Responsibility Finds A Way: A Typology and Framework Development Approach Towards Public Sector Crisis Management

ABSTRACT Public sector crisis is so complex and multidimensional that it becomes imperative to understand the nature of its function, characteristics and the obligations of the State. Also, the types of crises that the State witnesses are multifaceted. In the public sector crisis, management scholarship, case-based studies are predominant and are specific to their contexts. To contribute generalizability to this paradigm, in this work, through a rigorous review of extant literature and analysis of secondary data sources, a public sector crisis typology is developed upon the criteria of State’s responsibility orientation and crisis preventability. These crisis types are further described by their attributes, commonalities, and differences. This study proposes a crisis communication model as a crucial crisis response strategy, based on the cognitive needs, affective responses, and behavioral outcomes at different stages of a crisis. This crisis response model built upon the crisis typology enables in developing an integrated crisis management in a manner that minimizes damage and regains hope and public support.