Internal Communication and reputational crisis. Rey Juan Carlos University case

Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) has been shaken in recent months by several corruption scandals that transcended public opinion due to the extensive coverage made by most Spanish media.

In this context of crisis, the focus of the research are the messages that in the last two years (November 2016 - October 2018) received the current students of the institution by the rectorship of URJC through their corporate email. To do this, the content analysis is used as the main technique to aprroach to the students, a stakeholder that is especially crucial from the point of view of internal communication.

Results reflect three trends: a reactive and not proactive behavior; a considerable delay in the management of the different conflicts; and the preference for the transfer of responsibilities strategy.