Crisis Communication Management Strategies in MH370 Crisis with Special References to Situational Crisis Communication Theory

Abstract

All businesses in the world are vulnerable to the crisis that can give a damaging impact on the organization's reputation. The peculiar disappearance of flight MH370 has been one of the most highlighted and debated crises in the global perspectives, leaving Malaysia Airlines, the carrier, in a tangled situation. This study aims to bridge the gap in research and provide insights of crisis management strategies employed by Malaysia Airlines in times of the crisis. The Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) is used as a framework in the analysis to explore the alignment of crisis management operated by the airlines and the recommendations of managing a crisis as guided in theory. The methodology used for this study is the qualitative approach. Hence, the data for this study was obtained from a set of fifteen media statements, six newspaper articles and four website articles covering on MH370 crisis have been analyzed using the content analysis approach. It was found that the airline was somehow successful in handling the families of victims but not in delivering the crisis messages as it obeyed and violated the recommendations in the SCCT. It concludes that MAS was fairly productive in implementing strategies as it shows the bad and good ways of handling a major disaster.

Strategic responses by European airlines to the Covid-19 pandemic: A soft landing or a turbulent ride?

“…Using the SCCT as a theoretical lens, Canny (2016) analyzed communication through media channels and explored crisis response strategies. A recent study by Othman and Yusoff (2020) employed the SCCT to examine the crisis management strategies used by Malaysia Airlines during the MH370 crisis. Overall, the SCCT framework helps entities to anticipate how stakeholders will react to the crisis response strategies used during a crisis.…”

“…However, little research has been conducted on the interrelationship between crisis communication and epidemics, which can trigger a public relations crisis and negatively impact the corporate reputation ( Yu et al, 2020 ). Although research on crisis communication in the airline industry exists, it mainly focuses on airline disasters and not responses to a pandemic ( Greer and Moreland, 2003 ; Canny, 2016 ; Othman and Yusoff, 2020 ). Further, most of the epidemics and economic crises that airlines have weathered in the past occurred when social media and digital technology were not as prevalent as today.…”

Impact of Online Crisis Response Strategies on Online Purchase Intention: The Roles of Online Brand Attitude and Brand Perceived Usefulness

“…Online crisis response strategies are the tools for OBA (Coombs & Tachkova, 2019;Othman & Yusoff, 2020). OPI behaviors increase purchaser trust, and the performance of an online brand also enhances the brand's aptitude to fetch innovation, which, in turn, poses to the planned goals of the organization (Khatoon et al, 2020).…”

Strategi Komunikasi Krisis Pengelola Desa Wisata Dam Jati Dalam Menghadapi Pandemi Covid-19

“…F & Yusoff, S. Z mengenai "Crisis Communication Management Strategies in MH370 Crisis with Special References to Situational Crisis Communication Theory" menunjukkan bahwa situational crisis communication theory sangat sesuai dalam mengekspolorasi manajemen strategi krisis yang terjadi. Hanya saja pada penelitian tersebut bahasannya lebih pada pengelolaan krisis yang berkaitan dengan kecelakaan pesawat (Othman & Yusoff, 2020). Berangkat dari perbedaan itulah peneitian ini ingin menggambarkan lebih jauh bagaimana penerapan SCCT mampu membantu industri pariwisata untuk dapat bertahan dalam krisis yang diakibatkan pandemi covid-19.…”