Susan G. Komen and the National Women's Healthcare Debate: A Crisis Communication Case Study

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis: This study uses the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT; Coombs, 2006). The goal of SCCT is to match the selection of crisis response to the needs of the situation & to place responsibility of the crisis somewhere. The research questions are: Q1.What response strategies did Susan G. Komen employ in dealing with the funding crisis that occured in January/February 2012? Q2.What response strategies did Planned Parenthood employ in dealing with the funding crisis that occured in January/February 2012? Q3.Did Komen achieve consistency, in terms of crisis communication strategy, across the crisis period? Planned Parenthood? Q4. What relationship/reputational management strategies (lessons learned) were used by Komen? Planned Parenthood?

Methods:  Historical analysis of organizational messages/crisis communication responses during January 24, 2012 (12 a.m.) and February 14, 2012 (11:59 p.m.) on the social media website Twitter (@komenforthecure = 214; @Ppact = 331). Content Analysis and descriptive analysis. Coders analyzed each message using the 10 crisis communication strategies from the three response clusters outlined in Coombs model.

Results: Findings are forthcoming. Expected May 2013. Final results will be submitted at that time.

Conclusions: Findings are forthcoming. This project demonstrates the critical steps taken by health organizations in response to a crisis that played out on a public stage. For the Komen Foundation, the withdrawal of funding from planned parenthood resulted in the loss of at least 2 senior officils, public backlash on social media and a public retraction of the funding decision within nearly 45 days later. For Planned Parenthood, an expert in public health advocacy, the withdrawal of their funding from the Komen Foundation lead to immediate public empathy and support, the opportunity for the organization to provide a clear call to action and, subsequently, enabled the organization to raise nearly 3 million dollars within 4 days.  

Implications for research and/or practice: This project provides several implications for practice: 1) a demonstration of the evaluation process of social media data; 2) application of the SCCT for health organizations; 3) a practical case study of how a health organization can be impacted by public opinions and/or political climates; and 4) how to leverage a crisis into success. SCCT suggests that how an organization communicates with its publics—what it says—will affect its publics’ perceptions of the organization. Those perceptions can shape how an organization’s publics emotionally react to or behave toward to the organization. Therefore, the communication decisions crisis managers make in the wake of a crisis could have great consequences, either positive or negative. It is imperative that crisis managers act strategically to save the organization’s reputation.