<iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-PHTV9K7" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden">
Loading
Skip to Main Content
Product cover image for Seaworld: Are Animal Shows Sustainable after Blackfish?

Seaworld: Are Animal Shows Sustainable after Blackfish?

Joel Gehman; Kelly Lester; Patrick Ng; Jen McEwen; Qiang Wei Song

Product #:9B16M227
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Strategy
Setting:Canada, 2013
Details:Case (PDF) • 15 pages • 2016-12-20

Subjects:

Public relationsCorporate communicationsStrategy

Industries:

Media, entertainment, and professional sports

Geography:

CanadaNorth America
Your Price:$9.71

Purchase this material with a free Educator Account and enjoy more benefits:

  • Free Educator Copy
  • Free Teaching Notes
  • Build your coursepack
  • Discounted academic price

On July 19, 2013, the documentary Blackfish was released. The movie claimed to have uncovered a series of animal abuses at SeaWorld and alluded to the negative impact of captivity on orcas, known as killer whales, which had resulted in the harm and even death of whale trainers. Whether real or alleged, such negative publicity threatened to affect the company’s image, stock prices, profits, and many of the company’s corporate relations. SeaWorld now faced several options in terms of responding to the movie release: ignore it, respond to it, or use it as an opportunity to completely rebrand. Which option would be the best for the company in the long run?

Learning Objectives

The case is suitable for business undergraduate or MBA students in courses dealing with corporate social responsibility, corporate sustainability, or strategic management. After the completion of this case, students will be able to
  • discuss the sustainability journeys and a relational perspective to strategy and policy;
  • examine a situation from the perspectives of different stakeholders;
  • understand how business strategy can be shaped by considering triple bottom line theory; and
  • understand the implication of strategy in relational perspective, by considering both the economic and social benefits aspects.
Loading
Case Study: Seaworld: Are Animal Shows Sustainable after Blackfish? (English version) | Ivey Publishing