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Navigating Turbulence: A qualitative analysis of United Airlines' external crisis communication strategies

Winberg, Linn LU and Sparre, Annika LU (2024) SKDK11 20241
Department of Strategic Communication
Abstract
United Airlines is a major American airline company founded in 1926, which operates both domestic and international routes. They have experienced past reputational damage, and have suffered a loss in legitimacy as critics have questioned their practices. Using the Legitimacy Theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) as basis, a thematic content analysis (specifically template analysis) was conducted to examine United Airlines efforts to sustain and rebuild their legitimacy during two subsequent crises. This study focused on the company’s self portrayal in their external communications, consisting of four social media statements and one financial report, in order to draw comparisons between the two mediums as well as between... (More)
United Airlines is a major American airline company founded in 1926, which operates both domestic and international routes. They have experienced past reputational damage, and have suffered a loss in legitimacy as critics have questioned their practices. Using the Legitimacy Theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) as basis, a thematic content analysis (specifically template analysis) was conducted to examine United Airlines efforts to sustain and rebuild their legitimacy during two subsequent crises. This study focused on the company’s self portrayal in their external communications, consisting of four social media statements and one financial report, in order to draw comparisons between the two mediums as well as between the two crises. The study found that United Airlines failed to identify vulnerabilities and understand the external stakeholders’ perception, resulting in less effective communicative efforts. This thesis highlights the outcomes of strategies from the chosen theories used on social media as well as in financial reporting during a crisis. Furthermore, this thesis reflects on the motivations behind these decisions. Illuminating how the crisis communication strategy varies depending on the platform, to enable an organisation to manage public perception. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Winberg, Linn LU and Sparre, Annika LU
supervisor
organization
course
SKDK11 20241
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
United Airlines, organisational legitimacy, crisis communication, crisis communication strategies, situational crisis communication theory, legitimacy theory, social media, financial reporting, Twitter
language
English
id
9154903
date added to LUP
2024-08-27 10:24:53
date last changed
2024-08-27 10:24:53
@misc{9154903,
  abstract     = {{United Airlines is a major American airline company founded in 1926, which operates both domestic and international routes. They have experienced past reputational damage, and have suffered a loss in legitimacy as critics have questioned their practices. Using the Legitimacy Theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) as basis, a thematic content analysis (specifically template analysis) was conducted to examine United Airlines efforts to sustain and rebuild their legitimacy during two subsequent crises. This study focused on the company’s self portrayal in their external communications, consisting of four social media statements and one financial report, in order to draw comparisons between the two mediums as well as between the two crises. The study found that United Airlines failed to identify vulnerabilities and understand the external stakeholders’ perception, resulting in less effective communicative efforts. This thesis highlights the outcomes of strategies from the chosen theories used on social media as well as in financial reporting during a crisis. Furthermore, this thesis reflects on the motivations behind these decisions. Illuminating how the crisis communication strategy varies depending on the platform, to enable an organisation to manage public perception.}},
  author       = {{Winberg, Linn and Sparre, Annika}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Navigating Turbulence: A qualitative analysis of United Airlines' external crisis communication strategies}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}