How do past crises affect publics' perceptions of current events? An experiment testing corporate reputation during an adverse event

Previous research in crisis communication has shown that a corporation's history of crises has a damaging effect on reputation during a current crisis. This study uses an experiment with student subjects testing not only the effect of a corporation's own crises on reputation, but also the reputational effect of a corporation without a crisis history but in an industry with a history of similar crises, called extraorganizational crisis history. Findings of this experiment show that publics' knowledge of extraorganizational crisis history may protect an organization's reputation in a crisis. Theoretical and practical implications of this finding are discussed and further research is suggested.