Konsten att ropa efter hjälp och vara knäpptyst samtidigt

Sammanfattning: Today we are finally able to look back at how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected our society, but also how different organizations have handled this prolonged crisis they held no responsibility for. The study examines the restaurant industry, one of the industries in Sweden most affected by the pandemic, and their crisis communication. More specifically, the response strategies used by restaurants from three big restaurant groups in Sweden are analyzed. The research assumes a social constructionist approach, and is based on a theoretical framework covering crisis communication and the Situational Crisis Communication Theory. By applying a rhetorical analysis method and the SCCT-model, posts and comment sections from five Instagram accounts are analyzed. Results indicate that interaction with stakeholders barely occurs during the pandemic, and conclusions on what interaction strategies restaurants used can therefore not be drawn. Furthermore, the SCCT-model turned out to be insufficient when it comes to response strategies during prolonged crises. Two new strategies were therefore added to the ten already existing ones, and we named them adaption and attack decision makers. In conclusion the study both tests and further develops a theory. It contributes to the field of strategic communication by presenting new insights about what strategies organizations can use in their crisis response during prolonged crises.