Crisis Response, Reputation, and Loyalty in the Pertamina Scandal

Abhirama Swastyayana Dian Perdana, Mohammad Shihab

Abstract


This study examines how crisis response strategy influences brand reputation, consumer sentiment, and customer loyalty during Pertamina’s 2025 corporate scandal in Indonesia, with social media engagement tested as a moderating factor. Adopting a quantitative design, the study employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling to analyze survey data from 112 respondents exposed to the crisis. The results show that accommodative strategies significantly enhance brand reputation and generate more positive consumer sentiment, both of which strongly predict customer loyalty. Although the moderating role of social media engagement was not statistically significant, conditional analysis suggests its influence on how stakeholders interpret and react to crisis messages. The study confirms that emotional and cognitive evaluations jointly shape loyalty outcomes in ethically charged crises. These findings highlight the importance of culturally sensitive crisis communication strategies and underscore the need to integrate digital engagement dynamics in public relations responses within collectivist and highly networked societies.

Keywords


Crisis Communication; Brand Reputation; Consumer Sentiment; Customer Loyalty; Social Media Engagement

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ali, F., El-Manstrly, D., & Abbasi, G. A. (2023). Would you forgive me? From perceived justice and complaint handling to customer forgiveness and brand credibility-symmetrical and asymmetrical perspectives. Journal of Business Research, 166, 114138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114138

Baghi, I., & Antonetti, P. (2025). Is reactive corporate social responsibility such a bad idea? It depends on your positioning. European Business Review. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-10-2023-0334

Coombs, W. T. (2007). Protecting Organization Reputations During a Crisis: The Development and Application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 10(3), 163–176. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049

Coombs, W. T. (2021). Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, J. S. (2012). The paracrisis: The challenges created by publicly managing crisis prevention. Public Relations Review, 38(3), 408–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PUBREV.2012.04.004

Dwivedi, Y. K., Hughes, D. L., Coombs, C., Constantiou, I., Duan, Y., Edwards, J. S., Gupta, B., Lal, B., Misra, S., Prashant, P., Raman, R., Rana, N. P., Sharma, S. K., & Upadhyay, N. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on information management research and practice: Transforming education, work and life. International Journal of Information Management, 55, 102211. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJINFOMGT.2020.102211

Fletcher, K.-A. P., & Emmanuel-Stephen, C. M. (2018). Social Media Engagement. In Media Influence (pp. 494–514). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-3929-2.ch027

Fombrun, C. J. (1996). Reputation: Realizing value from the corporate image. Harvard Business School.

Fombrun, C. J., Gardberg, N. A., & Sever, J. M. (2000). The Reputation QuotientSM: A multi-stakeholder measure of corporate reputation. Journal of Brand Management, 7(4), 241–255. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2000.10

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104

Guerber, A. J., Anand, V., Ellstrand, A. E., Waller, M. A., & Reychav, I. (2020). Extending the Situational Crisis Communication Theory: The Impact of Linguistic Style and Culture. Corporate Reputation Review, 23(2), 106–127. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41299-019-00081-1

Hair, J. F., G Tomas M. Hult, Christian M. Ringle, & Marko Sarstedt. (2022). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Harini, S., Hatmini, S. S., & Nugroho, A. Y. (2024). Kepemimpinan Jawa Dan Repatriasi Pekerja Migran: Model Untuk Tanggap Krisis Transformatif. Journal of Political Issues, 5(2), 159–171. https://doi.org/10.33019/jpi.v5i2.137

Henseler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P. A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: updated guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(1), 2–20. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-09-2015-0382

Jin, Y., Liu, B. F., & Austin, L. L. (2014). Examining the Role of Social Media in Effective Crisis Management. Communication Research, 41(1), 74–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650211423918

Karatepe, O. M. (2006). Customer complaints and organizational responses: the effects of complainants’ perceptions of justice on satisfaction and loyalty. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 25(1), 69–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2004.12.008

Keh, H. T., & Xie, Y. (2009). Corporate reputation and customer behavioral intentions: The roles of trust, identification and commitment. Industrial Marketing Management, 38(7), 732–742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2008.02.005

Kiambi, D. M., & Shafer, A. (2016). Corporate Crisis Communication: Examining the Interplay of Reputation and Crisis Response Strategies. Mass Communication and Society, 19(2), 127–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2015.1066013

Kim, D. J., Ferrin, D. L., & Rao, H. R. (2009). Trust and Satisfaction, Two Stepping Stones for Successful E-Commerce Relationships: A Longitudinal Exploration. Information Systems Research, 20(2), 237–257. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.1080.0188

Kristanto, F. H., Wimanda Rahma, H., & Nahrowi, M. (2022). Factors Affecting E-Commerce Customer Loyalty in Indonesia. Jurnal Syntax Transformation, 3(09), 1150–1164. https://doi.org/10.46799/jst.v3i09.613

Marcelino, C. W., & Oliveira, S. A. de. (2021). Attack, Assent or Defend? Strategic (Political) Responses to Corruption Scandals. Organizações & Sociedade, 28(96), 187–207. https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-92302021v28n9608en

Oliver, R. L. (1999). Whence Consumer Loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 63(4_suppl1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429990634s105

Permatasari, A. N., Soelistiyowati, E., Suastami, I. G. A. P. P., & Johan, R. A. (2021). Digital Public Relations: Trend and Required Skills. Jurnal ASPIKOM, 6(2), 373. https://doi.org/10.24329/aspikom.v6i2.836

Ringle, C. M., Wende, S., & Becker, J.-M. (2024). SmartPLS 4. Bönningstedt: SmartPLS. https://www.smartpls.com

Scalvini, M. (2024). Empathy and ethics in brand activism: Balancing engagement and responsibility. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241278344

Schultz, F., Utz, S., & Göritz, A. (2011). Is the medium the message? Perceptions of and reactions to crisis communication via twitter, blogs and traditional media. Public Relations Review, 37(1), 20–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.12.001

Tsiotsou, R. H. (2021). Introducing relational dialectics on actor engagement in the social media ecosystem. Journal of Services Marketing, 35(3), 349–366. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2020-0027

Veil, S. R., Buehner, T., & Palenchar, M. J. (2011). A Work‐In‐Process Literature Review: Incorporating Social Media in Risk and Crisis Communication. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 19(2), 110–122. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5973.2011.00639.x

Wang, H. (2022). To Critique Crisis Communication as a Social Practice: An Integrated Framework. Frontiers in Communication, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2022.874833

Waseem, M. A., & Kamal, M. F. (2024). Mending the Image: The Role of Crisis Communication and Apology Strategies in Recovering from Brand Transgressions. Journal of Asian Development Studies, 13(3), 1139–1150. https://doi.org/10.62345/jads.2024.13.3.92

We Are Social & Meltwater. (2024). Digital 2024: Indonesia. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-indonesia

Wibhisono, I. G. L. A. K., & Salamah, U. (2022). Examining Perceived Risk and Behavioral Intention in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic. Jurnal ASPIKOM, 7(2), 218. https://doi.org/10.24329/aspikom.v7i2.1103

Zhang, X. A., Borden, J., & Kim, S. (2018). Understanding publics’ post-crisis social media engagement behaviors: An examination of antecedents and mediators. Telematics and Informatics, 35(8), 2133–2146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.07.014




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24329/aspikom.v11i1.1611

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


     

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Web Analytics