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Image Repair Theory
Operational Definition
An organization’s or individuals’ ability to enact self-defense strategies when they have been accused of or are perceived as being responsible for a negative event that threatens their reputation or public image (Benoit, 1995).
Image Repair Theory (IRT) is divided into 5 categories; Denial, Evasion of Responsibility, Reducing Offensiveness of the Event, Corrective Action, and Mortification. This case study attempts to explain the operationalization, development and cover current rhetoric to provide a theoretical application foundation for IRT.
Case Study: Chicago, 1982
3 Dead After Taking Tylenol, No Suspect Found
Chicago, 1982, three people died after taking Johnson and Johnson’s (J & J) product, extra-strength Tylenol. Three days later, another three people died from swallowing Tylenol capsules containing cyanide. At first, J & J released a statement that it didn’t use this chemical in its factories. Later, based upon an inspection report that identified cyanide in some of the factories, J & J retracted its statement and it decided to open its doors to the media.
J & J recalled 93,000 bottles of the product in the affected Chicago area. When another reported case emerged from California, the company decided to recall all extra-strength Tylenol products, resulting in 31 million recalled bottles. The company posted a $100,000 reward for the culprit(s) and also completed extensive market research to assess the implications the poisonings had on consumer’s psychographics . The results yielded 87% of Tylenol users who realized the maker of Tylenol was “not responsible” for the deaths. However, 61% said they were “not likely to buy” extra-strength Tylenol in the future. J & J implemented a new triple-safety product with tamper-resistant packaging and new marketing tactics. Chairperson James Burke appeared on television shows, including 60 Minutes, and in newspaper interviews.
Euphoria for the company lasted until February 1986 when tragedy struck again. A woman in New York died from taking a Tylenol capsule. Chairperson Burke sprang into action and addressed the media the following day at a press conference. He expressed mortification to the impacted families. Eventually, J & J halted all production of capsules, Tylenol was subject to this preposterous occurrence again. The company offered to replace all unused capsules with new caplets, which were believed to be less tamper-prone, (Seitel, 2016).
Despite no suspects being found, J & J attained 95% of its prior market share back because of their “fact, money, media and transparency” strategy. Part of their strategy involved developing a new Credo. The credo outlined the company’s mission, vision, and values, and also reflects its corporate social responsibility to its communities, dedication to serving quality products, and reestablishing trust.
Theoretical Application
Let’s break down Johnson & Johnson’s strategy against Image Repair Theory constructs (see reference chart). When an organization faces a crisis, legal representation will suggest to deny any claims to minimize involvement or liabilities. J & J originally denies having cyanide in its factories. However, once the inspection report showed otherwise, J & J had to retract its statement.
J & J then shifts from a denial to evasion of responsibility strategy. The implementation of defeasibility occurs the moment J & J opens its doors to the media. J & J remains transparent, they did not understand what or who was behind the poisonings. “Accidents do happen,” and in this case the company appears to be also a victim of these heinous crimes too. Audiences can empathize with the company.
Once another case emerges from California, J & J implements offensiveness reduction, corrective action and mortification strategies simultaneously. The organization’s new credo serves as core values. The credo also conveys motifs of responsibility to the J & J community and extreme ethical decision making to guide the way they conduct business. The credo reduces the offensiveness of the event through differentiation, J & J stood on its core values. There were many corrective action measures taken to solve a problem and prevent its recurrence, i.e. offering cash reward and recalling 31 million bottles. The organization reported to have lost over $100 million dollars. The company took further corrective action by offering medication replacement and completely redesigning packaging. All of these things led to J & J regaining its market share back.
Tylenol had only two options: deny until they find the culprit (silence) or go public. If J & J did not recall the product and used a denial strategy, it could have far worse implications on the company's reputation. Think about it, had there been more casualties, stakeholders would lose trust in the company. This option would have resulted in a negative impact on the company’s reputation, trust, and consumer behaviors. The public would have forever associated extra-strength Tylenol with death - the exact opposite intentions of a pharmaceutical company.
However, Chairperson Burke and top executives keep the issue public. At the root of the image repair theory are two dependent variables, trust and transparency. “At the message level, Baker and Martison’s (2001) TARES (truthfulness, authenticity, respect, equity, and social responsibility) test is another useful rule (. . .) that can help immensely to ensure public relations discourse avoids unethical and unlawful problems,” (Smudde, 2015). “One is responsible for their impacts, whether they intended them or not,” (Drucker, 2014). Ultimately, the company’s vulnerability (albeit risky) through transparency saved them by re-establishing trustworthiness from its publics and stakeholders.
At the time, Johnson and Johnson made a revolutionary decision to open its doors to the media and launch a new product. The company further attempted to analyze perceptions based on public interest surveys and interviews. “Public opinion is generally determined more by events than by words, increased involvement if there is self interest, public opinion is highly sensitive, and at critical times, people become sensitive to adequacy of leadership,” (Seitel, 2016). J & J exhibiting strategic actions based on genuine care toward its audience proved effective. It basically boils down to, the faster a company assesses the damages and releases a statement of accountability, the more likely the public is to accept the narrative as genuine - from the horse’s mouth. The company definitely acted upon their values outlined in the credo while also keeping the public's best interest in executive decision-making.
Significance
Why Should Anyone Care About This?
Comparably, if this were to happen today, the fluid media environment would allow messages to easily flow faster up and down the hierarchy. “Public opinion is influenced by specific issues in specific situations, when similar attitudes reach similar opinions, a public opinion is born,” (Seitel, 2016) and has the potential to gain momentum. Except proprietary information, Publics have about as much access to information as top management, allowing opinions to form faster than effective crisis decision making allows. To serve as an example of how instantaneous communication can be, take former director of corporate communications at IAC, Justine Sacco’s, social media blunder on Twitter. It makes public opinion even more “elusive and fragile,” (Seitel, 2016).
Interestingly, J&J’s website does briefly allude to tampering of products in the 1980s on the “About Me” section of the website, and the page also displays an infographic for the implementation of the safety features on the bottles. They also still have the credo available. Also one year after credo was developed, J & J became a publicly traded company.
This Johnson and Johnson case study is truly significant because it serves as a model for both theoretical application and crisis business application. Moreover, this case eventually changed how all medications and over the counter prescriptions are packaged. The company handled the crisis professionally and strategically, business goals. Remaining visible and demonstrating vulnerability through transparency in the science to influence public opinion. Reaffirming truthfulness as a principle in ethical decision-making for public relations and business practice.
Image Repair Theory Chart
I created this Image Repair Theory (IRT) Chart to break down operational definitions and provide general road map for further exploration. Three main columns (Theory Constructs, Operationalization, and Case Studies). The 5 categories of IRT are Denial, Evasion of Responsibility, Reducing Offensiveness of the Event, Corrective Action, and Mortification. Only denial, evasion of responsibility and offensiveness reduction have further subcategories, important not to confuse this.
