The Crisis Management and the Reputation of UAE Police: An Application Situational Crisis Communication Theory

Abstract

The prime objective of the current study is to investigate the impact of a crisis on the organizational reputation. For this purpose, the study has employed the Coombs’ situational CC theory (SCCT). Using a case which involved the death of a witness during an interrogation by the government agency; this study analyzed the development of the crisis situation as it unfolded. Subsequently this study assesses the attribution of crisis responsibility three and a half years after the crisis erupted, in order to get a clear picture of its impact on an organization’s reputation. Through the lens of SCCT theory, the present study examines employees’ perceptions of the attribution of crisis responsibility and the relevant organization’s reputation in the context of a preventable crisis. This study attempts to enrich the existing body of knowledge by expanding and developing the SCCT theory in reducing reputational threats. In this study, employees’ positive perceptions may be due to the fact that they think the crisis as something that is manageable and can be controlled. Crisis responsibility as the predictor in the study indicates that even though the origin of the crisis is unknown and to date, the cause is still uncertain, public servants view circumstances, not UAE POLICE, as being responsible for the crises.