Rebuilding Crisis Response Strategies: Nigerian University Reputation Sustainability during and after the Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis

Abstract

Purpose: The outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is projected to have severe potential threats to university reputation. This paper aims to examine how rebuilding crisis response strategies (RCRS) will protect and sustain the university's reputations during and after emerging outbreaks of pandemic crises in the Nigerian context. Design/methodology/approach: This review paper is on the synthesis of university covid-19 related news, supported by relevant literature review on Covid-19 and university reputation, and the strength of Situational Crisis Communication Theory's (SCCT) rebuilding response strategies. However, the authors' personal experiences in investigating the trends on pandemic crises and university reputation sustainability also contributed to the study. Findings: This paper predicts that epidemics and pandemics have a potential impact on university reputation, thus, affecting good stakeholders' relationships, positive marketization, smooth functionalization, and favorable working environments. Rebuilding response strategies have the power to protect and rebuild universities' reputations during and after a pandemic crisis. Therefore, rebuilding strategies should be considered by university bodies for reputational sustainability during and after a pandemic crisis in the Nigerian context. Research limitations/implications: This review is limited to the pandemic crisis and its response strategies among Nigerian universities. While Nigerian universities reflect upon how to bring positive changes in terms of university-industry reputation following this Covid-19 pandemic, subsequent research should also consider the best possible crisis response strategy among universities to mitigate the effects of similar future pandemics crises, looking at other geographical contexts. Practical implications: This review paper serves as recommendations for Nigerian universities and policymakers, focusing on reputation sustainability during a pandemic crisis. The suggestions may help in the alleviation of and fight against an emerging pandemic-related outbreak, offers university bodies a newly enriching pandemic response strategy, and partially if not completely mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the university's reputation.

Examining Nigeria's Political Structure (NPS) as a Vehicle for Criminality, Corruption and Anti-National Development

“…Furthermore, the authors used Google scholar search throughout the study. Justifiably, Google scholar has the most coverage of literature and the most comprehensive academic search engine, found in academic search and bibliographic databases, with the Inclusion of subscription-based SCOPUS, ERA, and Web of Science databases (Dominic et al, 2021). Most importantly, this review paper was on the (Nigeria) political structure and politicsrelated news, supported by relevant literature reviews on the (Nigeria) political system, political corruption, and governance.…”

“…No country in the world is corrupt-free. However, when the rate of corruption is so high to the detriment of the citizenry, it becomes a national pandemic (Dominic et al, 2021). This is so true for political leaders who are developmentally immature and corruptly wise.…”

A public health crisis in the university: Impact of crisis response strategies on universities’ transparency and post-crisis relationships during COVID 19 pandemic

“…This study operationalized seven crisis response strategies: denial, shifting the blame, minimization, justification, bolstering, corrective action, and full apology. Given that universities, in reality, utilized several response strategies simultaneously ( Dominic et al, 2021 , Hong and Kim, 2019 ), we were careful to measure universities’ use of each crisis strategy in the eyes of students. Judgmental measures have been widely used as a valid approach in strategic communication fields (Coombs & Holladay, 1996; Jaworski & Kohli, 1993) because significant evidence supports a close association between objective and perceptual measures of marketing performance (e.g., Jaworski & Kohli, 1993; Pearce, Robbins, & Robinson, 1987; Venkatraman & Ramanujam, 1987).…”

A scoping review: Inquiring into the potency of response source credibility (RSC) towards enhancing crisis response strategies

“…A crisis response strategy is the response that entails what crisis managers do or say in a crisis situation (Coombs, 2007a;Coombs, 2020;Dominic et al, 2021). Reputation encompasses a reservoir of goodwill protecting organizations in times of crisis (Gotsi & Wilson, 2001;Wong, Ou, & Wilson, 2021).…”