Glocalization in Intercultural Crisis Communication: Lessons From D&G’s Incident in China

Abstract

In intercultural crisis communication, the globally adopted framework SCCT (Situated Crisis Communication Theory) should be adapted to meet the local contexts. By collecting online posts concerning D&G’s crisis communication from major Chinese social platforms including Sina Weibo, Zhihu (408 posts), WeChat official account (23 posts) as well as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube (344 posts), and with 10 semi-structured interviews (3 university professors and 8 students of different majors) for triangulation, this study analyzes the online posts concerning D&G’s crisis response strategies in China. We find that the public regard denial strategy as being outdated, demonstrating superiority and lack of responsibility; victimage strategy reflecting arrogance and self-centered mindset; moreover, the apologies are analyzed in terms of the manner and content of apology. Effective intercultural communication presupposes equality, mutual respect and empathy; therefore, it is necessary to uphold a glocalization approach to crisis communication.