A master thesis from Aalborg University
The 2013 Horsemeat Scandal: Comparative Analysis of Tesco Image Restoration Strategies and Customer Reactions in the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic
Author(s)
Term
10. term
Publication year
2013
Submitted on
2013-05-31
Pages
48 pages
Abstract
The thesis deals with the external crisis communication strategies employed by global retail company Tesco respectively in the UK and the Czech Republic during the 2013 horsemeat scandal (HMS). Along these strategies light is shed on the crisis consumer responses as they were expressed in online newspaper-article discussion forums. Through the use of theory by William Benoit it is analyzed, how image restoration strategies were brought into use by Tesco, furthermore focusing on differences in the case of the two countries. In short the study concludes a significant difference in the strategies of the two national branches: a certain overcommunication in Tesco's UK branch and a certain reluctance in the Czech branch. Despite these differences both branches were met by distrust among the debating costumers, implying the only marginal effect of this external communication. Moreover, specific cultural reflections for the studied event were detected in the analysis.
Keywords
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