Public relations strategies for digital crisis management: insights from Jordanian universities

The current study aims to examine the public relations (PR) strategies implemented in digital crisis management across the Jordanian universities. This study focuses on the aspect how PR managing authorities respond in order to deal with digitally mediated crises. Although, situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) has been largely utilized in the Western contexts, its applicability to Arab higher education institutions has not been under exploration. To bridge this gap, interviews of semi-structure type were managed with 13 PR managers working in Jordanian universities as managing officials. Institutional materials including social media reports and official press statements also supplemented these conducted interviews. The researchers analyzed the data thematically by using NVivo and systematized four SCCT strategy included clusters, i.e., denial, diminishment, rebuilding, and bolstering. Findings of the present study elaborate that denial strategies were not largely effective in the emerging digital crises; somehow, strategies related to ‘diminishment’ repeatedly shifted responsibility toward external barriers. Whereas rebuilding strategies specifically remedial actions and making sorry to public were more constructive in regaining trust, although their application was at times limited by reputational concerns. The findings also demonstrated that bolstering strategies along with great institutional achievements and offering thanks to stakeholders contributed a lot to supposed organizational integrity. Taken together, this study broadens the SCCT’s applicability to Arab higher education system and provides practical insights for PR practitioners and university management in order to main balance between responsibility, transparency and institutional repute in digitally concerned crisis communication.