“Nothing Will Ever Be the Same”: The Borusan Case and the Socio‐Cultural Dynamics of Crisis in Turkey

The 2011 Borusan crisis in Turkey revealed the complex relations between business, culture, politics, and religious sensitivities. The company withdrew sponsorship for a woman race car driver, citing budget cuts as the reason. However, it was alleged that the real reason was because the woman wore a headscarf which did not sit well with the company's policy of political and religious neutrality. This chapter discusses the competing cultural identities in Turkey. It verifies the place of Islam (religion) in the politics and culture, as well as evaluates the important role that sociocultural factors can play in business success. The chapter also analyses corporate philanthropy/social responsibility in times of crisis. Turkish crisis communication practices were examined by the authors via the media coverage of crisis events between 2006 and 2014. Borusan authorities highlighted three priority stakeholders as the employees, the media, and the general public. The main lesson is the importance of learning from sociocultural mistakes.