Master's Thesis
How does the Volkswagen diesel scandal in 2015 affect the media framing
of the automobile industry?
Daria Statkevich 11581867
Master's Programme Communication Science Track: Corporate Communication
Supervisor: dhr. dr. P. (Piet) Verhoeven
Abstract
The present research investigates effects an organizational crisis has on the media framing of the whole industry a company which caused the crisis operates in, and of the other significant stakeholders. The `Dieselgate` or the VW diesel scandal, is taken for the study as the exemplar organizational crisis since it has had serious negative outcomes for the company itself, industry it operates in, environment and society. Content analysis of news articles from the British quality daily newspapers as The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times and The Guardian, which were collected during three time periods as before, during and after the scandal, is
conducted. Findings revealed a shift in frames the media used towards the automobile industry due to the VW diesel scandal, whereas no changes were found in the tone the media applied. These results shed light on the media framing dynamics due to the organizational crisis, and hence contribute to the corporate field of communication science.
Introduction
In September 2015 the world has been shaken up by the news from Volkswagen (hereafter VW), one of the most successful car makers worldwide, that for several years it has been cheating on emission tests by using `defeat devices` on its car engines in order to meet standards and be present on the car market (Wright & Sharman, 2015).
From the very beginning, the media started to refer to the crisis as a `Dieselgate` since it has had comparable repercussions on the corporate world as the Watergate scandal in 1970s has had on politics (The European, 2019). Nowadays the `Dieselgate` is acknowledged to be one of the largest corporate crises in history which has seriously damaged reputation of VW as well as its financial performance; moreover, has put on the scope reputation of the whole automobile industry, whereas the media were the first to provide information on the issue (Jung & Park, 2017; Nelson, De Holan, Zyglidopoulos, & Hirsch, 2017; Valentini & Kruckeberg, 2018).
During organizational crises the media are seen as a significant actor due to its ability of quickly providing the essential information and, therefore, reducing uncertainty among
Gutteling, 2015; Park, Bier, & Palenchar, 2016; Van Der Meer, Verhoeven, Beentjes, & Vliegenthart, 2017). In addition, it is generally agreed that communication processes during organizational crises are to a great degree related to the sense-making and framing (Coombs, 2007; Van der Meer, 2016; Cornelissen, Carroll, & Elving, 2009; Steele, 2016). The concept of framing is strongly associated with the selection and salience (Coombs, 2007; Clemente & Gabbioneta, 2017; Lee & Riffe, 2019). Hence, to frame means to select certain aspects of the issue and to make them salient in the written text communicated to the public with `a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation and/or treatment recommendation for the item described` (Entman, 1993, p. 52). However, the media framing concept is mostly researched in political and mass communication since it has a strong connection with shaping public's opinion and decision-making processes, while still little is known about the concept and its tendencies in the corporate field (An & Gower, 2009; Borah, 2011; Clemente & Gabbioneta, 2017).
Scholars agreed that the VW diesel scandal is the exemplar organizational crisis due to its significant negative outcomes on the car company itself and, moreover, on the whole automobile industry, environment and society (Jung & Park, 2017; Nelson, De Holan, Zyglidopoulos, & Hirsch, 2017; Valentini & Kruckeberg, 2018; Van der Meer, 2016). The evidence tends to suggest that VW long-term fraud actions resulted in premature people's deaths in the United States and numerous European countries due to the increased levels of air pollution caused by VW in those regions (Nelson, De Holan, Zyglidopoulos, & Hirsch, 2017). The VW scandal has received considerable amount of attention in research on business ethics and corporate social responsibility, yet it remains understudied in the corporate communication (Clemente & Gabbioneta, 2017; Griffin & Lont, 2018; Jung & Park, 2017; Schäfer & Fuhrmann, 2018).
Taken into consideration all of the above, there is a visible gap in research on the media framing of organizational crises, and it seems important to contribute to the field of corporate communication by analyzing effects an organizational crisis, that occurred in a particular company, has on the media framing with regards to the industry this company
operates in, and on the other significant stakeholders. Therefore, the research question of the master's thesis is formulated as follows:
RQ: How does the Volkswagen diesel scandal in 2015 affect the media framing of the
automobile industry?
In addition to the scientific purpose of addressing the gap in corporate communication research, the risen question will create a better understanding of the media framing
development with regards to the organizational crisis over time among practitioners in order for them to knowledgeably communicate information for significant stakeholders and public to reduce uncertainties, prevent crisis escalation and lessen negative outcomes.
Theoretical background Organizational crisis
Organizational crises have a long tradition of research due to its significant negative impacts on ongoing practices, considerable threat to the organizational reputation and its financial performance, and potential catastrophic consequences to the environment and society as a whole (see, for example, Holbrook & Kisamore, 2018; Hwalbin & Carter, 2017;
Kleinnijenhuis, Schultz, Utz, & Oegema, 2015; Park, Bier, & Palenchar, 2016; Van Der Land & Van Der Meer, 2016; Van Der Meer, 2016). An organizational crisis can be defined as an `unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders and can seriously impact an organization’s performance and generate negative outcomes` (Coombs, 2007, p. 2-3). Moreover, it has been suggested that crisis events occurring in multinational organizations with an international presence might negatively affect reputation of its competitors in the industry known as the spillover effect and, furthermore, do harm to the global image of the country they are originated from (Jung & Park, 2017; Nelson, De Holan, Zyglidopoulos, & Hirsch, 2017; Park, Bier, & Palenchar, 2016; Thaler, Herbst, & Merz, 2018; Trump & Newman, 2017).
The media framing of organizational crises
It is acknowledged that in times of crisis, communication is of crucial importance since it helps to reduce uncertainty among stakeholders and, therefore, escalation of the crisis; while media is recognized as a significant actor in this process and provider of the essential
information (Holbrook & Kisamore, 2018; Nijkrake, Gosselt, & Gutteling, 2015; Park, Bier, & Palenchar, 2016; Van Der Meer, Verhoeven, Beentjes, & Vliegenthart, 2017). As been stated above, communication processes are highly connected to the concept of framing (Coombs, 2007; Van der Meer, 2016; Cornelissen, Carroll, & Elving, 2009; Steele, 2016).
Research on the organizational crisis and the media framing in communication science for the last five years revealed three main tendencies on the topic. The first tendency is related to the investigation of differences in frames used by the media across countries (see, for example, De Swert, Schacht, & Masini, 2015; Gabore & Xiujun, 2018; Park, Bier, & Palenchar, 2016). Scholars generally agree that these differences are partially determined by the media system in the country the media is based (Park, Bier, & Palenchar, 2016). In addition, it has been suggested that there is a difference in the framing between national and international media since the national media are more likely to prioritize national interests and provide more explanation and possible solutions to the issue, whereas international media tend to focus on a conflict side of the discussed problem (Gabore & Xiujun, 2018).
The second trend in research on an organizational crisis and the media framing is focused on the interplay between the corporate communication of organizations, the media and the public in their framing of the same crisis events (see, for example, Bowen & Zheng, 2015; Kleinnijenhuis, Schultz, Utz, & Oegema, 2015; Steele, 2016; Van der Land & Van der Meer, 2016). It has been suggested that there is a significant difference in the way the organization at stake, the media and the public frame the crisis (Bowen & Zheng, 2015; Kleinnijenhuis, Schultz, Utz, & Oegema, 2015; Steele, 2016; Van der Land & Van der Meer, 2016). Thus, corporate communication aims to repair and remain the organizational reputation, whereas the media overarching goal is to objectively inform about the issue, while the public is mostly focused on emotional aspects of crisis happenings (Bowen & Zheng, 2015; Kleinnijenhuis, Schultz, Utz, &
Last but not least, the third trend of researching an organizational crisis and the media framing is directed to factors that influence framing processes in the media (see, for example, Becken, 2014; Tandoc, 2015). It appears there are several influences which affect the framing formation in the media such as news sense, news values, journalists' peers, owners of a media channel, and sources whom journalists refer to (Tandoc, 2015). In addition, research on the exerted factors on the media framing is strongly interrelated with the media influence on the public opinion, and it has been suggested that a lack of information presented in the media might lead to the limited knowledge and opinion on the issue among people (see, for example, Becken, 2014).
Research into the tradition of an organizational crisis and the media framing
examinations has shown that scholars tend to apply five consistent news frames from political communication for their studies in other disciplines in order to make them generalizable to the broader issues (Bowen & Zheng, 2015; Knudsen, 2017; Nijkrake, Gosselt, & Gutteling, 2015). Based on that, and for the purpose of generalizability, these five consistent news frames, known as the conflict, the human interest, the economic consequences, the morality, and the
responsibility, are the conceptual framework for the outlined master's thesis research question (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000).
Five consistent news frames
Published in 2000, the study by Semetko and Valkenburg is seen as the exemplar research on the media framing among scholars since it has proposed five types of news frames, which were clearly defined, based on the investigation into the studies on frames over the past 25 years (Bowen & Zheng, 2015; Knudsen, 2017; Nijkrake, Gosselt, & Gutteling, 2015;
Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000). The purpose of the research was to create `a reliable set of content analytic indicators that can be used to reliably measure the prevalence of common frames in the news` (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000, p. 94). This approach, therefore, allows other researchers to replicate examinations on the issue and identify differences in framing among various media channels and media types (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000). Even though these five consistent news frames are originated in political communication, they are applicable
to the broader contexts (Bowen & Zheng, 2015; Knudsen, 2017; Nijkrake, Gosselt, & Gutteling, 2015; Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000). Findings of the study revealed that the use of news frames depends on the media outlet type and the topic (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000).
According to the Semetko and Valkenburg study (2000), the conflict frame focuses on the conflict between individuals, groups or institutions; the human interest frame presents an issue using emotional aspect to personalize the news; the economic consequences frame discusses economic impact of the issue on an individual, group, institution, region, or country; the morality frame evaluates an issue from moral prescriptions; lastly, the responsibility frame attributes responsibility for the cause or solution of the discussed issue.
The evidence tends to suggest that in their communication about a crisis, the media are likely to use the conflict frame and the responsibility frame, which are followed by the human interest frame and the economic consequences frame; whereas the morality frame is less likely to be used due to the objectivity norms in journalism (Bowen & Zheng, 2015; Nijkrake, Gosselt, & Gutteling, 2015). Furthermore, prioritization of certain frames by the media depends on a crisis type, and as a crisis develops the media tend to shift their news frames (Gabore & Xiujun, 2018; Nijkrake, Gosselt, & Gutteling, 2015).
The media tone
Research on the framing revealed its close interrelation with the notion of tone which means that the media tend to use certain `interpretative packages` for the described event or an issue in the news (De Swert, Schacht, & Masini, 2015; van der Meer, 2018). These
`interpretative packages` might be favorable (or positive) towards the organization when it is praised by its actions, unfavorable (or negative) when it is criticized, or neutral meaning there is no evaluative dimension in the media coverage towards organizational actions included
(Deephouse, 2000). Moreover, journalism scholars claim that the tone used by the media towards various industries is mostly positive as long as the economic and financial performance is satisfactory, while an organizational crisis negatively affects the media tone (Kleinnijenhuis, Schultz, Utz, & Oegema, 2015).
The organizational crisis case: the VW diesel scandal, or the `Dieselgate` As been stated above, it seems important to address the gap in corporate
communication research on the media framing of organizational crises. The VW diesel scandal, or the `Dieselgate`, is acknowledged to be the exemplar crisis and, hence, is seen to be one of the most appropriate for the outlined purpose (Jung & Park, 2017; Nelson, De Holan,
Zyglidopoulos, & Hirsch, 2017; Valentini & Kruckeberg, 2018; Van der Meer, 2016).
In September 2015 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (hereafter EPA) sent a notice to VW of violating the Clean Air Act (Bhaskaran, Bala, & Bandyopadhyay, 2018;
Clemente & Gabbioneta, 2017; Jung & Park, 2017; Krall & Peng, 2015; Painter & Martins, 2017; Valentini & Kruckeberg, 2018). Thereat the real-life tests revealed that results of carbon
emissions levels were much higher and exceeded the U.S. norms up to 40 times than those that were registered during laboratory tests held by the car manufacturer (Bhaskaran, Bala, &
Bandyopadhyay, 2018; Clemente & Gabbioneta, 2017; Jung & Park, 2017; Krall & Peng, 2015; Painter & Martins, 2017; Valentini & Kruckeberg, 2018). The company was accused of using a special program on cars' diesel engines which was activated during laboratory tests in order to suppress emissions levels and meet the standard (Bhaskaran, Bala, & Bandyopadhyay, 2018; Clemente & Gabbioneta, 2017; Jung & Park, 2017; Krall & Peng, 2015; Painter & Martins, 2017; Valentini & Kruckeberg, 2018). At first, the company management declined all accusations; however, they have eventually admitted their awareness regarding the manipulation
(Bhaskaran, Bala, & Bandyopadhyay, 2018; Clemente & Gabbioneta, 2017; Jung & Park, 2017; Krall & Peng, 2015; Painter & Martins, 2017; Valentini & Kruckeberg, 2018). The VW stock value has dramatically decreased after the news while the company faced regulatory
investigations across countries (Jung & Park, 2017; Nelson, De Holan, Zyglidopoulos, & Hirsch, 2017; Schäfer & Fuhrmann, 2018).
Research on the VW diesel scandal is mostly focused on the business ethics and corporate social responsibility, pointing on the importance of the regulation enhancement with regards to the automobile industry (see, for example, Griffin & Lont, 2018; Jung & Park, 2017; Schäfer & Fuhrmann, 2018). From communication science perspective, the scandal has received considerable amount of attention for the VW's organizational crisis management; that
is, the approach the company has taken in responding to the scandal (see, for example, Kent & Boatwright, 2018; Rudkin, Danson, Subhan, Rizwan, & Syed, 2019; Whyte, 2016). Researchers tend to agree in their critique on chosen by the company crisis response strategy (Kent & Boatwright, 2018; Rudkin, Danson, Subhan, Rizwan, & Syed, 2019; Whyte, 2016).
Another tendency in researching the `Dieselgate` is regarding stakeholders' responses to the scandal; mainly, consumers and employees (see, for example, Balasescu, 2018;
Guckian, Chapman, Lickel, & Markowitz, 2018; Turner, Mcintosh, Reid, & Buckley, 2019). The evidence tends to suggest that the scandal has had negative consequences for VW as a brand due to the considerable decrease in car sales as well as the retention of its employees
(Guckian, Chapman, Lickel, & Markowitz, 2018; Turner, Mcintosh, Reid, & Buckley, 2019).
Hypotheses
Based on the scientific literature discussed above, several hypotheses are proposed in order to answer the stated research question of the master's thesis.
H1: During the VW diesel scandal, the media use the conflict frame towards the
automobile industry to a greater degree than before and after the scandal.
H2: During the VW diesel scandal, the media use the responsibility frame towards the
automobile industry to a greater degree than before and after the scandal.
H3: After the VW diesel scandal, the media use the human interest frame towards the
automobile industry to a greater degree than before and during the scandal.
H4: After the VW diesel scandal, the media use the economic consequences frame
towards the automobile industry to a greater degree than before and during the scandal.
H5: During the VW diesel scandal, the media apply morality frame to a greater degree
towards the automobile industry than before and after the scandal.
H6: Before the VW diesel scandal, the media use neutral tone towards the automobile
industry, while during and after the VW diesel scandal there is a shift towards the negative tone.
H6a: During the VW diesel scandal, the media use negative tone towards the automobile
degree than before and during the scandal.
Methods
Sample characteristics
To analyze changes in the media framing towards the automobile industry due to the VW diesel scandal, quantitative content analysis of newspaper articles was chosen as the most appropriate research method since it allows to objectively and systemically identifying specified characteristics of messages (Holsti, 1969).
The population of interest in the present research is British newspapers due to their recognition and accessibility worldwide (Franklin, 2008; Herbert & Thurman, 2007).
Furthermore, this choice allows avoiding possible bias in framing such as the media outlets tend to take the side of involved actors in the crisis if they are in a close social, economic or ideological proximity (Gabore & Xiujun, 2018; Stepanova & Strube, 2009).
The sample of the present study is comprised from articles published in the quality daily newspapers with the biggest circulation in the domestic country as The Daily
Telegraph, Financial Times and The Guardian (Broersma & Graham, 2013; Statista, n.d.).
The entire text of news articles is the unit of analysis.
Articles from the aforementioned outlets were retrieved from the LexisNexis database. Three time periods were identified in order to examine changes in media frames. The first time period starts on the 18th September 2015 when VW had received a notification about violations from the EPA, and ends on the 30th of November 2015 when the company has admitted all the charges (Whyte, 2016). Based on the concept of news waves which takes around three weeks for a news story to completely evolve in the media, time periods for `before` and `after` were defined as the 24th August 2015 – 14th
September 2015, and the 7th December 2015 – 28th December 2015, respectively (Boydstun, Hardy, & Walgrave, 2014).
In order to retrieve relevant articles for the sample, a list of keywords was created which includes the biggest car companies of the world in 2015 based on the sales and the
revenue, since the focus of the present study is on the media framing of the whole automobile industry. Based on rankings published in the Business Insider, Forbes and
Fortune 500 in 2015, search terms were defined as follows: `BMW`, `Daimler`, `Fiat`,
`Chrysler`, `Ford`, `Geely`, `General Motors`, `Honda`, `Hyundai`, `Nissan`, `PSA Groupe`, `SAIC`, `Tata Group`, `Toyota`, and `Volkswagen` (Fortune 500, 2015; Murphy, 2015; Zhang, Nudelman, & Gould, 2015).
Initial search gave 682 observations with 43 articles for the time period `before` the VW diesel scandal, 577 articles for the time period `during` the scandal, and 62 articles for the time period `after` the scandal. The final sample is comprised only of the relevant newspaper articles which were published with the focus on the automobile industry. All the articles from the initial search were checked manually, and the news articles which briefly mentioned one of the key search terms disregard the main topic as the automobile industry were considered as being not relevant. These articles, viewed as being irrelevant, were published with the primary focus on politics, sports or personal stories, where a car brand were mentioned solely for the sake of providing more details in the news article, or since the name of a car brand was also a common surname as, for instance, `Ford`. In addition, one of the key search terms, the company `Tata Group`, besides owning car brands, is known for producing steel. During the VW diesel scandal, `Tata Group` as a steelmaker has faced a crisis in the industry, which was discussed in the media with a great attention. These articles were considered as being not relevant for the automobile industry, and excluded from the final sample of the present study.
Furthermore, stratified sampling was applied for retrieving articles `during` the VW diesel scandal. Since this time period includes ten weeks, nine articles per week were randomly chosen with three articles from each newspaper; hence, the overall number of observations would be 90 which makes the time period group `during` the VW diesel scandal statistically comparable to the time groups `before` and `after` the scandal. However, during the ninth week of the `Dieselgate`, there were only eight articles published which considered to be relevant for the current study. Overall, the final sample of the present research consists of 162 observations, where 31 articles comprise the time period `before` the VW diesel scandal, 88 articles are
included in the time period `during` the scandal, and 43 articles represent the time period `after` the scandal.
Research design
The present study includes four main concepts such as the automobile industry, the time frame, the media framing and the media tone.
The first concept is the automobile industry which is operationalized with the largest car companies of the world according to rankings published in 2015, since the present research examines changes in media frames towards the automobile industry due to the VW diesel scandal that occurs in 2015. Based on sales and the revenue, there are fourteen companies included as BMW Group, Daimler, Fiat Chrysler Automoblies, Ford Motor, Geely Automobile, General Motors, Honda Motor, Hyundai Motor, Nissan Motor, PSA Groupe, SAIC Motor, Tata Group, Toyota, and Volkswagen (Fortune 500, 2015; Murphy, 2015; Zhang, Nudelman, & Gould, 2015). Noteworthy that besides the listed car companies, the automobile industry concept also includes all the car brands which are owned by these aforementioned car companies. In total, there are 55 car brands as follows: Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Bajoun, Bentley, BMW, Bugatti, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Citroen, Dacia, Daihatsu, Datsun, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Englon, Ferrari, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Holden, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Lamborghini, Lancia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot, Porsche, RAM, Renault, Renault Samsung Motors, Rolls Royce, Scion, Seat, Skoda, Smart, TATA Motors, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volvo, Volkswagen, Wuling (Zhang, Nudelman, & Gould, 2015). These car companies and car brands are considered as being the appropriate automobile industry representation due to their impact on the industry, the level of involvement in the industry and their visibility in the media. Thus, these car companies and car brands comprise the automobile industry concept for the present study.
The second concept is the time frame which is the independent variable, and that is operationalized with three time periods with regards to the VW diesel scandal as `before`, `during` and `after`. Therefore, this variable is on the ordinal measurement level with three categories. The variable was coded by selecting one out of three time frames with accordance
to the time period the news article was published. This variable is included in the Codebook, and can be found in the Appendix 1.
The third concept in the present research is the media framing which includes five consistent news frames as the conflict, the human interest, the economic consequences, the morality, and the responsibility. Each news frame is measured separately with the multiple dichotomous response questions on the presence or absence of certain information, and each of them is treated as a dependent continuous variable (see Appendix 1). This measurement is based on the study by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000), and adopted from the research on the automobile industry by Bowen and Zheng (2015), which ensures the measurement is reliable. A principal component analysis employed by researchers showed that a factor solution explained 69.95% of the variance of the framing questions that confirms the measurement to be valid (Bowen & Zheng, 2015). Noteworthy, in their study, Bowen and Zheng (2015) excluded one question from the original measurement for the responsibility frame suggested by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) due to the low factor loading (Bowen & Zheng, 2015). Accordingly, this question, `Does the story suggest that an individual or group of people in society is responsible
for the problem?`, is not included in the present research.
The fourth concept is the media tone. The present study is concerned changes in the media tone towards the automobile industry and Germany due to the VW diesel scandal. Germany was chosen since it is the country VW originated from. The media tone was coded separately for each of the mentioned subgroups: first, towards the automobile industry and, second, towards Germany.
Tone was coded on a scale with five values, where `-2` is very negative, `-1` is negative, `0` is neutral, `+1` is positive and `+2` is very positive. The following values are adopted from the study on the media tone in corporate communication by Nijkrake, Gosselt and Gutteling (2014) which ensures the measurement to be reliable and valid. With accordance to the
previous studies that used the measurement, the values `-1` and `+1` were coded as such when a refinement was made to the text (for instance, as `maybe`, `slightly`, and `perhaps`) (Meijer & Kleinnijenhuis, 2006; Nijkrake, Gosselt, & Gutteling, 2014) (see Appendix 1).
Coding procedure
The coding procedure was performed by one coder. All the articles were coded in the form created in the Microsoft Office Excel. After the form was filled in, it was uploaded to SPSS for the further statistical analysis. The coder was given the Codebook which includes general instructions for the coding procedure, administrative variables as the coder ID, story
identification number, date of coding, and media outlets; main variables as the time frame, the conflict frame with four questions, the human interest frame with four questions, the economic consequences frame with three questions, the morality frame with three questions, the
responsibility frame with four questions; lastly, the overall media tone towards the automobile industry and the overall media tone towards Germany (for further details see Appendix 1).
With the Codebook, the coder was provided with the data for the analysis which are news articles from newspapers. The unit of analysis is the whole news article; that is, the coder was asked to carefully read and code the heading of each news article and its main body. Each question of the codebook contains clear instructions and the explanation of coding with relevant examples. The coder has coded all news articles within 80 hours.
Statistical analysis
To test the inter-coder reliability of main variables, 16 randomly selected articles from the sample of the current study were double-coded, which is 10% of the total number of
observations. The inter-coder reliability testing was performed by two coders, accordingly. Results of the inter-coder reliability test for the media framing variables are as follows:there is 50% of agreement between coders in coding the conflict frame, Kappa = .43, Kalpha = .61; for the economic consequences frame there is 63% of agreement between coders, Kappa = .83, Kalpha = .83; in coding the human interest frame coders agree in 56%, Kappa = .58, Kalpha = .94; there is 56% of agreement in coding the morality frame, Kappa = .73, Kalpha = .84, and there is 81% of agreement in coding the responsibility frame, Kappa = .56, Kalpha = .90. Furthermore, for the variable media tone towards the automobile industry, the inter-coder reliability test results in 67% of agreement between coders with the Kappa = .77, Kalpha = .66; whereas the inter-coder reliability for the variable media tone towards Germany shows 87% of
agreement between coders, Kappa = 1.000, Kalpha = 1.000. According to the guidelines for inter-coder reliability calculations, in order for variables to be considered as reliable a minimum Kalpha value should be .60; hence, presented results indicate the main variables of the current research to be reliable (De Swert, 2012).
In order to test hypotheses of the present study, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was chosen as the most appropriate statistical method where the post hoc procedure Bonferroni was applied to test the difference between groups. In addition, for each hypothesis the
assumption of the equality of variances, Levene's test, was checked, and reported only when it was violated.
All the hypotheses regarding changes in media frames towards the automobile industry due to the VW diesel scandal (H1, H2, H3, H4, and H5) include the time frame as an
independent variable with three categories that is on the ordinal measurement level, and the particular media frame as a dependent variable on the continuous measurement level. Each media frame was computed separately since each of them was measured with multiple questions.
By the same token, assumptions regarding changes in the media tone towards the automobile industry and Germany with regards to the VW diesel scandal (H6, H6a, and H7) have the time frame as an independent variable on the ordinal measurement level, and the media tone as a dependent continuous variable.
Results
For the current analysis there were 162 news articles collected from three British outlets as The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times and The Guardian. All the articles were coded on the presence of five consistent news frames, and on a certain tone applied by the media towards the automobile industry and towards Germany. Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3 provide an overview of changes in the media framing towards the automobile industry before, during and after the VW diesel scandal, respectively. Table 4, Table 5 and Table 6 contain information
about the tone the media used towards the automobile industry and towards Germany before, during and after the `Dieselgate`, accordingly.
Table 1
The media framing of the automobile industry before the VW diesel scandal
n M SD
The conflict frame 31 0.06 0.18
The responsibility frame 31 0.03 0.13
The human interest frame 31 0.21 0.27
The economic consequences frame 31 0.12 0.28
The morality frame 31 0.02 0.12
Table 2
The media framing of the automobile industry during the VW diesel scandal
n M SD
The conflict frame 89 0.40 0.31
The responsibility frame 88 0.27 0.27
The human interest frame 89 0.34 0.25
The economic consequences frame 89 0.42 0.35
The morality frame 89 0.27 0.32
Table 3
The media framing of the automobile industry after the VW diesel scandal
n M SD
The conflict frame 42 0.31 0.28
The responsibility frame 42 0.30 0.27
The human interest frame 42 0.28 0.25
The morality frame 42 0.29 0.31
Table 4
The media tone towards the automobile industry and towards Germany before the `Dieselgate`
n M SD
The media tone towards the automobile industry
31 1.29 1.75
The media tone towards Germany 0 - -
Table 5
The media tone towards the automobile industry and towards Germany during the `Dieselgate`
n M SD
The media tone towards the automobile industry
89 1.60 1.34
The media tone towards Germany 9 0.44 0.73
Table 6
The media tone towards the automobile industry and towards Germany after the `Dieselgate`
n M SD
The media tone towards the automobile industry
42 1.05 1.21
The media tone towards Germany 2 0.50 0.71
The conflict frame
`before` and `after` the scandal, revealed there is a significant difference between the groups, F (2, 159) = 16.61, p < .001, with the moderate effect size, η2 = 0.17.
`During` the scandal (M = 0.40, SD = 0.31) the media applied the conflict frame significantly more than `before` the scandal (M = 0.06, SD = 0.18), Mdifference = 0.34, p < .001, while there was no difference in the way the media used this frame with the time period group `after` the `Dieselgate` (M = 0.31, SD = 0.28), Mdifference = 0.09, p = .287.
`Before` the VW diesel scandal (M = 0.06, SD = 0.18) the media applied the conflict frame significantly less in comparison with the time periods `during` (M = 0.40, SD = 0.31),
Mdifference = 0.34, p < .001, and `after` the scandal (M = 0.31, SD = 0.28), Mdifference = 0.25, p = .001.
Finally, `after` the scandal (M = 0.31, SD = 0.28) the media used the conflict frame significantly more than `before` the `Dieselgate` (M = 0.06, SD = 0.18), Mdifference = 0.25, p = .001, whereas there was no difference with the group `during` the scandal (M = 0.40, SD = 0.31), Mdifference = 0.09, p = .287. Therefore, the first hypothesis is partly supported. It should be noted that the assumption of equal variances in the population has been violated, Levene's F (2, 159) = 17.86, p < .001.
The responsibility frame
Analysis of variance of the second hypothesis, whether the media use the responsibility frame towards the automobile industry to a greater degree `during` the VW diesel scandal than `before` and `after` the scandal, showed there is a significant difference between the groups, F (2, 158) = 12.32, p < .001, with the moderate effect size, η2
= 0.13.
`During` the scandal (M = 0.27, SD = 0.27) the media applied the responsibility frame significantly more than `before` the scandal (M = 0.03, SD = 0.12), Mdifference = 0.24, p < .001, but there was no difference found with the time group `after` the `Dieselgate` (M = 0.30, SD = 0.27),
Mdifference = 0.03, p = 1.000.
`Before` the VW diesel scandal (M = 0.03, SD = 0.12) the media applied the
= 0.27), Mdifference = 0.24, p < .001, and `after` the scandal (M = 0.30, SD = 0.27), Mdifference = 0.27, p < .001.
Lastly, `after` the scandal (M = 0.30, SD = 0.27) the media used the responsibility frame towards the automobile industry significantly more than `before` the scandal (M = 0.03, SD = 0.12), Mdifference = 0.27, p < .001; however, there was no difference with the time group `during` the VW diesel scandal (M = 0.27, SD = 0.27), Mdifference = 0.03, p = 1.000.
Hence, our second hypothesis is partly supported. Noteworthy, the assumption of equal variances in the population has been not met, Levene's F (2, 158) = 15.72, p < .001.
The human interest frame
Statistical testing of the third hypothesis, whether the media use the human interest frame towards the automobile industry to a greater degree `after` the VW diesel scandal than `before` and `during` the scandal, indicated there is no significant difference between the groups, F (2, 159) = 2.99, p = .053. Therefore, the third hypothesis is not supported.
The economic consequences frame
The results of the fourth hypothesis, whether the media apply the economic
consequences frame towards the automobile industry to a greater degree `after` the VW diesel scandal than `before` and `during` the scandal, showed there is a significant difference between the groups, F (2, 159) = 10.89, p < .001, with the moderate effect size, η2
= 0.12.
`After` the scandal (M = 0.35, SD = 0.25) the media applied the economic consequences frame significantly more than `before` the `Dieselgate` (M = 0.12, SD = 0.28), Mdifference = 0.23, p = .007, whereas there was no difference with the time period `during` the scandal (M = 0.42, SD = 0.35), Mdifference = 0.07, p = .627.
`Before` the VW diesel scandal (M = 0.12, SD = 0.28) the media used the economic consequences frame significantly less than `during` (M = 0.42, SD = 0.35), Mdifference = 0.30, p < .001, and `after` the scandal (M = 0.35, SD = 0.25), Mdifference = 0.23, p = .007.
than `before` the scandal (M = 0.12, SD = 0.28), Mdifference = 0.30, p < .001, while no difference was revealed with the time group `after` the scandal (M = 0.35, SD = 0.25), Mdifference = 0.07, p = .627.
Hence, the fourth hypothesis is partly supported. It should be noted that the assumption of equal variances in the population has been violated, Levene's F (2, 159) = 8.15, p < .001.
The morality frame
Statistical testing of the fifth hypothesis, whether the media apply morality frame to a greater degree towards the automobile industry `during` the VW diesel scandal than `before` and `after` the scandal, indicated there is a significant difference between the groups, F (2, 159) = 10.10, p < .001, with the moderate effect size, η2 = 0.11.
`During` the VW diesel scandal (M = 0.27, SD = 0.32) the media used the morality frame significantly more than `before` the scandal (M = 0.02, SD = 0.12), Mdifference = 0.25, p < .001; while there was no significant difference with the time group `after` the scandal (M = 0.29, SD = 0.31), Mdifference = 0.02, p = 1.000.
Furthermore, the analysis showed that `before` the `Dieselgate` (M = 0.02, SD = 0.12) the media used the morality frame significantly less than `during` the scandal (M = 0.27, SD = 0.32), Mdifference = 0.25, p < .001, and `after` the scandal (M = 0.29, SD = 0.31), Mdifference = 0.27, p < .001.
Lastly, `after` the scandal (M = 0.29, SD = 0.31) the media applied the morality frame significantly more than `before` the scandal (M = 0.02, SD = 0.12), Mdifference = 0.27, p < .001, but with no significant difference `during` the scandal (M = 0.27, SD = 0.32), Mdifference = 0.02, p = 1.000.
Therefore, our fifth hypothesis is partly supported. Notable that the assumption of equal variances in the population has been violated, Levene's F (2, 159) = 22.46, p < .001.
The media tone towards the automobile industry
Statistical analysis of the sixths hypotheses, whether `before` the VW diesel scandal, the media use neutral tone towards the automobile industry, while `during` and `after` the scandal
there is a shift towards the negative tone (H6), and that the media use the negative tone towards the automobile industry to a greater degree `during` the scandal than `after` the
scandal (H6a), revealed there is no significant difference between the groups, F (2, 159) = 2.31,
p = .103. Therefore, our sixths hypotheses are not supported. It should be noted that the
assumption of equal variances in the population has been violated, Levene's F (2, 159) = 7.02,
p = .001.
The media tone towards Germany
Statistical testing of the seventh hypothesis, whether the media use the negative tone towards Germany to a greater degree `during` the VW diesel scandal than `before` and `after` the scandal, indicated there is no significant difference between the groups, F (1, 9) = 0.01, p = .924. Notable that observable sample includes rare mentions of Germany in the context of automobile industry `during` and `after` the VW diesel scandal; whereas `before` the scandal there were no mentions of Germany. Our seventh hypothesis is not supported.
Conclusion & Discussion
The key purpose of this research was to examine effects an organizational crisis has had on the media framing of the whole industry a company, which is caused the crisis, operates in, and of the other significant stakeholders. The `Dieselgate` or the VW diesel scandal, was taken for the analysis as the exemplar organizational crisis since it has had serious negative
outcomes for the company itself, industry it operates in, environment and society (Jung & Park, 2017; Nelson, De Holan, Zyglidopoulos, & Hirsch, 2017; Valentini & Kruckeberg, 2018; Van der Meer, 2016).
In line with theories on the media framing and the media tone during organizational crises, findings revealed a shift in frames the media used towards the automobile industry due to the VW diesel scandal. Thus, results showed that the media applied the conflict frame, the responsibility frame, the economic consequences frame, and the morality frame to a greater
the use of the human interest frame towards the automobile industry due to the VW diesel scandal which can be explained by the notion that the media prioritize certain frames over others depending on the crisis type (Gabore & Xiujun, 2018; Nijkrake, Gosselt, & Gutteling, 2015). In line with the An and Gower's study, if crisis is seen as a preventable, which is the case for the `Dieselgate` since it has occurred due to the deliberate long-term fraud actions of VW, the media are more likely to apply the responsibility frame, the conflict frame, and the morality frame among others (An & Gower, 2009).
Furthermore, the current research revealed no changes in the media tone towards the automobile industry with regards to the VW diesel scandal which can be explained by the Kleinnijenhuis, Schultz, Utz, and Oegema study (2015). Even though it is generally agreed that an organizational crisis negatively affects the media tone towards the industry the crisis
occurred in, as long as the economic and financial performance of companies in the industry is satisfactory, the media tone would remain positive or neutral (Kleinnijenhuis, Schultz, Utz, & Oegema, 2015). The financial consequences of the `Dieselgate` are estimated as being negative for VW; however, the automobile industry as a whole was not damaged in economic and financial terms which goes in line with theories on the media tone mentioned above (Jung & Park, 2017).
With regards to the tone the media applied towards Germany, which was chosen since it is the country of origin for VW, no changes have been found. Research on an organizational crisis and the media framing discusses potential negative spillover effects the crisis might have in financial, economic and reputational terms on related stakeholders (Clemente & Gabionetta, 2017). Moreover, studies on the topic suggested that stakeholders, who might be affected by the crisis, tend to distance themselves from the organization which causes the crisis, and in this way retain their reputation, and economic and financial performance (Clemente & Gabionetta, 2017). These tendencies might be possible explanations for results of the present research which showed no changes in the tone the media used towards Germany due to the
`Dieselgate`.
First and last, findings regarding the media tone towards the automobile industry and towards Germany due to the VW diesel scandal seem to be a valuable insight into the notion of
the media tone in corporate communication since there is a massive scope of theories which suggest a change to the negative tone in the media coverage towards actors involved in a crisis, and towards local and national governments in particular (see, for example, Nijkrake, Gosselt, & Gutteling, 2014). From this perspective, the media shift their tone to a negative side towards actors with accordance to the level of their responsibility and degree of involvement in a crisis (Nijkrake, Gosselt, & Gutteling, 2014). Hence, following this school of thought, and based on the evidence provided by the present research, the media has not changed their tone towards related stakeholders since the responsibility for the crisis was mostly assigned to VW. Therefore, it might well be that changes in the media tone are heavily dependent on the responsibility for the crisis and crisis type.
Overall, based on the outlined frameworks from political and mass communication, and in line with previously conducted researches, the current study contributes to the filed of corporate communication by revealing that the organizational crisis considerably affects the media framing of the industry the company operates in, and shows no shifts in the media tone towards the industry and other significant stakeholders. Since the data was collected from three British quality daily newspapers, findings of this study might be generalizable to the media coverage of other preventable organizational crises which are published in quality media channels as well.
In addition to scientific contributions, the study might help practitioners to improve their communication with the media and public since it showed the way the media change their frames as an organizational crisis develops, by addressing demanded information about the crisis at each point in time, and by doing that reducing uncertainties among important stakeholders, preventing crisis escalation and minimizing its negative outcomes.
Definitely more questions on the topic may be raised, while certain limitations should be addressed in order to enhance future investigations. To begin with, the methodology of this study might have the restricted impact on findings. Firstly, the outlined time frame as three weeks per period resulted in the relatively small sample size. Secondly, the study is limited to three quality daily newspapers, whereas it might be interesting to see tendencies in the media
newspapers) and channels (e.g., television). Furthermore, the study is limited in the number of independent variables included as the time frame, five consistent news frames related to the media framing concept and the media tone. It seems that the inclusion of the other variables (for instance, the crisis type) will provide a more detailed and nuanced overview on the topic. Future research can further examine changes in the media framing due to various kinds of
organizational crises across different media types, channels and even countries.
Yet there are certain limitations discussed above, the present research has fulfilled its purpose and provided a thorough investigation on the topic by illustrating the way the media change their frames towards the industry a company which is caused the crisis operates in, and towards other significant stakeholders. In addition, the study made a valuable contribution to corporate communication research on the media tone since it showed that an organizational crisis is not an always indicator of negative changes in tone the media apply towards significant stakeholders related to the industry.
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Appendix 1: Codebook Content analysis
General instructions
For the coding procedure the form in the Microsoft Office Excel is created. The coder is given the present codebook, the form created in the Microsoft Office Excel, and provided with the data for the analysis. All the news articles are expected to be coded. The unit of analysis is the whole news article; that is, the coder is expected and asked to carefully read and code the heading of each news article and its main body. Each question of the codebook contains clear instructions and explanation of the coding with relevant examples. Noteworthy, each news article might contain multiple media frames, and sometimes media frames might interrelate with each other. If the same information in the news article might be interpreted and related to different media frames, it should be coded as being present as many times as needed.
Administrative variables V1a. Coder ID
01 = Statkevich Daria
V2a. Story identification number
Please assign a number in ascending order to each article you code (1, 2, 3,..., 20, 21, 22 etc.).
V3a. Date of coding
Please indicate the date of coding the news article in format DD/MM/YY.
V4a. Media outlets
Please choose the option of the media outlet where the news article is published. 01 = The Daily Telegraph
Main variables
Time frame
Variable 1. Time frame
V1_timeframe. Please choose the option of the news article publication which suits one of the given time frames. Dates in brackets are provided in format DD/MM/YY.
1 = Before the VW diesel crisis (24/08/2015 – 14/09/2015) 2 = During the VW diesel crisis (18/09/2015 – 30/11/2015) 3 = After the VW diesel crisis (07/12/2015 – 28/12/2015)
The media framing
Variable 2. The conflict frame
According to Semetko and Valkenburg (2000), the conflict frame `emphasizes conflict between individuals, groups, or institutions` (p. 95).
In the present study, the automobile industry is in the focus of attention. Therefore, if the news article emphasizes the conflict(s) and/or disagreement(s) between the car company(s) and other individual(s), organization(s), group(s), institution(s), then the conflict frame is present in the news article.
If the news article, which is published in the time frames `during` or `after`, emphasizes the conflict and/or disagreement only between VW and the other car company(s), the conflict frame is present. However, if the news article does not mention anything about the conflict(s) and/or disagreement(s) between the car company(s) and other individual(s), organization(s), group(s), institution(s), then the conflict frame is absent.
There are four questions provided on the presence of the conflict frame. Please read the questions and instructions to them carefully, and indicate whether the news article contains the
information asked in the following questions by coding `1`, or if the information is absent by coding `0`.
V2.1_cf. Does the story reflect disagreement between individuals-organizations-groups-institutions?
Please code `1` every time the news article contains information about any form of the conflict and/or disagreement, and/or misunderstanding between the car company(s) and other individuals, organizations, groups, institutions. For instance, this is the example of the
disagreement between the car company and another organization being present in the news article: `The German car giant faces the record-breaking class action being organized by legal funding group Bentham over losses investors have suffered as a result of VW deliberately cheating pollution controls`.
V2.2_cf. Do the individuals-organizations-groups-institutions reproach another? Please code `1` every time the news article contains information about the car
company(s) being reproached, and/or blamed, and/or criticized by any individual(s),
organization(s), group(s), institution(s). For instance, this is the example of the reproaching being present in the news article towards particular car company, that is VW: ` Jeremy Marshall, chief investment officer at Bentham, said: "A catalogue of disasters lasted for a decade and should not have been allowed to happen and they should have looked into it."`.
V2.3_cf. Does the story refer to two sides or to more than two sides of the issue? Please code `1` every time the news article contains information about two or more than two car company(s), individuals, organizations, groups, institutions involved in, and/or being affected by the issue/problem/crisis/scandal. For instance, this is the example of the reference to two or more than two sides of the issue: `Ms Ellman (chairman of the transport select
committee) said: "It is essential to examine these allegations and to ensure that the Government
V2.4_cf. Does the story refer to winners and losers?
Please code `1` every time the news article contains information about the car company(s), individual(s), organization(s), group(s), institution(s) being affected by the issue/problem/crisis/scandal in terms of `winners` and `losers`: that is, if some of the actor(s) are in more favorable, `winning`, position than the other(s) because of the
issue/problem/crisis/scandal discussed in the news article; and/or vise versa. When the news article contains information if some of the actor(s) in unfavorable, `loosing`, position than the other(s) because of the issue/problem/crisis/scandal, that is also should be coded as `1`. For instance, this is the example of the reference to winners and losers in the news article due to the VW diesel scandal: `Sales of cars bearing the Volkswagen badge fell 5.3pc last month as the emissions scandal engulfing the German auto giant hit European demand (…).Global sales were lifted by China, its biggest market, where deliveries rose 1.8pc to 233,500 cars for the month`.
Variable 3. The human interest frame
The human interest frame presents an issue with an emotional aspect in order to personalize the news. This frame adds `a human face` to the described issue, and might dramatize or emotionalize the news for the purpose of catching and retaining the audience attention (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000).
In the present study, the automobile industry is in the focus of attention. Therefore, if the news article personalizes, emotionalizes, and dramatizes the news story around the
issue/problem/crisis/scandal directly related to the automobile industry, then the human interest frame is present.
There are four questions provided on the presence of the human interest frame. Please read the questions and instructions to them carefully, and indicate whether the news article contains the information asked in the following questions by coding `1`, or if the information is absent by coding `0`.
Please code `1` every time the news article discusses the issue/problem/crisis/scandal from the human perspective, and/or takes a human stance on the issue/problem/crisis/scandal, and/or describes the issue/problem/crisis/scandal by giving human examples. For instance, this is the example of the news article providing a human example with relation to the VW scandal and, additionally, having a `human face`: `Volkswagen's use of defeat software to meet emissions standards will cause the early deaths of more than 60 people in Britain and may kill up to 200, a study has warned. In addition, the researchers estimate that Volkswagen's excess emissions will contribute directly to more than 31 cases of chronic bronchitis and 34 hospital admissions involving respiratory and cardiac conditions`.
V3.2_hif. Does the story employ adjective or personal vignettes that generates feelings of outrage, empathy-caring, sympathy or compassion?
Please code `1`every time the news article `dramatizes` and/or `emotionalizes` the story by using any facts/descriptions/information which addresses the reader to certain feelings as outrage, empathy-caring, sympathy and/or compassion. For instance, this is the example of the news article employing the information which generates feelings of outrage towards the VW scandal consequences and empathy-caring towards people who might be affected by them: `They (researchers) calculate that individuals will experience more than 120,000 minor
restricted activity days, including work absences, and about 210,000 lower respiratory symptom days`.
V3.3_hif. Does the story emphasize how individuals and groups are affected by the issue?
Please code `1` every time the news article contains information about the way individual(s) and/or group(s) are being affected by the issue/problem/crisis/scandal which is discussed in the article, and directly related to the automobile industry. For instance, this is the example of the effect the VW scandal had on individuals and groups: `Millions of British
V3.4_hif. Does the story go into the private or personal lives of the actors?
Please code `1` every time the news article contains information about the private and/or personal live(s) of the actor(s) who are affected by, and/or involved in the
issue/problem/crisis/scandal that is discussed in the article, and directly related to the
automobile industry. For instance, this is the example of the news article providing biographical information about the VW CEO, who is involved in the VW scandal, which can be considered as a part of his personal live: `He left the firm after eight years in charge, more than three decades as an employee, and just two days before the board was expected to rubber-stamp a two-year extension to his contract. (…) Mr Winterkorn completed a doctorate in metal physics before joining Bosch as an engineer, before moving to the VW subsidiary Audi in 1981. His ascent to the top of the firm culminated in VW overtaking Toyota as the world's biggest carmaker by sales in the first half of the year, following a vintage 2014 that earned Mr Winterkorn (EURO)15.9m in pay and benefits, making him Germany's highest-paid chief executive`.
Variable 4. The economic consequences frame
The economic consequences frame discusses economic impact of the issue on an individual, group, institution, region, or country (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000). In the present study, the focus is on the automobile industry. Therefore, when the news article contains any information about the economic consequences the issue/problem/crisis/scandal, which is
directly related to the automobile industry, had on individual(s), group(s), institution(s), region(s), or country(s), the economic consequences frame is present.
There are three questions provided on the presence of the economic consequences frame. Please read the questions and instructions to them carefully, and indicate whether the news article contains the information asked in the following questions by coding `1`, or if the information is absent by coding `0`.
