Managing Organizational Impressions In Crisis Situations: EXXon Corporation And The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
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Date
1995
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Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Disaster Research Center
Abstract
Like individuals, organizations engage in impression management: occasionally they also must cope with stigma arising from their mistakes. We apply these ideas to public performances made by representatives of the Exxon
corporation following the disastrous Exxon Valdeg oil spill, Using a grounded theory approach, we identify
four types of "image salvaging" strategies Exxon
representatives used in these performances: competence
enhancement; information control: personalization; and redefinition of the event. Use of a dramaturgical
framework helps explain how organizations achieve and maintain legitimacy in an institutional environment.
the same time, institutional theory sheds light on
why some performances--namely those of highly
Atinstitutionalized actors like corporations--are more effective than others.
Description
Keywords
Exxon, Valdez Oil Spill, organizational impressions