Crisis Communication in Botswana : Social Media and Insights from the Global South (Routledge Research in Public Relations)

Centred around the case of Botswana, this book explores organisational crisis communication from the Global South, providing insights and empirical evidence from the region to challenge Western-centric views on crisis communication. Emphasising the importance of integrating indigenous practices by highlighting the significance of the kgotla system, the book explores the potential for public relations practitioners in Botswana to harness the power of the kgotla system by integrating it with digital platforms, creating a holistic and culturally relevant crisis communication approach that can be adopted globally. The author examines the crisis response tactics that public relations professionals in Botswana use to safeguard corporate reputation and reveals how they use language to influence and manipulate social media users, particularly on Facebook, to prevent them from questioning organisations in crises, and shares insights on the relationship between social media and cultural platforms. He develops a new Cross Cloverleaf Relationship Model to offer clear applications for crisis communication across the globe. The book provides fresh insights on crisis communication, digital technology, and culture from non-Western contexts, making it appealing to scholars across public relations and various disciplines, such as public health, risk studies, climate change, psychology, and cultural studies.