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Vigilant resilience: the possibilities for renewal through preparedness

Elizabeth Carlson (Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, USA)

Corporate Communications: An International Journal

ISSN: 1356-3289

Article publication date: 3 April 2018

643

Abstract

Purpose

Post-crisis renewal discourse (Ulmer et al., 2007) is one form of communication that stakeholders may use as they attempt to organize for resilience. The purpose of this paper propose extending Discourse of Renewal Theory to explain how it could enact a different kind of resilience than scholars typically consider. Organizational resilience strategies often focus on the recovery or prevention stages of crisis management. Under conditions of persistent threat, it would be more productive for renewal discourse to emphasize greater preparedness.

Design/methodology/approach

To illustrate the need for this kind of theorizing, the author analyzes a case study that follows the public relations efforts of Canadian energy company Enbridge, Inc., in the aftermath of the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill.

Findings

By the criteria of Discourse of Renewal Theory, Enbridge attempted a renewal strategy, but it failed. By other criteria, however, it succeeded: it created the opportunity for richer dialogue among stakeholders about their interdependence and their competing interests.

Originality/value

By considering how elements of the resilience process may vary, this paper offers resources for more nuanced theory-building and theory-testing related to organizational and system-level resilience.

Keywords

Citation

Carlson, E. (2018), "Vigilant resilience: the possibilities for renewal through preparedness", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 212-225. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-04-2017-0030

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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