Organizational Response to Perceptual Risk: Managing Substantial Response to Unsubstantiated Events
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Communication Communication 2013 Organizational Response to Perceptual Risk: Managing Substantial Response to Unsubstantiated Events Elizabeth L. Petrun University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Petrun, Elizabeth L., "Organizational Response to Perceptual Risk: Managing Substantial Response to Unsubstantiated Events" (2013). Theses and Dissertations--Communication. 14. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/comm_etds/14 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Communication at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Communication by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained and attached hereto needed written permission statements(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine). I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless a preapproved embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s dissertation including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Elizabeth L. Petrun, Student Dr. Timothy Sellnow, Major Professor Dr. Timothy Sellnow, Director of Graduate Studies ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSE TO PERCEPTUAL RISK: MANAGING SUBSTANTIAL RESPONSE TO UNSUBSTANTIATED EVENTS _________________________________ DISSERTATION _________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky By Elizabeth Lauren Petrun Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Timothy L. Sellnow, Professor of Communication Lexington, Kentucky 2013 Copyright © Elizabeth Lauren Petrun 2013 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSE TO PERCEPTUAL RISK: MANAGING SUBSTANTIAL RESPONSE TO UNSUBSTANTIATED EVENTS Analysis and perceived severity of risk influences organizational decisions to anticipated threats. As economic development and technology improve our standards of living, they also create new challenges to conceptualizing concrete and abstract threats. Organizations that face new threats, along with agencies that oversee these organizations, produce tightly coupled systems that increase risks for direct, indirect, and future stakeholders (Perrow, 1999). Natural disasters, political misbehavior, organizational corruption, financial collapse, food and water contaminations, chemical or nuclear accidents, international tension, to name a few, all present risks and challenges. Unfortunately, many of these situations endanger the lives and well-being of persons. The ability of individuals to conceptualize, prioritize, and respond to myriad threats ultimately determines their risk perception and intention to act accordingly. Individuals often exaggerate some risks, while failing to acknowledge the severity of others (Sandman, 1989; Lachlan & Spence, 2007). This study will contribute to the understanding of subjectively constructed threats by examining three specific perceptual crises: A hoax, near miss, and risk misconstrual event. Each of these cases relies on robust newspaper descriptions, content analysis of media, and confirmatory organizational interviews. They are documented through a level of legislative action to determine real and structural changes incurred from perceptual crises. From these investigations this dissertation articulates how perceptual crises challenge organizations and governments, ascertains the viability of actional legitimacy theory, and observes variance in communication challenges between differing crisis contexts. These expectations encompass both applied and theoretical contributions. KEYWORDS: Risk Communication, Actional Legitimacy, Hoaxes, Near Misses, Misconstrual ________Elizabeth L. Petrun_________ Student’s Signature _________July 31, 2013_____________ Date ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSE TO PERCEPTUAL RISK: MANAGING SUBSTANTIAL RESPONSE TO UNSUBSTANTIATED EVENTS By Elizabeth Lauren Petrun ________Dr. Timothy Sellnow________ Director of Dissertation ________Dr. Timothy Sellnow________ Director of Graduate Studies ____________July 31, 2013_________ To my Kentucky Home Acknowledgements Many people contributed in both big and small ways to the completion of this dissertation. My chair, Dr. Timothy Sellnow, assuredly played an integral role, by inspiring me to think big while also paying attention to the minute details of a 200 plus page text. I am truly grateful for Dr. Sellnow’s wisdom, advice, and appreciation for balance. I am also deeply appreciative of my committee members for their time, trust, and support. Thank you Dr. Boyd, Dr. Jefferies, Dr. D. Sellnow, and Dr. Walsh for helping me get here. In addition to my committee I would like to thank several of my colleagues who I am indebted for helping me reach the completion of this document. In no particular order, thank you to Nicole Staricek, Adam Parrish, Erin Berger, Stephanie Madden, Katie Anthony, and Jenna Reno. Finally, thank you loml for your patience and Chicken Tikka. More broadly, I find it fitting to thank the University of Kentucky (UK) for an outstanding education and an irreplaceable nine years of learning. Past this, I am forever indebted for the memories, friendships, experiences, and foreseeable opportunities attributable to this university. No matter where I will go, I will always be a wildcat. Acknowledging all my family and friends is beyond this space, but many family members and friends contributed to my success during my doctoral years. I appreciated every word of encouragement and dismayed at every important occasion missed to spend time with you. I do, however, want to especially thank and remember my grandfather Paul Petrun Sr. who we lost in December 2012, just before Christmas. He was an inspiration to me, specifically for his selfless love of family. I look to both he and my grandmother, Dorothy Petrun, as role models and love them both very much. iii To bright memories and brighter tomorrows. The sun will never set on my old Kentucky Home. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Rationale ......................................................................................................................... 3 Focus of the Study .......................................................................................................... 8 Overview of Chapters ..................................................................................................... 9 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter Two: Literature Review ...................................................................................... 11 Legitimacy .................................................................................................................... 11 Legitimacy and Crisis Setting ....................................................................................... 29 Hoaxes........................................................................................................................... 30 Near Misses ................................................................................................................... 33 Misconstrual .................................................................................................................. 37 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter Three: Methods ................................................................................................... 41 Case Studies .................................................................................................................. 41 Data Sources