ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
All businesses in the world are vulnerable to the crisis that can give a damaging impact on the organization’s reputation. The peculiar disappearance of flight MH370 has been one of the most highlighted and debated crises in the global perspectives, leaving Malaysia Airlines, the carrier, in a tangled situation. This study aims to bridge the gap in research and provide insights of crisis management strategies employed by Malaysia Airlines in times of the crisis. The Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) is used as a framework in the analysis to explore the alignment of crisis management operated by the airlines and the recommendations of managing a crisis as guided in theory. The methodology used for this study is the qualitative approach. Hence, the data for this study was obtained from a set of fifteen media statements, six newspaper articles and four website articles covering on MH370 crisis have been analyzed using the content analysis approach. It was found that the airline was somehow successful in handling the families of victims but not in delivering the crisis messages as it obeyed and violated the recommendations in the SCCT. It concludes that MAS was fairly productive in implementing strategies as it shows the bad and good ways of handling a major disaster.
Adebayo, O. (2017). The Application of Facebook to Crisis Communication Management: A Case Study of Malaysia Airlines. Retrieved from http://usir.salford.ac.uk/42319/
Agnes, M. (2014). The Use of Hashtags in Your Crisis Communications. Retrieved from https://melissaagnes.com/the-use-of-hashtags-in-your-crisis-communications/
Ashari, N., Ahmad, D., & Samani, M. (2017). Crisis Response Strategy and Crisis Types Suitability: A Preliminary Study on MH370. Retrieved from https://www.shs-conferences.org/articles/shsconf/pdf/2017/01/shsconf_icome2017_00037.pdf
Alexander, D. (2013). Volcanic Ash in the Atmosphere and Risks for Civil Aviation: A Study
approach: Sage.
Bailey, B. (2016). The Case for Pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s Hijack of Flight MH370. Retrieved from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/the-case-for-pilot-zaharie-ahmad-shahs-hijack-of-flight-mh370/news-story/955ed1c640c91e85a9f660fdf7ed5248
Branigan, T., & Farrell, P. (2014). MH370: Relatives of Chinese Passengers Protest at Malaysian Embassy in Beijing. The Guardian. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/25/mh370-relatives-chinese-passengers-malaysian-embassy
Centre for Aviation. (2018). Retrieved from https://centreforaviation.com/
Claeys, A., Cauberghe, V., & Vyncke, P. (2010). Restoring Reputations in Times of Crisis: An Experimental Study of the Situational Crisis Communication Theory and the Moderating Effects of Locus of Control. Elsiver. Retrieved from
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.456.9889&rep=rep1 &type=pdf
Coombs, T. (2006). The Protective Powers of Crisis Response Strategies: Managing Reputational Assets during a Crisis. Journal of Promotion Management, 12. doi: doi:10.1300/J057v12n03_13
Coombs, T. (2007). Crisis Communication Management and Communications. Retrieved fromhttp://www.facoltaspes.unimi.it/files/_ITA_/COM/Crisis_Management_and_C ommunications.pdf
Coombs, W., & Holladay, S. (2002). Helping Crisis Managers Protect Reputational Assets: Initial Tests of the Situational Crisis Communication Theory. SAGE. doi: 10.1177/089331802237233
Coombs, T., & Holladay, S. (2012). The Handbook of Crisis Communication [Ebook]. Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.my/books
Dutton, J., Frost, P., Worline, M., Lilius, J., & Kanov, J. (2002). Leading in Times of Trauma. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2002/01/leading-in-times-of-trauma
Fearn-Banks, K. (2001). Handbook of Public Relations [Ebook]. SAGE Publisher. Retrieved from http://sk.sagepub.com/reference/handbook-of-public-relations
MH370 Wiki. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.mh370wiki.net/wiki/Statements:Day_004
NBC News. (2014). Social Media Spread False Reports of Safe Landing. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/social-media-spread-false-reports-safe-landing-n48081
New Straits Times. (2014). MH370: MAS could not have been prouder of its caregivers. Retrieved from http://www.asiaone.com/malaysia/mh370-mas-could-not-have-been-prouder-its-caregivers
Rensburg, A., Conradie, P., & Dondolo, D. (2017). The Use of the Situational Crisis Communication Theory to Study Crisis Response Strategies at a University of Technology, ISSN 2415-0525. doi: https://dx.doi. org/10.18820/24150525/ Comm.v22.5
Richards, M. (2014). Malaysia Airlines' 'dark site'. Retrieved from http://blog.marginmedia.com.au/Our-Blog/bid/100379/Malaysia-Airlines-dark-site
Shankar, S. (2014). Malaysia Criticized for Not Handling The Missing Flight MH370 Situation With More Transparency and Promptness. Retrieved from https://www.ibtimes.com/malaysia-criticized-not-handling-missing-flight-mh370-situation-more-transparency-promptness-1561122
Sudhaman, A. (2014). Malaysia Airlines Calls in Ketchum for MH370 Crisis PR Counsel. Retrieved 22 April 2018, from https://www.holmesreport.com/latest/article/malaysia-airlines-calls-in-ketchum-for-mh370-crisis-pr-counsel
Thomas, N. (2014). Angry Chinese want information on missing Malaysia Air
In-Text Citation: (Othman & Yusoff, 2020)
To Cite this Article: Othman, A. F., & Yusoff, S. Z. (2020). Crisis Communication Management Strategies in MH370 Crisis with Special References to Situational Crisis Communication Theory. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(4), 172–182.
Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode