Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management最新文献

Most of the existing literature on crisis communication focuses on the crisis response immediately following a crisis. There is a dearth of research examining postcrisis communication efforts. Postcrisis communication is especially important in the context of tragic crises, which leave stakeholders deeply affected and traumatized. This paper examines the multifaceted nature of memorials and their significance in postcrisis communication. Using the 2015 Germanwings crash as an illustrative case study, the paper highlights how memorials serve as artifacts of grief, remembrance and celebration of life. Postcrisis communication that centres on victim needs is a keystone to better crisis management. Moreover, I argue that postcrisis communication should facilitate healing by serving the needs of victims, which supersede those of organizations. The paper examines the notions of victim-centred crisis communication and ethics of care by looking at memorials as artefacts of postcrisis communication.

This study takes listed companies that have experienced sudden crisis events as samples. The event study method and multiple regression analysis are further adopted to explore the relationship between sudden crisis events and the stock price fluctuations of listed companies from the perspective of multidimensional characteristics. Findings reveal that sudden crisis events have a significant impact on stock price fluctuations. However, the firms' response frequency and response time to crisis events can exert a buffering role in their adverse association. Further analysis shows that the stock price fluctuations also vary with different heterogeneous characteristics including crisis event types, ownership types, firm competitiveness and firm size. The multidimensional analysis targeting the impact of sudden crisis events on the stock market is conducive to helping firms grasp the rhythm of crisis events and further implement some practical and feasible crisis management measures.

Scholars have gradually shifted efforts to understand the COVID-19 crisis renewal stage. Viewing a gap in college communities' knowledge regarding COVID-19 renewal, this study drew upon the extended theoretical model of communal coping and explored college students' stressor coping in back-to-campus situations. Results of an online survey (N = 460) across nine US universities, first, supported the presence of communal coping in such a situation. Second, universities' transparent communication benefited students' communal coping appraisal, while online and offline bonding social capital boosted communal coping action; both the appraisal and action components positively contributed to student adaptivity, with life satisfaction being associated only with the action dimension. Theoretical and practical implications for interdisciplinary model concretization and public health crisis renewal are discussed.

In March 2023, headlines about a single ill-conceived press release amplified in the social media triggered a one-day, $42 billion bank run that threatened to destabilise the US financial system. The Silicon Valley Bank collapse represents an extreme example of headline risk, the potential for breaking news to trigger a PR crisis and corresponding brand and business shocks. This paper presents the results of exploratory research supporting the creation of risk management frameworks for measuring, monitoring, managing and ultimately mitigating financially material headline risk. Based on brand tracking data for 24 major companies covered by the news media queried and visualised using an AI-enabled analytics tool, the study confirms that news corresponds to tail risk—defined in this study as low-probability, high-impact events that major companies and national brands would term crises. Time-series data tracking the volatility of consumer attention and the valence of media buzz support an architecture for constructing rigorous communication research and headline risk management frameworks. Crisis communication emerges as the initial phase in managing exogenous, idiosyncratic shocks marked by significant negative shifts in brand perceptions and consumer purchase consideration.

A resilient healthcare system is key to responding to sudden crises, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Homecare services have been an important platform of healthcare delivery during the pandemic, and healthcare staff on the frontlines of homecare have been confronted with major challenges requiring adaptation to sustain high quality healthcare services. Managers' capacities to adapt to disruptions and challenges are important for an adequate response to challenges on the frontlines. To explore healthcare staff's perspectives on managers at different managerial levels (meso-level) handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Norwegian homecare services. A qualitative multiple case study was designed including four cases. A case was defined as a homecare service within a Norwegian municipality (public organization). Data were collected through 16 interviews with healthcare staff. Interviews were conducted by using a semi-structured interview guide. Healthcare staff reported their managers as proactive, prepared and responded quickly. Present and supportive managers that provided effective and targeted information, and involved staff in decision-making were key to handling the pandemic in Norwegian homecare services. Our results underscore the interaction between healthcare staff and managers at different managerial levels as essential for quickly react, adapt, and resiliently respond to disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations need to have the flexibility to interact across levels and encourage managers to apply strategies for collaboration and staff involvement, especially during a crisis.

‘When people's emotions are at stake, there is the constant need to be seen to engage and connect with them in their hours of need’. This study contributes to the literature on Integrated Crisis Mapping, a stakeholder-centric crisis communication framework that attunes organisational leaders to the emotional responses and coping needs of their primary publics. Building on Weick's insight about the importance of an attitude of wisdom in making sense of a crisis, the study proposes crisis attitude as a keystone concept to help bridge the gap between theory and practice in crisis communication. The study illustrates the concept with an attitude of humility, explaining how it could be apposite to navigating the dynamics of a crisis and serve a sensegiving function that decreases stakeholders' negative emotions and fosters their trust in leadership.

In the realm of addressing large-scale emergencies, interorganizational collaboration emerges as a crucial strategy for effectively mitigating crises. However, the existence of institutional and procedural disparities poses significant challenges in establishing collaborative networks among diverse organizations. Moreover, the determinants influencing cooperative formations exhibit heterogeneity across distinct network structures. This research employs proximity theory and the Exponential Random Graph Model (ERGM) to comprehensively examine the dynamic evolution of interorganizational collaboration networks. Our primary objective is to investigate the effects of institutional proximity, organizational proximity, geographical proximity and social proximity on the formation of interorganizational collaboration networks. Textual data was meticulously collected from the Wisers database and official websites. The findings underscore the pivotal roles of institutional and organizational proximity in fostering interorganizational collaboration networks, while the impact of geographical proximity is relatively insignificant. Additionally, we delve into the driving factors that influence the formation of diverse structural networks. Social proximity emerges as a significant catalyst for horizontal collaborative networks but impedes the establishment of vertical collaborative relationships. Furthermore, we partition the entire emergency response process into six stages to explore the dynamic evolution characteristics of these networks. The results reveal an overall decentralized structure with a tendency toward clustering in the collaborative network. These findings hold substantial significance as they elucidate the influential factors driving the formation of diverse collaborative networks in a dynamic context. Therefore, this research bears implications for policymakers and practitioners aiming to enhance their emergency response capabilities with optimal efficiency.

With the scope and severity of disasters continuing to grow, encouraging public engagement in emergency preparedness activities is becoming increasingly important. Recently, this has included governments introducing emergency alert systems to warn people of nearby danger to life. However, to date, little research focus has been directed towards understanding what mechanisms affect public willingness to engage in preparing for emergencies. Accordingly, this study aims to improve understanding of what social and cognitive factors impact public willingness to take action to prepare for emergencies. Data was collected from 157 members of the public in one region of the UK using focus groups (N = 36) and questionnaires (N = 121). Thematic analysis of data highlighted six key themes of importance for improving public engagement in emergency preparedness activities: (i) provide information that allows people to Assess potential risks; (ii) Create a sense of community and responsibility; (iii) use Trustworthy sources; (iv) Inform the public regularly about risk updates; (v) provide feasible and practical information on how to Overcome risks; and (vi) Normalize engagement (‘ACTION’). Findings pose important implications for emergency planning theory and practice, including improving how multiagency emergency planning and response partnerships engage with local communities to promote emergency preparedness.

At the onset of a crisis, an initial organizational statement sets the tone for subsequent discussion. While existing literature provides strategic guidance, it offers limited insight into the message-level execution of such statements. This study synthesizes insights from literature and trade publications to complement strategic literature by proposing a practical set of ‘crisis essentials’ which practitioners can leverage in composing an initial crisis statement. Upon identification of these elements from scholarly and industry literature, two online surveys presenting a hypothetical crisis scenario are released to Gen Z stakeholders and crisis communication practitioners in the United States; respondents rate the relative importance of each element. Gen Z was selected as the stakeholder population of interest due to their high activity on social media, their role as the talent which will be entering the workforce and eventually leadership roles, and the more limited existing analysis of this segment. Comparative analysis is conducted, based on two online surveys among adult individuals from these two populations, to evaluate whether gaps exist in stakeholder expectations and practitioner approaches. Findings reveal: the proposed elements (e.g., statement of the crisis, attribution, expert quote; 11 in total) were of nonzero importance to both Gen Z stakeholder respondents and crisis communication practitioner respondents, essentials related to the assuring stakeholders (e.g., action steps) were rated more highly than informational essentials (e.g., timeline), and importance ratings across survey samples were generally consistent. Practitioners should consider each of these proposed essentials when developing communication materials, and that while stakeholders expect sufficient information to understand a crisis event, they ultimately care about what the crisis means for the future of the organization. This study, grounded in crisis communication theory, provides a relevant, practical contribution to the implementation of effective strategic crisis communication in situations concerning Gen Z stakeholders.

The study challenges the conventional belief that expertise enhances crisis decision-making. Analyzing crisis simulations, it reveals that crisis cells with minimal expertise achieved a commendable 69% decision quality, surpassing those with specialists. The research underscores the importance of collective intelligence and adherence to fundamental ‘metarules’ in decision-making, irrespective of expertise. It questions the presumed benefits of expertise, suggesting that excessive reliance on experts may hinder information processing and flexibility during crises. The findings advocate for a reconsideration of the role of expertise in crisis management, emphasizing the significance of collective decision-making and adherence to metarules. The study calls for further exploration of expert leaders' potential influence within crisis cells.