ABSTRACT
Although much work on crisis communication focuses on the practical aspects of the management of organizational crisis, little has provided any theoretical contribution to the study of crisis communication (Seeger, Sellnow, & Ulmer, 1998). The purpose of this chapter is partly to fill that void. Two particular theoretical perspectives—organizational image management theory and institutional theory—provide the conceptual framework. These theories are synthesized into a perspective that views crisis management as the management of organizational legitimacy, where legitimacy is defined as the stakeholder perception that an organization is good and has a right to continue operations. Legitimacy is necessary for organizational survival, because stakeholder support for organizational activity is a requirement for organizational success, as many recent organizational crises demonstrate.
