Visit to the Theory of Image Restoration: Asiana Airline Case

Abstract

This study investigates Asiana Airlines' immage restoration strategies used to restore their immage after unionized pilot' strike in 2005. After looking at types of image repair strategies, we focus on whether they show culture specific features different from crisis management communication in Western cultures.

The data for the study consist of news articles on the strike that appeared in major Korean newspaper (press conference, in particular). Benoit's (1995) typology of image restoration strategies is used for analyzing data.

This study identifies culturally universal and stereotyped patterns in international crisis communicatin in Western culture are used in non-Western culture (i.e. mortification; corrective action; scapegoating; denial; compensation).

This study clarifies the limitation of image restoration theory, which does not look at the data within the whole context. In this respect, this study shows that linguistic pragmatics becomes a useful tool for categorizing image restoration strategies.