Legitimation endeavors: Impression management strategies used by an organization in crisis

The impression management strategies embedded in the external discourse of an organization in crisis are identified and a typology of impression management strategies used by organizations is developed. Existing documents were used to collect 799 statements dealing with how stakeholders presently viewed or should view the organization. Ingratiation was the primary strategy appearing in the statements, with most ingratiation being self‐enhancing communication. No apologies were present. Different impression management strategies occurred in messages directed to different stakeholders. Intimidation was used with special interest groups. Denouncement strategies were embedded in messages to competitors, special interest groups, and suppliers. Results are discussed in light of institutional theory and the impression management literature.