Organizational communication strategies in response to major disruptions: the case of the worsening situation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand communication strategies formed by multinational subsidiaries in a transition economy during disruptive events. The authors develop and test a framework based on political realism and situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). Design/methodology/approach The authors collect and analyze communication statements from multinational subsidiaries located in Russia and made in the first two months (March–April, 2022) of the Russia–Ukraine conflict. Findings This study’s main findings are twofold. First, this study extends SCCT by showing that multinational subsidiaries use communication strategies that go beyond the traditional categories of diminish, rebuild and bolster. In particular, this study identifies so-called “shut the door” and “burning bridges” methods as possible industrial and home country contingent communication strategies. Second, this study shows that possession of a political realism lens provides us with powerful communication strategies made requisite during disruptive events. Practical implications The results provide practical hands-on advice for subsidiary managers on how to communicate effectively and efficiently during disruptive events such as the one described. This study offers novel communication strategies that help to understand the wider implications for managers in both home and host countries. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first papers to apply SCCT and political realism to a current disruptive event for multinational enterprises, i.e. the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict. In that context, this study expands both perspectives by highlighting their complementarities and their conceptual boundaries. The authors can base those insights on two unique and purpose-built databases of multinational subsidiary characteristics in Russia-proper.