Cruise Control? Exploring the role of new media in crisis management

The influence that new media has obtained in the last years has altered organizational communication as well as crisis communication. Using a case from the cruise industry, this thesis extends the perspective on organizational crisis communication by examining crisis perception from the audience viewpoint. It has built on the groundwork of Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), but it has expanded its scope by including analysis on medium and message effect. Specifically, this thesis analyses whether there exists a relation between medium exposure and the perception of a crisis. Moreover, it provides insight in which elements of the rebuilding strategy are most important for the public receiving the message (message effect), how certain new mediums are used and perceived for corporate communication purposes, and how consumer characteristics such as age, gender and cruise experience impact both medium usage and crisis perception. Hence, by focusing on the audience perspective, this thesis departs from existing scholarship that has privileged the organizational voice, providing an insightful take on the ‘other’ side of crisis communication.