Integrating public relations and legal responses during a crisis: The caseof Odwalla, Inc.

Crisis management is a form of issues management in which crisis managers a ttempt to control the terms used to describe corporate actions. In this sen se, a crisis can be seen as an opportunity to demonstrate the organization' s commitment to responsible behavior and to outline the steps being taken t o eliminate the problem. The organization's decision-making process is evid ent in its communication response (public relations versus legal) strategie s. This study examines the crisis communication strategies employed by Odwalla , Inc. during its juice contamination crisis, a crisis whose impact on publ ic health and safety gave it the potential for developing into an issue tha t required public policy relief. An analysis of the content of published re sponses made by Odwalla officials showed that public relations response str ategies dominated legal response strategies throughout the crisis, followed by mixed public relations and legal strategies. This case provides a clear example of the collaborative approach to crisis management in terms of leg al versus public relations strategies. In addition, Odwalla exerted control over the crisis through its recall, the development of a process to elimin ate the problem, and raising the issue of pasteurization.