular, antiᐨ chaebol sentiment, public opinion, and media influenced crisis responses, often overriding crisis responsibility considerations.