The article investigates how corporate legitimacy operates as the motivational substructure of impression management (IM) in post-crisis communication. It inspects how organizations try to re-create legitimacy after crises that differ in moral severity, distinguishing between endogenous (preventable) and exogenous (systemic) disorders. Results reveal a relevant transformation in corporate discourse. After the Concordia disaster, the company mainly adopted defensive and corrective responses, focusing on procedural control and on restoring cognitive legitimacy. The moral dimension of the crisis was reframed in managerial terms. During the COVID-19 crisis, the tone changed. Communication became more assertive and moral, stressing empathy, solidarity, and alignment with public institutions
Sailing through Crises: Sustainability Reporting in the Cruise Industry
Solimene SilviaWriting – Original Draft Preparation
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In corso di stampa
Abstract
The article investigates how corporate legitimacy operates as the motivational substructure of impression management (IM) in post-crisis communication. It inspects how organizations try to re-create legitimacy after crises that differ in moral severity, distinguishing between endogenous (preventable) and exogenous (systemic) disorders. Results reveal a relevant transformation in corporate discourse. After the Concordia disaster, the company mainly adopted defensive and corrective responses, focusing on procedural control and on restoring cognitive legitimacy. The moral dimension of the crisis was reframed in managerial terms. During the COVID-19 crisis, the tone changed. Communication became more assertive and moral, stressing empathy, solidarity, and alignment with public institutionsI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
