This research examines the actions of the Johnson & Johnson Corporation concerning public relations in conjunction with the Tylenol product tampering incidents. The first Tylenol analgesic products criminal product tampering case occurred in September 1982, while the second occurred in February 1986 (Buchholtz, Evans, and Wagley, 1989). Tylenol products are manufactured and marketed by McNeil Consumer Products, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (Lee, 1986). The major decisions in the Tylenol case, however, were made at Johnson & Johnson corporate headquarters, rather than at McNeil Consumer Products headquarters.
Seven persons in the Chicago area died as the result of criminal tampering with Tylenol capsules in September 1982 (Sethi and Falbe, 1987; Burke, 1986). The company gained a great deal of public support for its efforts during this period; however, its profits suffered because of the combined effects of legal costs, developing tamper proof packages, product recall, and marketing programs designed to rebuild demand (The Tylenol Comeback, 1983).
The second instance of criminal product tampering with Tylenol capsules occurred in February 1986, when a Westchester County, New York woman died following ingestion of one of the poisoned capsules (Burke, 1986). Once again, top management at Johnson & Johnson reacted in a commendable manner, which demonstrated to the general public and to government that its primary concern was public safety, as opposed to the preservation of profits (Tampering in Consumer Products, 1986).
Questions of product safety arose in conjunction with the Tylenol product tampering incidents. Questions of product safety can destroy public confidence in a product or in a corporation or in an industry more quickly than can any other single issue (Steiner, and Steiner, 1988). Only about three quarters of the American ...