Unbundling the W’s: the interface between organisational crises, social media narratives, and image repair strategies

Organisations are susceptible and vulnerable to crisis situations. These organisations have been able to exert resilience, and manage reputational damage, through crisis management protocols that include stakeholder engagement. However, given the rise of social media, a new cohort of stakeholders has emerged. Organisations are therefore faced with the task of managing new stakeholder relationships. This paper applies recent advancements in social media and crisis management discourse to investigate the prevalence of new, undiscovered stakeholders in crisis communications surrounding six prominent crisis situations. The results indicate that online stakeholders are becoming more powerful, urgent and legitimacy; thus shifting dynamics.