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Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
Crises represent a threat to organizations and their stakeholders, as they may affect their image and reputation (Coombs, 2023; Fearn-Banks & Kawamoto, 2024). The adoption of appropriate crisis communication strategies, which should be aligned with the potential reputational risk, influences public perception, contributing to reducing the impact of the event, protecting and, in some cases, repairing the organization’s reputation, and restoring trust among its publics and stakeholders (Benoit, 1997). As crises are perceptual events (Coombs, 2023), what organizations say and do during a crisis can influence how they are perceived by their stakeholders and, consequently, their organizational reputation.
On September 3, 2025, a serious accident involving the historic funicular Elevador da Glória, in Lisbon, resulted in the death of 16 people, with 12 seriously injured and nine sustaining minor injuries. As one of the city’s most emblematic means of transport, considered the postcard of the city, the accident received extensive media coverage both nationally and internationally, placing Carris, the public company responsible for operating the system, under intense public scrutiny regarding its actions and responsibility in the accident.
The study focuses on a qualitative content analysis of the crisis communication strategy developed by Carris. The analysis is based on institutional and media content published between September 3 and September 6, 2025. It includes four press releases issued by Carris, a press conference, and a public intervention by the organization’s leader, as well as news published by the newspapers Público, Expresso, and Correio da Manhã, by Lusa, the national news agency, and by the public television channel RTP during this period.
The study also evaluates the adequacy of Carris’ crisis communication response to the accident. It examines how the communication timeline, the messages conveyed, and the tone of communication align with the assumptions of the most relevant theoretical approaches (Coombs, 2023; Coombs & Holladay, 2023; Benoit, 1997). It also analyzes the impact of the actions of the organization’s president, as leader and spokesperson during the crisis, on the construction of public perceptions of the crisis and on the organization’s reputation.
The results show that the communication strategy adopted by Carris in response to the crisis was not appropriate to the severity of the accident or to the impact it had on the organization’s reputation. The initial response was slow, preventing Carris from taking control of the public narrative and undermining image repair efforts. Furthermore, the image repair strategies adopted, particularly evasion of responsibility, were not aligned with the attribution of responsibility for the accident to Carris, as advocated in the litera-ture. The performance of the president of Carris, in his role as organizational leader and spokesperson, also revealed a lack of preparation for a crisis of this nature, reinforcing the importance of spokesperson training for crisis scenarios of this magnitude.
This accident involving the Elevador da Glória has multiple social implications. Beyond the emotional impact on the families and friends of the victims, as well as the general sense of
mourning and public distress in the country, the tragedy called into question perceptions of safety and user trust in this emblematic transport system in Lisbon, leading to the precautionary suspension of all the city’s funiculars (Bica, Lavra, and initially Graça) in order to carry out rigorous technical inspections. Moreover, the way Carris managed the crisis, through a slow response and the adoption of an evasion of responsibility strategy, combined with the lack of preparation of the leader as spokesperson, undermined the credibility of public transport institutions and contributed to public perceptions of insecurity and mismanagement of an essential public service.
This study presents several limitations that should be considered when interpreting the re-sults. It focuses only on the initial response to the crisis, within a limited time frame between September 3 and September 6, 2025, making it impossible to assess the long-term effects of the crisis response. In addition, the analysis is limited to press releases, social media content, and media coverage, which are secondary sources, and does not include an analysis of the direct perceptions of Carris’ stakeholders. Finally, as this is a single case study, the generalization of the findings is limited.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Reputation Crisis communication Crisis response strategies
Contexto Educativo
Citação
• Weinstock, S., Nunes, T., (2026). “Organizational reputation and crisis communication strategies: the case of the Elevador da Glória funicular accident” [Comunicação Oral]. Bledcom - 33rd International Public Relations Research Symposium, Bled, Eslovénia , Junho de 2026.
Editora
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences