Culture and Emotion in Crisis Communication: Indigenisation of the Integrated Crisis mapping (ICM)...

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Culture and Emotion in Crisis Communication:

Indigenisation of the Integrated Crisis mapping (ICM) Model

Lee-Ching Cheng

Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore [email protected]

Yvonne Ai-Chi Loh



Augustine Pang, PhD

Assistant Professor



Arguably the first study that has tested the ICM model cross-culturally, this study addresses the call by

Asian scholars (see Wang & Kuo, 2010) to test the relevance of and indigenise Western models to Eastern

contexts. Essentially, this study seeks to examine how the American-centric Integrated Crisis Mapping

(ICM) Model, an emotion-driven crisis model, can be applied to the Asian culture, in which four crisis

cases from Singapore, a microcosm of Asian cultures, are studied. Findings showed conceptual rigor of the

ICM model. However, differences in emotional responses between stakeholders in the West and Asia

demonstrated that displays of emotions and cognition tend to be influenced by culture. While crisis

strategies (see Benoit & Pang, 2008) are useful, practitioners should increasingly integrate emotions and

culture in crisis responses.

Introduction

Recently, scholars are paying more attention to studying the reactions of audiences in

crises for the simple fact that without such an understanding, their organisational strategies may

not appeal to the hearts and minds of their audiences and therefore, may not be effective (Jin,

Pang & Cameron, 2009b). They found emotion to be a critical stimulus in triggering

interpretations of and reactions to crises (Jin, Pang & Cameron, 2007). This has prompted further

study for an emotion-based crisis communication approach by Jin, Pang & Cameron (2007)

which has culminated in the development of the Integrated Crisis Mapping (ICM) model as an

alternative to existing situation-based approaches to crisis communication. The model has been

subjected to several rounds of testing in America to prove its rigour and robustness. (Jin & Pang,

2010a; Jin, Pang, & Cameron, 2007, 2009a, 2009b).

In this study, we examined the applicability of the ICM model in the Singapore context

for three key reasons. It is hoped that the study will provide further testing for the applicability of

mailto:[email protected]

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the ICM model in an Asian context, thereby contributing to understanding how cultural

influences might affect the appraisal of a crisis and its responses. Second, the study further

examined variances between the West and East that might exist in the way individuals and

organisations in crises express themselves and cope in a multicultural society with the purpose of

identifying specific crisis responses that could be effectively employed to meet the demands of

diverse audiences in a multicultural context. Third, as an international business centre, Singapore

offers the potential for studying the multi-dimensionality of threats that exists in a crisis. Finally,

it is hoped that this study will contribute towards the framework of developing a publics-based,

emotion-driven conceptualisation in crisis communication.

Literature Review

ICM: An emotion-based conceptualisation of crisis response

Current crisis communication strategies stem largely from situation-based responses to

crises. Two dominant crisis strategies that are often quoted are Benoit’s image repair theory

(Benoit & Brinson 1994; Benoit & Pang, 2008) as well as Coomb’s situational crisis

communication strategies (Coombs 2008).

While recognising that these situation-based crisis responses serve as vital roadmaps for

understanding crisis situations, Jin, Pang & Cameron (2010b) argued for a more universal and

systematic approach to crisis understanding using the emotion-based approach. They based their

research on previous studies which found emotion to be the critical stimulus affecting perceptions

of a crisis (Carver & Blaney, 1977, cited in Jin, Pang & Cameron, 2010b).

A new conceptualisation for understanding the diverse and varied emotions likely to be

experienced by key stakeholders in crises was developed by Jin, Pang & Cameron in 2007, called

the integrated crisis mapping model (ICM) ( Jin, Pang & Cameron , 2007; 2009a; 2010). It

integrates works from psychology and crises literature and extrapolates them on two continua

(Figure 1). On the X-axis is the publics’ coping strategy (from conative to cognitive). The

publics can engage in cognitive coping, i.e. determining a way of interpreting the crisis situation

with regard to their well-being (Jin, Pang & Cameron, 2007; 2009a; 2009b), or they can engage in

conative coping – trying to manage the situation to alter a troubled relationship or sustain a

desirable position by taking actions or showing the tendency to take action. During the coping

process, the publics can change their interpretations based on the demands of the situation (Jin,

Pang & Cameron, 2007; 2009a; 2009b). The Y-axis depicts the level of organisational

engagement, ranging from high to low. The researchers took different types of crises and mapped

them into each of the four quadrants, with the dominant and secondary emotions shown (Jin, Pang

& Cameron, 2007; 2009a; 2009b). In each of the quadrant are crisis types, hypothesised using

three criteria: 1) Internal-external; 2) Personal-public; and 3) Unnatural-natural (Jin, Pang &

Cameron, 2007; 2009a; 2009b). (See Figure 1).

Jin and her colleagues reasoned that the analysis of the organisational engagement level

in the crisis and primary public’s coping strategy can also be observed through the four quadrants.

They posited that for crisis management to be effective, the organisation must understand the

primary public’s emotional demands, in order to communicate and align with the coping strategy

of the primary public (Jin, Pang & Cameron, 2007; 2009a; 2009b).

The ICM model was further tested for its validity in the Western context (Jin, Pang and

Cameron, 2009b; 2010b). Results from the test revealed that anxiety is the underlying emotion

felt by publics in crises (Jin, Pang and Cameron, 2009b) and there is a high likelihood that one

emotion would co-exist with another. Besides anxiety, which may or may not be the primary

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emotion, the other prevalent emotions observed were anger and sadness (Jin, Pang and Cameron,

2009b). The tests found publics to be engaged in more conative coping than cognitive coping.

Conative coping is defined as the public trying to manage the situation so as to alter a troubled

relationship or to sustain a desirable one by taking actions or at least show their tendency of

action. In cognitive coping, the public would be trying to sort out a way of thinking or

interpreting the meaning of the crisis with regard to their well-being (Jin, Pang & Cameron,

2009b). Jin and her colleagues (2009b) also found strong basis that conative coping is the external

expression of the internal cognitive processing that has already taken place - cognitive coping is

thus the precursor of conative coping. As such, the revised ICM model is further advanced in

Figure 2.

Jin, Pang & Cameron’s (2009a; 2009b) studies integrated existing crisis classifications

into the integrated crisis mapping model to test the organisations’ engagement levels. The tests

revealed that although both the public’s and the organisations established that the crises were

relevant to the organizations’ goals; they differed on who should assume more responsibility (Jin,

Pang and Cameron, 2009a, 2009b). Overall, a moderately high level of organisational

engagement was found to have sufficed (Jin, Pang & Cameron, 2009b). (See figure 2).

Cultural effects on emotions & cognition – arguments for cultural indigenisation and universality

In recent years, Asian researchers are questioning the basis for applying Western-centric

communication theories for research studies in Asia, arguing for the adoption of a de-

Westernised, cultural specific approach (Wang, 2011). Wang (2011) had earlier posited that

Eurocentrism is emerging as one of the primary factors leading to a serious imbalance in

knowledge production, particularly in the arena of communication studies. The concept of ‘de-

Westernisation’ goes beyond the simplistic definition of removing elements that are Western but

rather it is to enrich the value of Western methods and theories (Wang, 2011; Wang & Kuo, 2010,

p.154).

Asian researchers like Kuo and Han (2011) emphasised that individual attitudes and

behaviour, institutional structures and social phenomena should be understood and analysed

within their specific cultural frameworks , essentially proposing a culture-centric approach at the

centre of each research inquiry, arguing for the meaningful and constructive merger of Eastern

and Western theories, without either political or ideological biases. This merger is possible if we

synthesise communication theories studied from ethnocentric perspectives, from phenomena that

occur at the confluence of cultures, and investigating new communication landscapes (Kuo and

Han, 2011).

Specifically to communication theories, evidences of culture affecting emotions and

behaviour have led scholars to question the validity of Western communication theories and

research as a paradigm for understanding human reality across all cultures (Kim, 2009; Wang,

2009). It has also led to the proposal and further debates about the development of Asian-centric

communication theories as counter-paradigms in the study of emotions and behaviours.

Kim (2009) argued that cultural bias can appear in ethnocentrism and Eurocentrism as

well, explaining that attempts to generalise conditions and patterns in the region had invariably

showed up the vast differences and anomalies that arise from the diverse cultures, languages,

religions and traditions. Just as evidences contradict the universality of Western paradigms for the

Asian context, Asian-centric theories tend to paint Asian communication styles with the same

broad brush as collectivistic and thus reserved and indirect (Kim, 2010, p. 169-170).

Therefore, as Wang & Kuo (2010) suggest, Western-centric biases and problems in

communication studies must first be indigenised to take into account cultural specific influences

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in terms of the historical, social, cultural and sub-cultural context. When studying interpersonal

communication in respective cultures, the “incommensurability between concepts and theories of

different origins (that is, West and non-West), should be fully explored and revealed” (Wang &

Kuo, 2010, p. 160). After which, universality of concepts may be explored (Wang & Kuo, 2010).

Kim (2010) further elaborated that those who adopt a culture specific approach usually aim at

exploring particularities that are context-specific; while those opting for a culture-general

approach are more inclined to search for universality, or contingent/conditional universality.

Wang & Kuo (2010) cautioned against “complete fragmentation of the field”, instead

advocating for an approach that draws similarity in concept with Mignolo’s (2007, cited in Wang

& Kuo, 2010) “pluri-universality” (Wang & Kuo, 2010, p.161). One of the reasons for doing so is

that there is a “growing tendency of transcultural adaptation as a result of modernisation and

globalisation” (Wang & Kuo, 2010, p. 156).

Reasons for indigenising ICM in Singapore

With a history as an entrepot port, Singapore is well-exposed to the cultures of East and

West, and features a microcosm of cultures in Asia and beyond. Friedman & Wu (2008) has

described it to be intensively multicultural. (Friedman & Wu, 2008, p. 345) posited that cultural

diversity has moved beyond being inclusive to become a process that occurs within an individual,

enabling them to embrace the different cultural systems and demonstrate greater adaptability in

terms of cognition, emotions and behavioural patterns than people from mono-cultures. As such,

there are benefits that accrue to their emotion-management dexterity and cognitive and

behavioural flexibility. This research intends to investigate the effects of an Asian-based,

multicultural society on the ICM model.

Singapore also proves to be different from its Asian neighbours (Wee, 2001). With its

receptivity to globalisation and modernisation (Kim, 2010; Wang & Kuo, 2010), it is often quoted

in international forums as a key point of reference. Its open economy and economic growth has

created a unique Asian culture for itself.

Cases proposed for the Singapore study

Four crises cases have been selected based on its contrast on relevant independent

variables (Swanborn, 2010) in the ICM model, namely, huge trading losses at China Aviation Oil

that spooked investors and shareholders - reputational issue (Quadrant 1), Collapse of Nicoll

Highway – industrial accident (Quadrant 2), the scandalous downfall of the CEO of National

Kidney Foundation – forced retirement issue (Quadrant 3) and the escape of terrorist detainee,

Mas Selamat - security issue (Quadrant 4) They present opportunities to examine Asian-style

emotions and responses to crises.

China Aviation Oil (CAO), case of reputational damage: CAO was on the brink of

bankruptcy after shocking the financial markets on 30 November 2004 with USD$550 million in

financial losses resulting from speculative trading activities. The ensuing investigations ordered

by the market regulator, the Singapore Exchange, revealed fraudulent actions and lack of proper

governance at CAO and regulatory violations (Lee, 2006a). Matters were complicated by the

return of the CEO to China in the heat of the scandal and that several members of its Board, who

hailed from Chinese state-owned aviation transportation logistics group, were aware of the

brewing troubles. CAO was sued by debtors and almost collapsed had it not been for a taskforce

put in place to handle settlement proceedings and restructure the company ("China Aviation,"

2006) and participation by strategic new investors, including Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund,

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Temasek Holdings (Gerald, 2005). The dominant publics in this case study would be the

investing community and the involved organisation to be studied will be CAO.

The data about this case was collected from 30 November 2004, when CAO let on that

it was unable to meet some of the margin calls arising from its speculative derivative trades,

resulting in the company’s being forced to close the positions with some of its counter parties

until March 2006 when the CEO, Chen Jiulin, was arrested with the charge of the insider trading

and sentenced to 51 months imprisonment.

Nicoll Highway Collapse, case of industrial accident: Disaster struck on 20 April 2004

when a 100-metre stretch of Nicoll Highway caved in, making the busy highway leading to the

central business district inaccessible to traffic for seven months and causing power disruptions to

15,000 people and 700 businesses in the vicinity (Ahmad, 2004). Four workers died in the

incident. The accident was caused by the collapse of a temporary retaining wall supporting the

excavation site for the construction of the underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) tunnels

(”Update on repair works”, 2004). The Land Transport Authority (LTA) was the developer and

Nishimatsu, the main contractor of the MRT works. Immediately after the incident, government

teams stepped in to manage the situation. Later, a government-led inquiry reported a string of

“lamentable errors” (“Government response”, 2005) relating to the project. The primary publics

comprise the families of victims, and those directly impacted by the incident. The key

organisation involved in this incident would be LTA.

The data about this case was collected from 20 April 2004, the day of the highway

collapse, until May 2005 when the final report of the committee of enquiry into the collapse was

published.

Scandal at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), case of forced CEO resignation: In

July 2005, a legal spat between The Straits Times and NKF CEO, T T Durai led to the newspaper

revealing a series of the CEO’s misbehaviour ("As donations dip," 2005), including mishandling

and abuse of funds and a huge CEO salary package. Reports of his alleged abuse of donations for

personal enjoyment, such as first-class air travel and the installation of a gold tap in his private

bathroom in the office ("How NKF," 2005) incensed the public. 40,000 regular donors withdrew

their support for the charity, in which the charity lost around $1.7 million that could fund kidney

dialysis programmes were at stake. An online petition attracting thousands demanded the CEO’s

resignation. The scandal caused a big dent to public confidence in Singapore charities and to

Singapore’s “clean image” ("Charity scandal," 2005) among the international community. Strong

government intervention ensued – appointing a new NKF Board and CEO, with measures spelled

out to ensure greater governance at charities ("Government okays," 2006; Tan, 2008).The publics

identified in this case study will be the donors, the general public and the media while the

organisation to be analysed will be NKF.

The data about this case was collected from 12 July 2005, when revelations from the

legal spat resulted in public disclosures about the CEO’s misdemeanours, until 23 July 2005 when

the public discourse declined upon the setting up of an interm leadership team in NKF.

Mas Selamat’s escape from detention, case of security threat: On Feb 27, 2008, the

terrorist detainee escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre, causing great embarrassment

to Singapore’s internal security system, a country known for its tight security and organisational

efficiency (Chua, 2008). A massive manhunt was immediately deployed in the vicinity of the

area immediately after the escape although news about the escape was released only several hours

later. The search which proved unsuccessful was wound down 17 hours later. It was subsequently

found that Selamat’s relatives gave him shelter and assisted in his escape to Malaysia ("Mas

Selamat given shelter," 2010). The issue raised much debate in parliament ("Parliament: ‘Mas

Selamat’s extended," 2010) and discussions about Singapore’s social fabric ("Social fabric,"

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2010). For this case study, the primary publics comprise the residents around the detention centre

while the secondary publics would be the general public. The key organisation involved in this

incident would be the Ministry of Home Affairs Singapore.

The data about this case was collected from 28 February 2008, when news of Mas

Selamat’s escape broke, until November 2010 when the inquiry about his escape revealed that he

received help from his family during his escape.

The four Singapore cases were studied using Jin, Pang & Cameron’s (2009b) revised

ICM model to test the applicability of the Western model against a non-Western setting.

Research questions

This study seeks to answer the following research questions:

RQ1: What are the dominant emotions expressed by the primary publics in the Singapore cases?

RQ2: What are the coping styles during the crisis?

RQ3: What are the organisational levels of engagement during the crisis?

RQ4: What is the difference in perception between the organisation and the primary publics on

the dominant emotions experienced by the primary publics?

RQ5: What is the difference in perception between the organisation and the primary publics on

the coping styles adopted by the primary publics during the crisis?

RQ6: Are there noticeable differences between how Singapore audiences express their emotions

from the dominant emotions identified in the ICM model?

RQ7: Are there noticeable differences in crisis coping styles between how Singapore audiences

and those identified in the ICM model?

RQ8: Are there noticeable differences in the way organisations in crisis engage their audiences in

the Singapore context compared with the engagement levels observed in the ICM model?

Method

Data collection

The case study method is chosen to allow for the descriptive construction of historical

evidences that will contribute towards analytic generalization of the findings. Multiple sources of

evidences gathered from news clippings, citizen blogs, organisational and government news

releases and other publications were used to enhance the validity and reliability of the case study

findings. Data from the cases were used to build a systematic database of converging information

and a chain of evidence, to provide conclusions to research questions and explicit links among

research questions (Yin, 2009).

The ICM model characteristics and extent of news coverage were used as a guide in

identifying relevant cases. LexisNexis was used to scan for cases from year 2000 till November

2010. Cases were finally selected based on the impact of crisis.

Data analysis

Analysis of the crisis events depended largely on past records that were publicly

available, and include news and published literature, information on websites and blogs,

organisational documents and archival materials such as news releases, annual reports, public

forum discussions and commissioned reports (Yin, 2009). Two investigators simultaneously

examined the literature for evidences. Sources and data examined were triangulated to arrive at

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convergence and consistency of findings. The units of analysis examined were (1) Dominant

emotions – identification of emotions as anger, anxiety, sadness and fright (2) Coping strategies –

identification of coping as conative or cognitive (3) Organisational engagement – identification

of the level of engagement, ranging from high to low, according to the categorisation of crisis

types (Coombs, 2008; Coombs & Holladay, 1996; Jin & Pang, 2010a). Observations were then

matched against the predictive propositions of the ICM model.

Findings and Discussion

Primary emotions – RQ1

Case of reputational damage: Anxiety was identified as the initial primary emotion

arising from the China Aviation Oil financial crisis, with its huge financial losses described as

“sending out shockwaves” ("CAO's crash," 2004), to the investing and over-the-counter (OTC)

trading markets. The sentiment was also highlighted in SGX’s effort to “calm investors unnerved

by the CAO debacle” (Lor, 2004), particularly for retail investors whose CAO shares were

suspended. Later, emotion that prevailed grew into anger, as “…investors soon discovered CAO

had been in serious trouble for a long time,” (Lee 2006b).

Case of Industrial Accident: “Fright” was the primary emotional expression.

Evidences included the experience of residents or workers in nearby buildings who were jolted by

loud explosions, tremors and blackouts ("Blast...” 2004; "Huge blackout," 2004). When more

information on the highway collapse was available, fright gave way to “anxiety and concern as

evidenced by their worry about cracks in their buildings caused by MRT tunnelling (“Residents

near”, 2004). A smaller group of primary publics, the families, friends and ex-colleagues of the

death victims were both “in deep shock (frightened) and grief” ("Family remembers," 2004) to

first learn about the victims’ trapped in the rubble and then have hopes of their survival dashed.

Case of CEO scandal: “Anger” was the primary emotion as evidenced by substantial

withdrawals of donations to the NKF following news reports of the CEO’s misbehaviour

(Henson, 2005), and his refusal to take responsibility initially (Klyne, 2005) and “sadness” was

the secondary emotion, as from the public empathized with kidney dialysis patients who might be

negatively affected by the crisis (Toh, 2005).

Case of Security Threat: For the Mas Selamat case, “fright and anxiety” were

displayed as the primary emotions as residents in the vicinity fear for their personal safety over a

terrorist at large (Skadian, 2008). “Anger” was observed to be the secondary emotion,

operationalised by the public attributing blame towards the Internal Securities Department for the

“security lapses and apparent negligence that resulted in the escape of a terrorist” (Chwee, 2008).

The dominant emotions expressed by the primary publics in the Singapore cases were

mainly anger, anxiety as well as some secondary emotions of sadness as in the case of the CEO

scandal.

Primary public’s coping strategies- RQ2

Case of reputational damage: Conative coping was prevalent in all segments of the

primary publics despite the presence of strong proscriptive variables in the form of court

protection from creditors and share trading suspension. After CAO filed court affidavit for

voluntary liquidation, more than 120 creditors ("CAO Corp staves off liquidation," 2005)

continued to actively negotiate with CAO on repayments. Some resorted to legal suits (Prystay,

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2005). Retail investors approached the Small Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS) for

assistance and considered class action suits (Gerald, 2005).

Case of Industrial Accident: The primary publics were observed to adopt conative

coping when residents asked for safety checks on their buildings following the highway collapse

and commuters avoided areas of MRT tunnelling (Lee, 2004). Workers involved “were initially

afraid to go back into a tunnel” ("Counselling helps," 2004). The families of the four victims

were the ones who tried to cope with the crisis cognitively, as they grappled to accept the absence

left by the demised.

Case of CEO scandal: In the NKF case, conative coping was evident as the primary

publics showed their objection by petitioning for the CEO’s resignation and cancelling their

donations ("3,800 cancel monthly donations," 2005).

Case of Security Threat: In the Mas Selamat case, the residents and schools in the

vicinity of the Whitley Road Detention Centre tended to use more conative coping like

cooperating with the police and helping the authorities search for the fugitive (Skadian, 2008), as

well as ensuring that their own kin are safely at home as much as possible (Quek, 2008). Other

Singapore residents coped conatively by looking out for the fugitive around public places (Toh &

Jaganathan, 2008) as well as cognitively by continuing with their daily chores, entrusting their

safety to the Police.

Therefore, the coping style used by the primary publics in the Singapore cases was

predominantly conative coping.

Organisational engagement - RQ3

Case of reputational damage: At the point when the crisis was announced (Chang,

2004), CAO placed a high appraisal on the relevance between its organisational goal and the

crisis as it knew that it would determine its survival. Even though it kept the issue away from the

public, it was quietly trying to plug the gaping hole in the finances since October 2004 (Lee,

2006b), demonstrating high engagement but low public responsibility. However, its

engagement was selective, focusing on those who will determine its survival - the regulators,

creditors and key investors. Its engagement with retail investors and minority shareholders was

moderate. Following regulatory intervention, CAO assumed high crisis responsibility with

an action-based stance (Chang, 2004; Tay, 2004) as operationalised in the return of its CEO to

face incrimination charges and the formation of a taskforce to settle its debts.

Case of Industrial Accident: In the case of Nicoll Highway, LTA adopted an

accommodating stance right after the crisis, organising road traffic and public transport diversions

and worked relentlessly to re-open part of Nicoll Highway to traffic just five days after the

incident ("Nicoll Highway partially," 2004). It kept the public constantly apprised through its

engagement with the media but avoided discussing possible reasons for the collapse (Yeo, 2004,).

The government as a whole was highly engaged in managing the situation, adopting an action-

based stance.

Case of CEO scandal: In the NKF case, the organisation tended to dismiss the crisis as

unfavourable media reporting and hence engagement was initially low. This was evidenced by

the denial of the CEO as he thought that “the case would not have much impact on the public”,

maintaining that “whatever (NKF) did was right ("T T Durai," 2005). It was only after

intervention from the government that engagement level went up, with the installation of a

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new Board of Directors and management. The government took steps to improved charity

governance and worked with NKF to restore public confidence.

Case of Security Threat: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which oversees all

security matters within Singapore perceived that the crisis was very closely related to the

organisation’s operation and reputation and readily admitted responsibility for the crisis (Ho et al,

2008). MHA wasted no time in launching massive manhunt immediately after the escape (Quek,

2008). Although it showed high engagement, the stance adopted by MHA was more rhetoric-

mixed (Jin, Pang & Cameron, 2010b) due to proscriptive nature of internal security work.

The observations from the above cases have demonstrated that organisations who had

higher perception of responsibility tended to be more highly engaged with their stakeholders.

Organisations in the Singapore study were prepared to be highly engaged in resolving problems

posed by their crisis.

Difference in organisational engagement as perceived by the organisation and the publics- RQ4

Case of reputational damage: Although CAO saw a close relationship between the

crisis and its organisational goal, it did not match up to the public’s perception of its

organisational responsibility, especially on its lack of corporate transparency. The higher public

expectation was operationalised as public anger (Leong, 2004).

Case of Industrial Accident: The government seemed to perceive greater relevance of its

organisational goals to the crisis than commuters, e.g. anticipating traffic jams following the

incident (“Update on repair works”, 2004) and devoting huge resources on inquiries, checks to

MRT works, etc. The accommodating stance could be interpreted as efforts to reduce

offensiveness on LTA’s part. The primary publics, the victims’ families, on the contrary, were

less damning, possibly because they could not pin-point the responsibility for the road collapse

before the inquiry findings.

Case of CEO scandal: The primary publics perceived greater social responsibility from

the NKF than the organisation itself (Neo, 2005).

Case of Security Threat: Despite the immediate and massive manhunt organized by the

Home Affairs ministry, the primary publics expected greater organisational engagement and felt

the government was not forthcoming in releasing information about the fugitive crisis ("The

'toilet break' escape," 2008).

In three of the four cases above, the public perceived the organisations’

responsibility to be greater than the organisations’ self-perception. Despite the

organisations’ willingness to assume corporate responsibility for the crises, they did not fully

meet the expectations of their publics, leaving cause for public anger.

Difference in coping strategy perception – RQ5

Case of reputational damage: CAO correctly anticipated that its creditors would cope

conatively by pursuing repayments, prompting it to apply for voluntary liquidation (Lee, 2006b).

Retail investors of CAO were more resolute about coping conatively than CAO had anticipated.

The perceived difference was translated as anger towards the CAO’s irresponsibility and retail

investors even explored engaging in a class action suit (Gerald, 2005).

Case of industrial accident: LTA and the government agencies went out at length to

convince the next-of-kins that no effort was spared in the rescue operations and in ensuring fast

restoration. In contrast, families of victims and commuters were observed to be more prepared to

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cope with the tragedy cognitively. However, LTA underestimated the reactions of other affected

publics over related safety issues - the safety of their buildings and living environment. (“Nearby

buildings”, 2004).

Case of CEO scandal: NKF donors and the general public attributed higher

responsibility for NKF’s misdeeds than NKF’s self-perception. Both parties used conative coping,

e.g. donors cancelled donations while the organisation set up dedicated donation hotlines to

handle the increased in cancellations, and scaling back solicitation for donations during the crisis

period (Ng, 2005).

Case of Security Threat: There was no significant difference in the coping strategy

adopted by the primary publics and the organisation.

Therefore, it could be said that all the involved organisations under study showed mixed

understanding of their publics’ responses to the crises. They however demonstrated dexterity in

the use of coping strategies that matched the public expectations.

Differences in Singapore publics’ emotional responses versus the revised ICM model - RQ6

In the American study, anxiety was the underlying emotion identified in the revised

ICM model and anger/ sadness co-existed as the other prevalent emotions (Jin, Pang & Cameron,

2009a; 2009b). Anxiety was the prevalent emotion in three of the four cases, with the exception

of the NKF case, as the crisis did not pose a risk of loss or personal danger to its primary publics.

Instead, anger was the primary emotion. However, anxiety was quite prevalent in the other

Singapore cases. Other prevalent emotions were anger and fright.

Emotional responses to crises did not show universality between East and West. Anxiety

has been observed to be the underlying emotion across most of the cases. However, sadness did

not stand out as a theme, perhaps reflecting the less sentimental nature of people in Singapore.

Differences in Singapore publics’ coping strategy versus the revised ICM model - RQ7

Similar to the American study, the primary publics examined in the Singapore cases

tended towards “problem-focused coping” (Jin, Pang & Cameron, 2009b). Only pockets of

helpless publics, such as the families of death victims in the Nicoll Highway tragedy, used

cognitive coping. Therefore, the Singapore publics were found to adopt conative coping strategy

in crises, similar to the Western ICM model.

Differences in Singapore’s organisational engagement versus the revised ICM model – RQ8

Based on existing crisis classification, organisational engagements are expected to be

high when there is high attribution of responsibility, especially when the crisis is preventable

(Coombs, 2008). In reality, the cases tested in the revised ICM model had shown that

organisations were not always willing to adopt a high level of engagement (Jin, Pang & Cameron,

2009b, p.31). While the revised ICM model showed moderately high engagement by

organisations, all the cases in Singapore except for NKF’s case, were highly engaged with their

publics, adopting an action-based stance and taking corrective actions to meet the publics’

demands. CAO had to prioritize its resources to focus on influential publics but worked hard to

ensure business continuity. For NKF who did not perceive high attribution of responsibility for

the crisis, its level of engagement went up after government intervention. In general,

organisations in Singapore seemed to be more prepared to be highly engaged in their crises. A

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strong contributing factor is the active interest by the Singapore government in taking corrective

action.

The Singapore study almost matches the ICM studies in the West which found anxiety

to be the underlying emotion in most crises. The only exceptional case was the publics’ crisis

reactions in NKF, the nature of which did not pose perceived danger or threat to its publics. On

the other hand, coping strategies showed a high degree of universality between East and West.

Organisational in the Singapore study differed from the West in their attitude towards corporate

responsibility as well as approach in engaging their publics. Unlike the Western study,

organisations here placed greater emphasis in taking corrective action, less on rhetoric expression

of apologia.

Other variables influencing the validity of the revised ICM model in Singapore

1) Socio-political factors - the paternalistic government: In the Singapore study, swift

government interventions followed each crisis incident as a “problem-solving” coping response.

These interventions were observed to trigger a change in emotions and coping strategy among the

primary publics. For instance, in CAO’s case, Temasek Holdings’ willingness to inject funds into

CAO was a strong factor in imbuing confidence among CAO’s creditors and retail investors

(Chang, 2004; Woon, 2005). In NKF’s case, the government stepped in to appoint a new Board

and CEO and to take measures to raise the standard of corporate governance at charities reinstated

public support for NKF. The negative impact of each crisis was ameliorated and charity donations

improved after three years (Tan, 2008). Scholars like Wee (2001) likened Singapore as a

“protective–interventionist state” known for its paternalistic government. Arising from this, its

people have learnt to expect the higher authorities to step in to rectify any wrongdoings

immediately.

2) Cultural factors: Slight variances were observed in the emotional responses of primary

publics. This could be due to the nature of crises, e.g., variance in the NKF case where perceived

personal risk is low. Organisations in the Singapore study also tend to adopt action-based

accommodation, especially in cases involving the government agencies who were swift in taking

corrective measures. Through their experiences, Singapore is reflected more as a action-based

culture, where corporate responsibility is expressed as a willingness to make redress and resolve

problems rather than focusing on rhetorical expressions of apologia (Jin, Pang & Cameron,

2010b).

A few interesting observations were made of the way emotions and coping were

operationalised in Singapore. In the NKF case, objections to the misbehaviours of the CEO were

expressed resolutely but peacefully, through withdrawals of donations and online petitions. In the

Nicoll Highway tragedy, one of the death victims sacrificed his life for his workers, including

non-Singaporeans, ensuring they got out of danger before him. His actions won the respect of

Thai workers and strangers in the community, who visited his wake (“Over 500 pay last

respects”, 2004). The manner of expressions shows signs of a society sensitized by cultural

diversity and moving towards a multicultural system (Friedman & Wu, 2008). In the case of the

terrorist’s escape, the effort by religious leaders to galvanise the public to “come together as one

multiracial team,” (Othman, 2008), is both evidence of a tendency towards a multicultural system

in Singapore (Friedman & Wu, 2008) as well as the fragility of social harmony in a culturally-

diverse society. Mas Selamat’s escape, which was aided by his relatives, showed the prevalence

of a collectivistic subculture existing in multicultural Singapore,

In the CAO saga, while locals made demands for foreign ‘red chip’ organisations

operating in Singapore to conform to higher local standards of corporate transparency ("CAO

12

chief quits," 2004), audiences showed tolerance and abandoned ideas of class action suits in the

end, a situation that might have evolved differently in America. On the other hand, the Singapore

regulators were able to work amicably with the other Asian neighbours to solve internal problems

while maintaining an independent view on law. Chinese state-owned company, CAOHC, assisted

with Chen Jiulin’s voluntary return to Singapore to face incriminations according to Singapore

laws. Similar experiences were observed in Mas Selamat’s case when he was extradited back

from Malaysia to face incrimination, made possible because of the two countries’ friendly

relations. The congenial cross-border relations reflect a broader underlying understanding and

trust between the Asian economies while the ability to maintain regulatory autonomy reflect

Singapore’s dexterity in managing crisis challenges as a globalising, multiracial society

(Friedman & Wu, 2008). Again, these pre-conditions may not exist in the Western world for

similar outcomes to be experienced.

Conclusion and Limitations

The Singapore study is the first application of the American-developed ICM model in

an Asian context. Variances in crisis emotional responses observed from this study prove that

cultural differences could evoke different emotional and cognitive responses to challenging

situations (Kim, 2010; Wang, 2009) and even the way emotional expressions are operationalised.

Crisis coping strategies were observed to be more universal in nature. Conative coping

in all four cases resonates with the US findings. However, the organisations in Singapore were

more geared towards action-based stance and less rhetoric. This was especially evident in the

cases involving government agencies; reflecting Singapore’s commitment to social responsibility.

The case studies also reflect a society that places high emphasis on social congeniality,

which in turn influences the manner of coping and how emotional expressions are

operationalised. This emphasis reflects Singapore’s transcultural adaptation resulting from its

history as an entrepot and its receptivity to globalisation and modernisation (Kim, 2010; Wang &

Kuo, 2010.) Another study in the Asian context may yield yet different outcomes.

Based on the four cases studied, the revised ICM model is partially applicable in

Singapore. The active participation of the Singapore government is recognised as an influential

variable. Without government intervention, organisational engagement by NKF was entirely

different and the outcome of CAO could end in dire straits. As such, some modification to the

ICM model is proposed for the Singapore experience (Refer to Figure 3).

The Singapore study was limited by several constraints. Firstly, data analyses in this

study were based on reports in English. Reports describing emotions and coping strategies that

are specific to a particular racial group, e.g. the ethnic Chinese or Malay communities, might have

been missed.

Second, the nationalistic media stance adopted by the Singapore media has a large

bearing on the crisis reactions of individuals, contributing to variances observed between Western

and Singapore audiences. The Singapore media places priority in balancing news coverage and

upholding the credibility of information (George, 2003; To, 2004). The local media were also

slow in writing about the reasons of the collapse, which means the public could not pin-point the

source of responsibility for some time. Angry emotions were visibly subdued and peace and

harmony maintained.

It is recommended that the present study be used as a basis for further tests in Singapore

and other Asian based societies to achieve understanding for the balance for cultural specificity

and cultural-generality which could contribute to the development of an ICM model that supports

the Asian approach to crisis communication theories, research and paradigms.

13

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Appendix 1

Figure 1. Integrated Crisis Mapping (ICM) Model (Jin, Pang, &

Cameron, 2007)

Figure 2. Revised ICM Model (Jin, et al., 2009a, 2009b)

Figure 3. Proposed ICM Model for Singapore cases

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