Corporate Brand Recovery in the After Wake of a Crisis

Abstract: Aim: The overall aim of this study is to define post-crisis recovery as well as gain a deeper understanding of the strategies that corporate brands use in order to recover from a crisis. Theoretical Perspective: The research takes a strategic brand management perspective in order to define recovery as well as how corporate brands recover from a crisis. The previous literature that is utilized has mainly drawn from the fields of crisis management and communications, where the recovery phase and its subsequent strategies have not been clearly defined from a long term perspective. Methodology: The research approach of this study has been taken from grounded theory. The method has included using both document studies in combination with semi-structured interviews. The semi-structured interviews build upon the document studies with insights from key professionals and executives. Empirical data: The study has garnered both primary and secondary data. The data was collected from semi-structured interviews as well as document studies. The interviews provided in-depth insights into how corporate brands recover from a crisis and the document studies were used as case examples in order to further uncover recovery strategies used by corporate brands. Originality: The crisis recovery stage has not been explored in great detail from a strategic brand management point of view and thus, the study explores what the recovery stage is according to corporate brands and how brands recover from a crisis. Contributions: The study’s main contribution is the Brand Crisis Recovery Framework, which incorporates four themes derived from the empirical findings: strategic recovery vision, genuine solution-oriented action, change and consistent communication. These four themes helped to uncover how a corporate brand recovers from a crisis. The framework further aids corporate brands in identifying which brand archetype they fall into in order to identify which recovery strategies to use in the after wake of a crisis. Keywords: brand crisis recovery, post-crisis recovery, corporate brand, crisis management, crisis communications, corporate brand management