PhD Thesis Cultural Differences in Crisis Communication: Western Theory and the Japanese Context * 危機コミュニケーションにおける文化間相違： 欧米理論の日本文脈への適用 Thesis submitted to Seinan Gakuin University Graduate School for the Degree of Doctor in Philosophy in Literature By Katharina Barkley 17DC002 Thesis supervised by: Professor Akira Miyahara i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank my mentor, Prof. Akira Miyahara. Without his constant encouragement and unwavering support, this thesis would not have been possible. I would also like to thank the members of my thesis committee, Prof. Chie Torigoe and Prof. Dwayne Olson, whose guidance and insights were invaluable. To all the professors and teachers who have helped me and supported me along the way, a very heartfelt thank you. I would also like to extend my warmest gratitude to all the students who participated in this project. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to my parents, extended family, and all my friends, who have supported me and who have shared in my struggles. In particular, I am deeply thankful for my parents-in-law, for their tireless help and support. I truly could not have done this without them. Lastly, I want to thank my husband, Matthew, and my son, Liam, who have been my rock throughout this challenging process. They built me up when I was losing faith and supported me through countless sleepless nights. To them and all the ones I somehow forgot to mention a heartfelt: Thank You! AUTHOR’S NOTE This thesis contains materials published in: Barkley, K. (2019). The Impact of CEO Ethnicity and Language Choice on Crisis Communication in Japan. International Journal of Business Communication. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488419882984 Barkley, K. (2019). Dangerous Voices – Losing the Battle for Dominance in a Cross- Cultural Rhetorical Arena. Seinan Gakuin University Graduate School Graduate Studies. 9, 1-18. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... ii AUTHOR’S NOTE ................................................................................................................. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................... vi TABLE OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi TABLE OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... vii 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................ 1 1.2 Goals of this Thesis ........................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Rationale ........................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Overview of the Thesis ................................................................................................. 3 2 Culture and Crisis Communication ....................................................................... 5 2.1 Crisis Communication ................................................................................................... 5 2.1.1 What Constitutes a Crisis? ................................................................................................... 5 2.1.2 Defining Crisis Communication ........................................................................................ 6 2.1.3 The Development of Crisis Communication ................................................................ 7 2.2 Crisis Communication and Culture ......................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Defining Culture ..................................................................................................................... 10 2.2.2 Defining International and Cross-Cultural Crisis Communication .................. 13 2.2.3 Culture and Crisis Communication: Japan vs. the West ....................................... 15 3 Theoretical Foundations ....................................................................................... 17 3.1 Situational Crisis Communication Theory ........................................................... 17 3.2 Rhetorical Arena Theory ........................................................................................... 21 3.3 The Interplay of SCCT and RAT ................................................................................ 23 4 The Japanese Context ............................................................................................. 25 4.1 Responsibility Attribution ........................................................................................ 26 4.1.1 Attribution Theory ............................................................................................................... 26 4.1.2 Cultural Differences in Responsibility Attribution ................................................. 27 4.2 Account Giving ............................................................................................................... 31 4.2.1 Cultural Differences in Account Giving ........................................................................ 32 4.3 High vs. Low Context Communication ................................................................... 36 4.3.1 The Apology Press Conference ........................................................................................ 38 4.4 In-group Loyalty ........................................................................................................... 39 4.5 The Media Environment ............................................................................................. 41 4.6 Spokesperson Ethnicity .............................................................................................. 43 4.6.1 Source Credibility and Homophily ................................................................................ 44 4.6.2 Japanese Cultural Identity and Perception of the “Other” ................................... 47 4.6.3 Perceptions of Non-Japanese in Japan ......................................................................... 49 4.6.4 Language Choice and Language Perception .............................................................. 52 5 The Case of Olympus Corporation ..................................................................... 56 5.1 The Olympus Loss Hiding Scandal .......................................................................... 56 5.2 Method ............................................................................................................................. 57 5.3 Findings and Discussion ............................................................................................. 61 iii 5.3.1 The Pre-Crisis Phase – A Small Arena .......................................................................... 61 5.3.2 The Active Crisis Phase: Part 1 – The International Arena ................................. 62 5.3.3 The Active Crisis Phase: Part 2 – The Arena Expands ........................................... 67 5.3.4 The Post-Crisis Phase: The Power of Quiet Voices ................................................. 72 5.4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 77 6 The Case of McDonald’s Japan ............................................................................. 79 6.1 Method and Procedures ............................................................................................. 79 6.2 Findings ........................................................................................................................... 83 6.2.1 Case 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 83 6.2.2 Case 2 ......................................................................................................................................... 87 6.3 Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 91 6.4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 94 6.5 Implications of the Qualitative Research and Refinement of Research Questions .................................................................................................................................... 95 7 Testing SCCT Recommendations in the Japanese Context ........................ 97 7.1 Hypotheses ..................................................................................................................... 97 7.2 Design and Stimulus Materials ............................................................................. 101 7.3 Participants ................................................................................................................. 102 7.4 Measures ...................................................................................................................... 102 7.4.1 Crisis Responsibility ........................................................................................................