Rice U. expert: Starbucks CEO followed first rule of reputation management

EXPERT ALERT

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu 

Rice U. expert: Starbucks CEO followed first rule of reputation management

HOUSTON – (April 18, 2018) – The recent arrest of two African-American men at a Starbucks in Philadelphia upset other customers, who quickly shared video of the incident. Almost as swiftly, the company’s CEO, Kevin Johnson, agreed their treatment was “reprehensible.” Johnson clearly knew the first rule of reputation management, according to a public relations expert at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business: Much of a company’s value is intangible.

Credit: 123RF.com/Rice University

Anastasiya (Annie) Zavyalova, assistant professor of strategic management at Rice Business, is available to discuss Starbucks’ crisis management with the media. In a video, she explains the top three tools all CEOs need when a company violates community standards.

Zavyalova’s research focuses on negative events in organizations and the role of the media and stakeholder support following such incidents.

To schedule an interview with Zavyalova, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

Rice University has a VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio. ReadyCam is capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7.

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Follow the Jones Graduate School of Business on Twitter @Rice_Biz.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations on Twitter @RiceUNews.

Related materials:

Video with Zavyalova: https://business.rice.edu/wisdom/expert-opinion/video-three-steps-ceos-embattled-companies.

Zavyalova bio: http://business.rice.edu/person/anastasiya-zavyalova.

Jones Graduate School of Business: http://business.rice.edu.