E. (Eduardo) Notario Garcia

Research on reputations and crisis communication has analyzed crisis events predominantly from an episodic perspective and has focused primarily on the external consequences of a crisis to an organization’s reputation, ignoring internal implications such as the impact on organizational identity, character and capability. My aim with this dissertation is to develop theory on this other side of a reputational crisis, looking at it as a process that triggers development and change in organizational identity. I will enquire into reputational threats as experienced by organizations and their members during and after a reputational crisis and into how these threats affect organizations internally. These findings may contribute a new theoretical perspective of looking at reputation and may facilitate a better understanding of the inside dynamics behind identity development around character and capability, providing new insights into how firms can better build and manage their identity as well.