Benoit's Theory Of Crisis Communication

Over the past decade, crisis communication represents a rapidly growing research area in the fields of business communication. In their article, Wash and Communicate: Actions and Artifacts in Crisis Communication, Frandsen and Johansen (2009) provides insights into the selection of a particular crisis communication strategy. The article is extracted from The Ascent of International Business Communication by Salmeinen and Kankaanarnta (2009). Using a case study of the Wash and Go rumor crisis experienced by Procter & Gamble in Denmark in 1990, Frandsen and Johansen study how Mary Douglas’s cultural theory of risk serves as an alternative theoretical framework for organizational crisis response strategies, where words and pictures combine with

On one hand, Benoit’s theory analyzes Procter & Gamble’s communication in terms of rhetoric and text. It explains Procter & Gamble’s strategies of denying any problems with their new products in the newspaper or at the press conference, bolstering by referring to the Wash & Go test, as well as criticizing those hairdressers’ skills in perming and coloring hair. On the other hand, Coombs’ theory takes a contextual or situational approach to understand how stakeholders will react in crisis by identifying their attribution of crisis responsibility and assessment of crisis types. When referring the Wash & Go rumor crisis to victim crisis, the authors clarify why Procter & Gamble adopts denial and diminishing strategies in time of

The article explains how and why organizations use specific types of action and specific types of artifact in their crisis response strategies. The findings have both theoretical and practical implications. On a theoretical level, the article enlarges the body of literature on crisis communication by taking into account all the visual, auditive, and tactile aspects. On a practical level, Frandsen and Johansen also manage to draw on a real case study of the Wash & Go rumor crisis to illustrate vividly their theoretical points. The authors break down Procter & Gamble’s whole crisis communication plans into specific activities. This helps other organizations seek most appropriate ways to better inform and protect themselves in the face of rumor crisis. In terms of text structure, the article is organized in a logical order. In addition, the authors mention the outline in the article introduction, which makes the article easy to