THE COCA-COLA TAINTING SCARE IN
WESTERN EUROPE
Crises are always difficult times for organization–public relationships.
In their work on corporate responsibility and responsiveness, Wartick
and Wood warned that “companies that stonewall, deny responsibility, bluff, or
take narrow legalistic approaches to crisis may never be forgiven” by international
publics.40 Cultural variance, especially the combination of high power distance and
high uncertainty avoidance, has consequences for international organizations that
operate around the world. These organizations must understand that their actions
will be heavily scrutinized, criticized, and penalized if they break the societal
norms.
To better illustrate how cultural variation influences public response to
crisis, a multiple-country case study was conducted to examine the relationship
among culture, crisis, and public response to crisis messages. The next section
offers a case study that includes the background of one organization, Coca-Cola;
an examination of its international crisis; and finally, an evaluation of public response
in the six nations affected by the crisis.