The Values Communicated by Crisis Leaders After Crises: Coding American Presidential Crisis Documents for Values to Refine the Discourse of Renewal Theory
The Values Communicated by Crisis Leaders After Crises: Coding American Presidential Crisis Documents for Values to Refine the Discourse of Renewal Theory
Jimmie Winters | 2020
Abstract The purpose of this study was to refine the discourse of renewal (DOR) theory as described by Ulmer, Sellnow, and Seeger (2015) by identifying the specific values 10 top-rated presidents in crisis leadership communicated after national crises to make the theory more value-focused and helpful as a guideline for future presidents and crisis leaders. The DOR theory’s ethical communication component emphasizes the importance of using values in crisis communications, but it does not adequately specify specific values crisis leaders should communicate after crises begin. Furthermore, scholars have not sufficiently studied the specific values communicated by the top-rated presidents in crisis leadership in the wake of crises. With this in mind, this study sought answers to two research questions. First, what values did the 10 top-rated American presidents in crisis leadership communicate after national crises occurred? Second, did practical themes emerge from an examination of the crisis communications of the 10 top-rated American presidents in crisis leadership that might assist future presidents or organizational leaders more effectively communicate their values in the wake of crises to help foster renewal? This study used a qualitative research design and methods to address the research questions by collecting and analyzing data from a purposeful sample of presidential crisis documents from 10 top-rated American presidents in crisis leadership, according to C-SPAN’s (2017) Presidential Historians Survey. Saldaña’s (2013) coding methods (i.e., values coding) and Dedoose, a qualitative data analysis program, were used in the first cycle of coding to analyze the presidential crisis documents for values as described by Rokeach (1973), Schwartz (1994), and other scholars (DiMaggio, 2015; Durant, 2006; Erisen & Villalobos, 2014; Kinnier, Dannenbaum, Lee, Aasen, & Kernes, 2004; Steele & Redding, 1962; Ulmer & Sellnow, 2002). In the second cycle, focused coding helped refine and further categorize the identified values for themes. As a result of the coding process, 15 primary values communicated by the 10 top-rated American presidents after crises appeared, and five practical themes that may help future crisis leaders foster renewal emerged.