The indigenization of crisis response strategies in the context of China

Abstract

Crisis communication, which has been dominated by a practical perspective, has become a nexus where theory meets application. Despite mounting interest in theoretical studies, crisis communication lacks cultural contextualization. Asian communication researchers have advocated for the need to indigenize communication, drawing relevance to cultural influences. In this study, the authors explored indigenous corporate crisis response strategies in the context of China through nine cases. Three Chinese indigenous strategies were identified through qualitative content analysis of corporate crisis responses. These strategies are “barnacle,” “third-party endorsement,” and “setting up new topics.” The differences with Western frameworks were also discussed.

Keywords:

• indigenous approach
• crisis response
• China

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr Jieyun Feng and Dr Maokang Ye for their assistance in the qualitative content analysis and advice about crisis communication in China.