Measuring a Company Reputation in a Crisis Situation: An Ethnography Approach on the Situational Crisis Communication Theory
Rachmat Kriyantono,


Abstract
By conducting an ethnography method, this research applied the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) to explain the public perception about the company’s action during a crisis. The public has a particular attribution about the crisis that determines the company’s reputation. The attribution involves three factors of the reputation, an initial crisis responsibility, a crisis history, and a prior relational reputation. The SCCT has often been overlooked; however, most research has focused on an organization-centered approach rather than a public approach. Hence, this current research focuses on the public’s perspective of the mudflow crisis in Indonesia. There also appears to be little ethnography research available that centered on the public approach. It gives contribution to the public relations issues and crisis management field. This research reinforces the Situational Crisis Communication Theory. It should be emphasized that the company should deal more properly with the impact of the crisis on the victims.


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