Towards an Effective Management of Reputational Crisis due to Food Recalls Within the Agri-Food Industry

International Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Science

© 2019 by SSRG - IJAES Journal

Volume 6 Issue 6

Year of Publication : 2019

Authors : Paola Cane

10.14445/23942568/IJAES-V6I6P116

How to Cite?

Paola Cane, "Towards an Effective Management of Reputational Crisis due to Food Recalls Within the Agri-Food Industry," SSRG International Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Science, vol. 6,  no. 6, pp. 115-119, 2019. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942568/IJAES-V6I6P116

Abstract:

A product-harm crisis is a discrete event in which products are found to be defective and therefore dangerous to at least a part of the customer base. Whether they are exploding batteries, unlabeled allergens in food, product sabotages, E.Coli outbreaks, beetles in infant formulas, product harm crisis presents similarities with many other emergency situations: all of them consist in unpredictable events, often due to unknown or undervalued causes, which can significantly alter normal business and compromise the safety of the company, of its employees and customers.

A food recall is a compulsory procedure of recovering hazardous foods may have reached the consumer from the market. Previous literature has enlightened that recalls can have serious consequences on public health, cause consumers’ panic, lead to very costly procedures and cause sell out, market-share and financial losses, together with trade bans and price fluctuations. Moreover, recalls can ruin brand equity, spoil a company’s reputation, severely affect consumer’s loyalty, damage a firm image as well as the image of the food industry in general. After a recall, some firm continues to be questioned on its integrity even years after the incident. At the opposite, some studies indicate that a recall may either improve the company’s image or lead to significant advantage for the multiple relevant stakeholders if the firm adopts a socially responsible attitude and is consistent and coherent in its communication and transparent in its relationships with media and consumers.

Given the potential damage resulting from a product harm crises, food recalls have garnered academic attention by several disciplines including food tech, marketing, management, finance, economics, operations, law, public relations, and communications. Nevertheless, giving the ambiguity of the effects of recall-related managing strategies, it is surprising that in the food industry still pays too little attention to what firm actions drive the effectiveness of recalls and often lacks a rigorous approach regarding a successful communication management in the middle of the crisis.

The purpose of this article is to provide a better understanding based on the experience of crisis management, in order to avoid the most classic errors that can undermine speed of reaction, corrective measures effectiveness and brand reputation, in the one most delicate moment for a company life.

Keywords:

food recall, crisis management, crisis communication, product reputation, brand reputation.

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