Crisis communication strategies by Cadbury s and nestle in india a critical study

Abstract

Crisis communication or communication management during crisis situations has emerged as one of the most critical aspect of dealing with and managing a crisis situation today and plays a paramount role in protecting organizations from potentially crippling and even fatal setbacks. The study presents a seminal, systematic and comprehensive analysis of two crisis communication strategies involving (i) Cadbury India Chocolate Worm Crisis and (ii) Nestle India Maggi Food Safety Controversy. The study also aims at the Critical appraisal and analysis of companies crisis communication responses / strategy from communication theories perspectives. The study is purely qualitative in approach and is examined from the perspective of its objectives. It can be broadly classified as descriptive in nature to describe systematically the two afore-mentioned crises situations arising out of two different types of companies at different points of time. The qualitative study was performed using case study method. Based on the requirement of the case study method and the necessity of the study, multiple methods were used for data collection. Both open-ended and closed ended questions were used for the survey and interviews. The questions were administered through emails, Google form and also via messaging. While conducting interviews, random observations were also recorded (through writing on the notebook) by the researcher. The secondary records available through books, research journals, newspapers (hard copy), e-newspapers and magazines were additionally taken into consideration for better understanding, analysing and exploring the two cases. The study has used application of theories of crisis communication, wherever deemed necessary, to support explanation of the crisis communication facts and situations. The communication strategy, practices and tools employed during crisis faced by Cadbury India Ltd (now Mondelez India Ltd) and Nestle India both their positives... newline