With the example of telecommunication companies: Analysis of social responsibility projects in the context of crisis communication during COVID-19

The COVID-19 virus is a pandemic that the world did not expect, and there is no clear information about its emergence. The outbreak emerged in China and started to spread rapidly. As countries and societies were seriously affected by the disease, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a pandemic. Declaring a pandemic means taking the disease under control, informing the public about the disease and taking precautions. Telecommunication companies, the indispensable element of the lockdown process, which has become a symbol of the pandemic process that has radically changed every aspect of life, have come to the fore with social responsibility projects in this process as well as their corporate services and duties. From this point of view, this thesis is based on the examination of the crisis communication examples of Turkcell, Türk Telekom and Vodafone, which are direct service telecommunication companies in Turkey, during the COVID-19 period and the analysis of their social responsibility projects in this context. In the study, instead of evaluating whether telecommunication companies have the characteristics that telecommunication companies should have in terms of crisis communication during the pandemic process, the focus is on the management of crisis communication in companies that have changed with the pandemic process. The method chosen to conduct the research is content analysis and semiotics. In this model, in accordance with the purpose of the study, social responsibility activities from Turkcell, Türk Telekom and Vodafone within the scope of crisis communication during the Covid-19 period were analysed. In this context, corporate communications and social responsibility projects of selected Turkcell, Türk Telekom and Vodafone companies were analysed. According to the results of the research, it was determined that Turkcell, Türk Telekom and Vodafone included and supported social responsibility projects that support public health policies to reduce the impact of Covid-19. In addition to this, it is another main finding that companies that carry out social responsibility activities create and perceive a positive image for their target audiences.