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By W. Timothy Coombs, Ph.D
October 30, 2007
Introduction
Crisis management is a critical organizational function. Failure can result in
serious harm to stakeholders, losses for an organization, or end its very
existence. Public relations practitioners are an integral part of crisis
management teams. So a set of best practices and lessons gleaned from our
knowledge of crisis management would be a very useful resource for those in
public relations. Volumes have been written about crisis management by both
practitioners and researchers from many different disciplines making it a
challenge to synthesize what we know about crisis management and public
relations place in that knowledge base. The best place to start this effort is
by defining critical concepts
Definitions
There are plenty of definitions for a crisis. For this entry, the definition
reflects key points found in the various discussions of what constitutes a
crisis. A crisis is defined here as a significant threat to operations that can
have negative consequences if not handled properly. In crisis management, the
threat is the potential damage a crisis can inflict on an organization, its
stakeholders, and an industry. A crisis can create three related threats: (1)
public safety, (2) financial loss, and (3) reputation loss. Some crises, such
as industrial accidents and product harm, can result in injuries and even loss
of lives. Crises can create financial loss by disrupting operations, creating a
loss of market share/purchase intentions, or spawning lawsuits related to the
crisis. As Dilenschneider (2000) noted in The Corporate Communications Bible,
all crises threaten to tarnish an organization s reputation. A crisis reflects
poorly on an organization and will damage a reputation to some degree. Clearly
these three threats are interrelated. Injuries or deaths will result in
financial and reputation loss while reputations have a financial impact on
organizations.
Effective crisis management handles the threats sequentially. The primary
concern in a crisis has to be public safety. A failure to address public safety
intensifies the damage from a crisis. Reputation and financial concerns are
considered after public safety has been remedied. Ultimately, crisis management
is designed to protect an organization and its stakeholders from threats and/or
reduce the impact felt by threats.
Crisis management is a process designed to prevent or lessen the damage a
crisis can inflict on an organization and its stakeholders. As a process,
crisis management is not just one thing. Crisis management can be divided into
three phases: (1) pre-crisis, (2) crisis response, and (3) post-crisis. The
pre-crisis phase is concerned with prevention and preparation. The crisis
response phase is when management must actually respond to a crisis. The
post-crisis phase looks for ways to better prepare for the next crisis and
fulfills commitments made during the crisis phase including follow-up
information. The tri-part view of crisis management serves as the organizing
framework for this entry.
Pre-Crisis Phase
Prevention involves seeking to reduce known risks that could lead to a crisis.
This is part of an organization s risk management program. Preparation involves
creating the crisis management plan, selecting and training the crisis
management team, and conducting exercises to test the crisis management plan
and crisis management team. Both Barton (2001) and Coombs (2006) document that
organizations are better able to handle crises when they (1) have a crisis
management plan that is updated at least annually, (2) have a designated crisis
management team, (3) conduct exercises to test the plans and teams at least
annually, and (4) pre-draft some crisis messages. Table 1 lists the Crisis
Preparation Best Practices. The planning and preparation allow crisis teams to
react faster and to make more effective decisions. Refer to Barton s (2001)
Crisis in Organizations II or Coombs (2006) Code Red in the Boardroom for more
information on these four lessons.
Table 1: Crisis Preparation Best Practices 1. Have a crisis management plan and
update it at least annually.
2. Have a designate crisis management team that is properly trained.
3. Conduct exercise at least annually to test the crisis management plan and
team.
4. Pre-draft select crisis management messages including content for dark web
sites and templates for crisis statements. Have the legal department review and
pre-approve these messages.
Crisis Management Plan
A crisis management plan (CMP) is a reference tool, not a blueprint. A CMP
provides lists of key contact information, reminders of what typically should
be done in a crisis, and forms to be used to document the crisis response. A
CMP is not a step-by-step guide to how to manage a crisis. Barton (2001),
Coombs (2007a), and Fearn-Banks (2001) have noted how a CMP saves time during a
crisis by pre-assigning some tasks, pre-collecting some information, and
serving as a reference source. Pre-assigning tasks presumes there is a
designated crisis team. The team members should know what tasks and
responsibilities they have during a crisis.
Crisis Management Team
Barton (2001) identifies the common members of the crisis team as public
relations, legal, security, operations, finance, and human resources. However,
the composition will vary based on the nature of the crisis. For instance,
information technology would be required if the crisis involved the computer
system. Time is saved because the team has already decided on who will do the
basic tasks required in a crisis. Augustine (1995) notes that plans and teams
are of little value if they are never tested. Management does not know if or
how well an untested crisis management plan with work or if the crisis team can
perform to expectations. Mitroff, Harrington, and Gia (1996) emphasize that
training is needed so that team members can practice making decisions in a
crisis situation. As noted earlier, a CMP serves only as a rough guide. Each
crisis is unique demanding that crisis teams make decisions. Coombs (2007a)
summaries the research and shows how practice improves a crisis team s decision
making and related task performance. For additional information on the value of
teams and exercises refer to Coombs (2006) and the Corporate Leadership Council
s (2003) report on crisis management strategies.
Spokesperson
A key component of crisis team training is spokesperson training.
Organizational members must be prepared to talk to the news media during a
crisis. Lerbinger (1997), Feran-Banks (2001), and Coombs (2007a) devote
considerable attention to media relations in a crisis. Media training should be
provided before a crisis hits. The Crisis Media Training Best Practices in
Table 2 were drawn from these three books:
Table 2: Crisis Media Training Best Practices 1. Avoid the phrase no comment
because people think it means the organization is guilty and trying to hide
something
2. Present information clearly by avoiding jargon or technical terms. Lack of
clarity makes people think the organization is purposefully being confusing in
order to hide something.
3. Appear pleasant on camera by avoiding nervous habits that people interpret
as deception. A spokesperson needs to have strong eye contact,limited
disfluencies such as uhms or uhs , and avoid distracting nervous gestures
such as fidgeting or pacing. Coombs (2007a) reports on research that documents
how people will be perceived as deceptive if they lack eye contact, have a lot
of disfluencies,or display obvious nervous gestures.
4. Brief all potential spokespersons on the latest crisis information and the
key message points the organization is trying to convey to stakeholders.
Public relations can play a critical role in preparing spokespersons for
handling questions from the news media. The media relations element of public
relations is a highly valued skill in crisis management. The public relations
personnel can provide training and support because in most cases they are not
the spokesperson during the crisis.
Pre-draft Messages
Finally, crisis managers can pre-draft messages that will be used during a
crisis. More accurately, crisis managers create templates for crisis messages.
Templates include statements by top management, news releases, and dark web
sites. Both the Corporate Leadership Council (2003) and the Business Roundtable
(2002) strongly recommend the use of templates. The templates leave blank spots
where key information is inserted once it is known. Public relations personnel
can help to draft these messages. The legal department can then pre-approve the
use of the messages. Time is saved during a crisis as specific information is
simply inserted and messages sent and/or made available on a web site.
Communication Channels
An organization may create a separate web site for the crisis or designate a
section of its current web site for the crisis. Taylor and Kent s (2007)
research finds that having a crisis web sites is a best practice for using an
Internet during a crisis. The site should be designed prior to the crisis. This
requires the crisis team to anticipate the types of crises an organization will
face and the types of information needed for the web site. For instances, any
organization that makes consumer goods is likely to have a product harm crisis
that will require a recall. The Corporate Leadership Council (2003) highlights
the value of a crisis web site designed to help people identify if their
product is part of the recall and how the recall will be handled. Stakeholders,
including the news media, will turn to the Internet during a crisis. Crisis
managers should utilize some form of web-based response or risk appearing to be
ineffective. A good example is Taco Bell s E. coli outbreak in 2006. The
company was criticized in the media for being slow to place crisis-related
information on its web site.
Of course not placing information on the web site can be strategic. An
organization may not want to publicize the crisis by placing information about
it on the web site. This assumes the crisis is very small and that stakeholders
are unlikely to hear about it from another source. In today s traditional and
online media environment, that is a misguided if not dangerous assumption.
Taylor and Kent (2007) and the Corporate Leadership Council emphasize that a
web site is another means for an organization to present its side of the story
and not using it creates a risk of losing how the crisis story is told. Refer
to the PR News story Lackluster Online PR No Aid in Crisis Response (2002)
for additional information about using dark web sites in a crisis,
Intranet sites can also be used during a crisis. Intranet sites limit access,
typically to employees only though some will include suppliers and customers.
Intranet sites provide direct access to specific stakeholders so long as those
stakeholders have access to the Intranet. Dowling s (2003) research documents
the value of American Airlines use of its Intranet system as an effective way
to communicate with its employees following the 9/11 tragedy. Coombs (2007a)
notes that the communication value of an Intranet site is increased when used
in conjunction with mass notification systems designed to reach employees and
other key stakeholders. With a mass notification system, contact information
(phones numbers, e-mail, etc.) are programmed in prior to a crisis. Contacts
can be any group that can be affected by the crisis including employees,
customers, and community members living near a facility. Crisis managers can
enter short messages into the system then tell the mass notification system who
should receive which messages and which channel or channels to use for the
delivery. The mass notification system provides a mechanism for people to
respond to messages as well. The response feature is critical when crisis
managers want to verify that the target has received the message. Table 3
summarizes the Crisis Communication Channel Preparation Best Practices.
Table 3: Crisis Communication Channel Preparation Best Practices 1. Be prepared
to use a unique web site or part of your current web site to address crisis
concerns.
2. Be prepared to use the Intranet as one of the channels for reaching
employees and any other stakeholders than may have access to your Intranet.
3. Be prepared to utilize a mass notification system for reaching employees and
other key stakeholders during a crisis
Crisis Response
The crisis response is what management does and says after the crisis hits.
Public relations plays a critical role in the crisis response by helping to
develop the messages that are sent to various publics. A great deal of research
has examined the crisis response. That research has been divided into two
sections: (1) the initial crisis response and (2) reputation repair and
behavioral intentions.
Initial Response
Practitioner experience and academic research have combined to create a clear
set of guidelines for how to respond once a crisis hits. The initial crisis
response guidelines focus on three points: (1) be quick, (2) be accurate, and
(3) be consistent.
Be quick seems rather simple, provide a response in the first hour after the
crisis occurs. That puts a great deal of pressure on crisis managers to have a
message ready in a short period of time. Again, we can appreciate the value of
preparation and templates. The rationale behind being quick is the need for the
organization to tell its side of the story. In reality, the organization s side
of the story are the key points management wants to convey about the crisis to
its stakeholders. When a crisis occurs, people want to know what happened.
Crisis experts often talk of an information vacuum being created by a crisis.
The news media will lead the charge to fill the information vacuum and be a key
source of initial crisis information. (We will consider shortly the use of the
Internet as well). If the organization having the crisis does not speak to the
news media, other people will be happy to talk to the media. These people may
have inaccurate information or may try to use the crisis as an opportunity to
attack the organization. As a result, crisis managers must have a quick
response. An early response may not have much new information but the
organization positions itself as a source and begins to present its side of the
story. Carney and Jorden (1993) note a quick response is active and shows an
organization is in control. Hearit s (1994) research illustrates how silence is
too passive. It lets others control the story and suggests the organization has
yet to gain control of the situation. Arpan and Rosko-Ewoldsen (2005) conducted
a study that documented how a quick, early response allows an organization to
generate greater credibility than a slow response. Crisis preparation will make
it easier for crisis managers to respond quickly.
Obviously accuracy is important anytime an organization communicates with
publics. People want accurate information about what happened and how that
event might affect them. Because of the time pressure in a crisis, there is a
risk of inaccurate information. If mistakes are made, they must be corrected.
However, inaccuracies make an organization look inconsistent. Incorrect
statements must be corrected making an organization appear to be incompetent.
The philosophy of speaking with one voice in a crisis is a way to maintain
accuracy.
Speaking with one voice does not mean only one person speaks for the
organization for the duration of the crisis. As Barton (2001) notes, it is
physically impossible to expect one person to speak for an organization if a
crisis lasts for over a day. Watch news coverage of a crisis and you most
likely will see multiple people speak. The news media want to ask questions of
experts so they may need to talk to a person in operations or one from
security. That is why Coombs (2007a) emphasizes the public relations department
plays more of a support role rather than being the crisis spokespersons. The
crisis team needs to share information so that different people can still
convey a consistent message. The spokespersons should be briefed on the same
information and the key points the organization is trying to convey in the
messages. The public relations department should be instrumental in preparing
the spokespersons. Ideally, potential spokespersons are trained and practice
media relations skills prior to any crisis. The focus during a crisis then
should be on the key information to be delivered rather than how to handle the
media. Once more preparation helps by making sure the various spokespersons
have the proper media relations training and skills.
Quickness and accuracy play an important role in public safety. When public
safety is a concern, people need to know what they must do to protect
themselves. Sturges (1994) refer to this information as instructing
information. Instructing information must be quick and accurate to be useful.
For instance, people must know as soon as possible not to eat contaminated
foods or to shelter-in-place during a chemical release. A slow or inaccurate
response can increase the risk of injuries and possibly deaths. Quick actions
can also save money by preventing further damage and protecting reputations by
showing that the organization is in control. However, speed is meaningless if
the information is wrong. Inaccurate information can increase rather than
decrease the threat to public safety.
The news media are drawn to crises and are a useful way to reach a wide array
of publics quickly. So it is logical that crisis response research has devoted
considerable attention to media relations. Media relations allows crisis
managers to reach a wide range of stakeholders fast. Fast and wide ranging is
perfect for public safety get the message out quickly and to as many people as
possible. Clearly there is waste as non-targets receive the message but speed
and reach are more important at the initial stage of the crisis. However, the
news media is not the only channel crisis managers can and should use to reach
stakeholders.
Web sites, Intranet sites, and mass notification systems add to the news media
coverage and help to provide a quick response. Crisis managers can supply
greater amounts of their own information on a web site. Not all targets will
use the web site but enough do to justify the inclusion of web-base
communication in a crisis response. Taylor and Kent s (2007) extensive analysis
of crisis web sites over a multiyear period found a slow progression in
organizations utilizing web sites and the interactive nature of the web during
a crisis. Mass notification systems deliver short messages to specific
individuals through a mix of phone, text messaging, voice messages, and e-mail.
The systems also allow people to send responses. In organizations with
effective Intranet systems, the Intranet is a useful vehicle for reaching
employees as well. If an organization integrates its Intranet with suppliers
and customers, these stakeholders can be reached as well. As the crisis
management effort progresses, the channels can be more selective.
More recently, crisis experts have recommended a third component to an initial
crisis response, crisis managers should express concern/sympathy for any
victims of the crisis. Victims are the people that are hurt or inconvenienced
in some way by the crisis. Victims might have lost money, become ill, had to
evacuate, or suffered property damage. Kellerman (2006) details when it is
appropriate to express regret. Expressions of concern help to lessen
reputational damage and to reduce financial losses. Experimental studies by
Coombs and Holladay (1996) and by Dean (2004) found that organizations did
experience less reputational damage when an expression of concern is offered
verses a response lacking an expression of concern. Cohen (1999) examined legal
cases and found early expressions of concern help to reduce the number and
amount of claims made against an organization for the crisis. However, Tyler
(1997) reminds us that there are limits to expressions of concern. Lawyers may
try to use expressions of concern as admissions of guilt. A number of states
have laws that protect expressions of concern from being used against an
organization. Another concern is that as more crisis managers express concern,
the expressions of concern may lose their effect of people. Hearit (2007)
cautions that expressions of concern will seem too routine. Still, a failure to
provide a routine response could hurt an organization. Hence, expressions of
concern may be expected and provide little benefit when used but can inflict
damage when not used.
Argenti (2002) interviewed a number of managers that survived the 9/11 attacks.
His strongest lesson was that crisis managers should never forget employees are
important publics during a crisis. The Business Roundtable (2002) and Corporate
Leadership Council (2003) remind us that employees need to know what happened,
what they should do, and how the crisis will affect them. The earlier
discussions of mass notification systems and the Intranet are examples of how
to reach employees with information. West Pharmaceuticals had a production
facility in Kinston, North Carolina leveled by an explosion in January 2003.
Coombs (2004b) examined how West Pharmaceuticals used a mix of channels to keep
employees apprised of how the plant explosion would affect them in terms of
when they would work, where they would work, and their benefits. Moreover,
Coombs (2007a) identifies research that suggest well informed employees provide
an additional channel of communication for reaching other stakeholders.
When the crisis results in serious injuries or deaths, crisis management must
include stress and trauma counseling for employees and other victims. One
illustration is the trauma teams dispatched by airlines following a plane
crash. The trauma teams address the needs of employees as well as victims
families. Both the Business Roundtable (2002) and Coombs (2007a) note that
crisis managers must consider how the crisis stress might affect the employees,
victims, and their families. Organizations must provide the necessary resources
to help these groups cope.
We can take a specific set of both form and content lessons from the writing on
the initial crisis response. Table 4 provides a summary of the Initial Crisis
Response Best Practices. Form refers to the basic structure of the response.
The initial crisis response should be delivered in the first hour after a
crisis and be vetted for accuracy. Content refers to what is covered in the
initial crisis response. The initial message must provide any information
needed to aid public safety, provide basic information about what has happened,
and offer concern if there are victims. In addition, crisis managers must work
to have a consistent message between spokespersons.
Table 4: Initial Crisis Response Best Practices 1. Be quick and try to have
initial response within the first hour.
2. Be accurate by carefully checking all facts.
3. Be consistent by keeping spokespeople informed of crisis events and key
message points.
4. Make public safety the number one priority.
5. Use all of the available communication channels including the Internet,
Intranet, and mass notification systems.
6. Provide some expression of concern/sympathy for victims
7. Remember to include employees in the initial response.
8. Be ready to provide stress and trauma counseling to victims of the crisis
and their families, including employees.
Reputation Repair and Behavioral Intentions
A number of researchers in public relations, communication, and marketing have
shed light on how to repair the reputational damage a crisis inflicts on an
organization. At the center of this research is a list of reputation repair
strategies. Bill Benoit (1995; 1997) has done the most to identify the
reputation repair strategies. He analyzed and synthesized strategies from many
different research traditions that shared a concern for reputation repair.
Coombs (2007a) integrated the work of Benoit with others to create a master
list that integrated various writings into one list. Table 5 presents the
Master List of Reputation Repair Strategies. The reputation repair strategies
vary in terms of how much they accommodate victims of this crisis (those at
risk or harmed by the crisis). Accommodate means that the response focuses more
on helping the victims than on addressing organizational concerns. The master
list arranges the reputation repair strategies from the least to the most
accommodative reputation repair strategies. (For more information on reputation
repair strategies see also Ulmer, Sellnow, and Seeger, 2006).
Table 5: Master List of Reputation Repair Strategies 1.Attack the accuser:
crisis manager confronts the person or group claiming something is wrong with
the organization.
2.Denial: crisis manager asserts that there is no crisis.
3. Scapegoat: crisis manager blames some person or group outside of the
organization for the crisis.
4. Excuse: crisis manager minimizes organizational responsibility by denying
intent to do harm and/or claiming inability to control the events that
triggered the crisis.
Provocation: crisis was a result of response to some one else s actions.
Defeasibility: lack of information about events leading to the crisis
situation.
Accidental: lack of control over events leading to the crisis situation.
Good intentions: organization meant to do well
5. Justification: crisis manager minimizes the perceived damage caused by the
crisis.
6. Reminder: crisis managers tell stakeholders about the past good works of the
organization.
7. Ingratiation: crisis manager praises stakeholders for their actions.
8. Compensation: crisis manager offers money or other gifts to victims.
9. Apology: crisis manager indicates the organization takes full responsibility
for the crisis and asks stakeholders for forgiveness.
It should be noted that reputation repair can be used in the crisis response
phase, post-crisis phase, or both. Not all crises need reputation repair
efforts. Frequently the instructing information and expressions of concern are
enough to protect the reputation. When a strong reputation repair effort is
required, that effort will carry over into the post-crisis phase. Or, crisis
managers may feel more comfortable waiting until the post-crisis phase to
address reputation concerns.
A list of reputation repair strategies by itself has little utility.
Researchers have begun to explore when a specific reputation repair strategy or
combination of strategies should be used. These researchers frequently have
used attribution theory to develop guidelines for the use of reputation repair
strategies. A short explanation of attribution theory is provided along with
its relationship to crisis management followed by a summary of lessons learned
from this research.
Attribution theory believes that people try to explain why events happen,
especially events that are sudden and negative. Generally, people either
attribute responsibility for the event to the situation or the person in the
situation. Attributions generate emotions and affect how people interact with
those involved in the event. Crises are negative (create damage or threat of
damage) and are often sudden so they create attributions of responsibility.
People either blame the organization in crisis or the situation. If people
blame the organization, anger is created and people react negatively toward the
organization. Three negative reactions to attributing crisis responsibility to
an organization have been documented: (1) increased damage to an organization s
reputation, (2) reduced purchase intentions and (3) increased likelihood of
engaging in negative word-of-mouth (Coombs, 2007b; Coombs & Holladay, 2006).
Most of the research has focused on establishing the link between attribution
of crisis responsibility and the threat to the organization s reputation. A
number of studies have proven this connection exists (Coombs, 2004a; Coombs &
Holladay, 1996; Coombs & Holladay, 2002; Coombs & Holladay, 2006). The research
linking organizational reputation with purchase intention and negative
word-of-mouth is less developed but so far has confirmed these two links as
well (Coombs, 2007b; Coombs & Holladay, 2006).
Coombs (1995) pioneered the application of attribution theory to crisis
management in the public relations literature. His 1995 article began to lay
out a theory-based approach to matching the reputation repair strategies to the
crisis situation. A series of studies have tested the recommendations and
assumptions such as Coombs and Holladay (1996), Coombs & Holladay, (2002) and
Coombs (2004a), and Coombs, (2007b). This research has evolved into the
Situation Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT). SCCT argues that crisis managers
match their reputation repair strategies to the reputational threat of the
crisis situation. Crisis managers should use increasingly accommodative the
reputation repair strategies as the reputational threat from the crisis
intensifies (Coombs & Holladay, 1996; Coombs, 2007b).
Crisis managers follow a two-step process to assess the reputational threat of
a crisis. The first step is to determine the basic crisis type. A crisis
managers considers how the news media and other stakeholders are defining the
crisis. Coombs and Holladay (2002) had respondents evaluate crisis types based
on attributions of crisis responsibility. They distilled this data to group the
basic crises according to the reputational threat each one posed. Table 6
provides a list the basic crisis types and their reputational threat.
Table 6: Crisis Types by Attribution of Crisis Responsibility Victim Crises:
Minimal Crisis Responsibility
Natural disasters: acts of nature such as tornadoes or earthquakes.
Rumors: false and damaging information being circulated about you organization.
Workplace violence: attack by former or current employee on current employees
on-site.
Product Tampering/Malevolence: external agent causes damage to the
organization.
Accident Crises: Low Crisis Responsibility
Challenges: stakeholder claim that the organization is operating in an
inappropriate manner.
Technical error accidents: equipment or technology failure that cause an
industrial accident.
Technical error product harm: equipment or technology failure that cause a
product to be defective or potentially harmful.
Preventable Crises: Strong Crisis Responsibility
Human-error accidents: industrial accident caused by human error.
Human-error product harm: product is defective or potentially harmful because
of human error.
Organizational misdeed: management actions that put stakeholders at risk and/or
violate the law.
The second step is to review the intensifying factors of crisis history and
prior reputation. If an organization has a history of similar crises or has a
negative prior reputation, the reputational threat is intensified. A series of
experimental studies have documented the intensifying value of crisis history
(Coombs, 2004a) and prior reputation (Coombs & Holladay, 2001; Coombs &
Holladay, 2006; Klein & Dawar, 2004). The same crisis was found to be perceived
as having much strong crisis responsibility (a great reputational threat) when
the organization had either a previous crisis (Coombs, 2004a) or the
organization was known not to treat stakeholders well/negative prior reputation
(Coombs & Holladay, 2001; Coombs & Holladay, 2006; Klein & Dewar, 2004). Table
7 is a set of crisis communication best practices derived from attribution
theory-based research in SCCT (Coombs, 2007b, Coombs & Holladay, 1996; Coombs &
Holladay, 2001; Coombs & Holladay, 2006).
Table 7: Attribution Theory-based Crisis Communication Best Practices 1. All
victims or potential victims should receive instructing information, including
recall information. This is one-half of the base response to a crisis.
2. All victims should be provided an expression of sympathy, any information
about corrective actions and trauma counseling when needed. This can be called
the care response. This is the second-half of the base response to a crisis.
3. For crises with minimal attributions of crisis responsibility and no
intensifying factors, instructing information and care response is sufficient.
4. For crises with minimal attributions of crisis responsibility and an
intensifying factor, add excuse and/or justification strategies to the
instructing information and care response.
5. For crises with low attributions of crisis responsibility and no
intensifying factors, add excuse and/or justification strategies to the
instructing information and care response.
6. For crises with low attributions of crisis responsibility and an
intensifying factor, add compensation and/or apology strategies to the
instructing information and care response.
7. For crises with strong attributions of crisis responsibility, add
compensation and/or apology strategies to the instructing information and care
response.
8. The compensation strategy is used anytime victims suffer serious harm.
9. The reminder and ingratiation strategies can be used to supplement any
response.
10. Denial and attack the accuser strategies are best used only for rumor and
challenge crises.
In general, a reputation is how stakeholder perceive an organization. A
reputation is widely recognized as a valuable, intangible asset for an
organization and is worth protecting. But the threat posed by a crisis extends
to behavioral intentions as well. Increased attributions of organizational
responsibility for a crisis result in a greater likelihood of negative
word-of-mouth about the organization and reduced purchase intention from the
organization. Early research suggests that lessons designed to protect the
organization s reputation will help to reduce the likelihood of negative
word-of-mouth and the negative effect on purchase intentions as well (Coombs,
2007b).
Post-Crisis Phase
In the post-crisis phase, the organization is returning to business as usual.
The crisis is no longer the focal point of management s attention but still
requires some attention. As noted earlier, reputation repair may be continued
or initiated during this phase. There is important follow-up communication that
is required. First, crisis managers often promise to provide additional
information during the crisis phase. The crisis managers must deliver on those
informational promises or risk losing the trust of publics wanting the
information. Second, the organization needs to release updates on the recovery
process, corrective actions, and/or investigations of the crisis. The amount of
follow-up communication required depends on the amount of information promised
during the crisis and the length of time it takes to complete the recovery
process. If you promised a reporter a damage estimate, for example, be sure to
deliver that estimate when it is ready. West Pharmaceuticals provided recovery
updates for over a year because that is how long it took to build a new
facility to replace the one destroyed in an explosion. As Dowling (2003), the
Corporate Leadership Counsel (2003), and the Business Roundtable (2002)
observe, Intranets are an excellent way to keep employees updated, if the
employees have ways to access the site. Coombs (2007a) reports how mass
notification systems can be used as well to deliver update messages to
employees and other publics via phones, text messages, voice messages, and
e-mail. Personal e-mails and phone calls can be used too.
Crisis managers agree that a crisis should be a learning experience. The crisis
management effort needs to be evaluated to see what is working and what needs
improvement. The same holds true for exercises. Coombs (2006) recommends every
crisis management exercise be carefully dissected as a learning experience. The
organization should seek ways to improve prevention, preparation, and/or the
response. As most books on crisis management note, those lessons are then
integrated into the pre-crisis and crisis response phases. That is how
management learns and improves its crisis management process. Table 8 lists the
Post-Crisis Phase Best Practices.
Table 8: Post-Crisis Phase Best Practices 1. Deliver all information promised
to stakeholders as soon as that information is known.
2. Keep stakeholders updated on the progression of recovery efforts including
any corrective measures being taken and the progress of investigations.
3. Analyze the crisis management effort for lessons and integrate those lessons
in to the organization s crisis management system.
Conclusion
It is difficult to distill all that is known about crisis management into one,
concise entry. I have tried to identify the best practices and lessons created
by crisis management researchers and analysts. While crises begin as a negative
/threat, effective crisis management can minimize the damage and in some case
allow an organization to emerge stronger than before the crisis. However,
crises are not the ideal way to improve an organization. But no organization is
immune from a crisis so all must do their best to prepare for one. This entry
provides a number of ideas that can be incorporated into an effective crisis
management program. At the end of this entry is an annotated bibliography. The
annotated bibliography provides short summaries of key writings in crisis
management highlighting. Each entry identifies the main topics found in that
entry and provides citations to help you locate those sources.
Annotated Bibliography
Argenti, P. (2002, December). Crisis communication: Lessons from 9/11. Harvard
Business Review, 80(12), 103-109. This article provides insights into working
with employees during a crisis. The information is derived from interviews with
managers about their responses to the 9/11 tragedies.
Arpan, L.M., & Roskos-Ewoldsen, D.R. (2005). Stealing thunder: An analysis of
the effects of proactive disclosure of crisis information. Public Relations
Review 31(3), 425-433.
This article discusses an experiment that studies the idea of stealing thunder.
Stealing thunder is when an organization releases information about a crisis
before the news media or others release the information. The results found that
stealing thunder results in higher credibility ratings for a company than
allowing others to report the crisis information first. This is additional
evidence to support the notion of being quick in a crisis and telling the
organization s side of the story.
Augustine, N. R. (1995, November/December). Managing the crisis you tried to
prevent. Harvard Business Review, 73(6), 147-158. This article centers on the
six stages of a crisis: avoiding the crisis, preparing to management the
crisis, recognizing the crisis, containing the crisis, resolving the crisis,
and profiting from the crisis. The article reinforces the need to have a crisis
management plan and to test both the crisis management plan and team through
exercises. It also reinforces the need to learn (profit) from the crisis.
Barton, L. (2001). Crisis in organizations II (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, OH:
College Divisions South-Western. This is a very practice-oriented book that
provides a number of useful insights into crisis management. There is a strong
emphasis on the role of communication and public relations/affairs in the
crisis management process and the need to speak with one voice. The book
provides excellent information on crisis management plans (a template is in
Appendix D pp. 225-262); the composition of crisis management teams (pp.
14-17); the need for exercises (pp. 207-221); and the need to communicate with
employees (pp. 86-101).
Benoit, W. L. (1995). Accounts, excuses, and apologies: A theory of image
restoration. Albany: State University of New York Press. This book has a
scholarly focus on image restoration not crisis manage. However, his discussion
of image restoration strategies is very thorough (pp. 63-96). These strategies
have been used as reputation repair strategies after a crisis.
Benoit, W. L. (1997). Image repair discourse and crisis communication. Public
Relations Review, 23(2), 177-180. The article is based on his book Accounts,
excuses, and apologies: A theory of image restoration and provides a review of
image restoration strategies. The image restoration strategies are reputation
repair strategies that can be used after a crisis. It is a quicker and easiest
to use resource than the book.
Business >http://www.nfib.com/object/3783593.html. >Business Roundtable s
Post-9/11 crisis communication toolkit. (2002). Retrieved April 24, 2006,
fromhttp://www.nfib.com/object/3783593.html.
This is a very user-friendly PDF files that takes a person through the crisis
management process. There is helpful information on web-based communication
(pp. 73-82) including dark sites and the use of Intranet and e-mail to keep
employees informed. There is an explanation of templates, what are called
holding statements or fill-in-the-blank media statements including a sample
statement (pp. 28-29). It also provides information of the crisis management
plan (pp. 21-32), structure of the crisis management team (pp. 33-40) and types
of exercises (pp. 89-93) including mock press conferences.
Carney, A., & Jorden, A. (1993, August). Prepare for business-related crises.
Public Relations Journal 49, 34-35.
This article emphasize the need for a message strategy during crisis
communication. Developing and sharing a strategy helps an organization to speak
with one voice during the crisis.
Cohen, J. R. (1999). Advising clients to apologize. S. California Law Review,
72,
1009-131.
This article examines expressions of concern and full apologies from a legal
perspective. He notes that California, Massachusetts, and Florida have laws
that prevent expressions of concern from being used as evidence against someone
in a court case. The evidence from court cases suggests that expressions of
concern are helpful because they help to reduce the amount of damages sought
and the number of claims filed.
Coombs, W. T. (1995). Choosing the right words: The development of guidelines
for the selection of the appropriate crisis response strategies. Management
Communication Quarterly, 8, 447-476.
This article is the foundation for Situational Crisis Communication Theory. It
uses a decision tree to guide the selection of crisis response strategies. The
guidelines are based on matching the response to nature of the crisis
situation. A number of studies have tested the guidelines in the decision tree
and found them to be reliable.
Coombs, W. T. (2004a). Impact of past crises on current crisis communications:
Insights from situational crisis communication theory. Journal of Business
Communication, 41, 265-289.
This article documents that past crises intensify the reputational threat to a
current crisis. Since the news media reminds people of past crises, it is
common for organizations in crisis to face past crises as well. Crisis managers
need to adjust their reputation repair strategies if there are past
crises-crisis managers will need to use more accommodative strategies than they
normally would. Accidents are a good example. Past accidents indicate a pattern
of problems so people will view the organization as much more responsible for
the crisis than if the accident were isolated. Greater responsibility means the
crisis is more of a threat to the reputation and the organization must focus
the response more on addressing victim concerns.
Coombs, W. T. (2004b). Structuring crisis discourse knowledge: The West
Pharmaceutics case. Public Relations Review, 30, 467-474.
This article is a case analysis of the West Pharmaceutical 2003 explosion at
its Kinston, NC facility. The case documents the extensive use of the Internet
to keep employees and other stakeholders informed. It also develops a list of
crisis communication standards based on SCCT. The crisis communication
standards offer suggestions for how crisis managers can match their crisis
response to the nature of the crisis situation.
Coombs, W. T. (2006). Code red in the boardroom: Crisis management as
organizational DNA. Westport, CN: Praeger.
This is a book written for a practitioner audience. The book focuses on how to
respond to three common types of crises: attacks on an organization (pp.
13-26), accidents (pp. 27-44), and management misbehavior pp. (45-64). There
are also detailed discussions of how crisis management plans must be a living
document (pp. 77-90), different types of exercises for crisis management (pp.
84-87), and samples of specific elements of a crisis management plan in
Appendix A (pp. 103-109).
Coombs, W. T. (2007a). Ongoing crisis communication: Planning, Managing, and
responding (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage. This book is designed to teach
students and managers about the crisis management process. There is a detailed
discussion of spokesperson training pp. (78-87) and a discussion of the traits
and skills crisis team members need to posses to be effective during a crisis
(pp. 66-77). The book emphasizes the value of follow-up information and updates
(pp. 147-148) along with the learning from the crisis (pp. 152-162). There is
also a discussion of the utility of mass notification systems during a crisis
(pp. 97-98).
Coombs, W. T. (2007b). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis:The
development and application of situational crisis communication theory.
Corporate Reputation Review, 10, 1-14.
This article provides a summary of research conducted on and lessons learned
from Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT). The article includes a
discussion how the research can go beyond reputation to include behavioral
intentions such as purchase intention and negative word-of-mouth. The
information in the article is based on experimental studies rather than case
studies.
Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J. (1996). Communication and attributions in a
crisis: An experimental study of crisis communication. Journal of Public
Relations Research, 8(4), 279-295. This article uses an experimental design to
document the negative effect of crises on an organization s reputation. The
research also establishes that the type of reputation repair strategies
managers use does make a difference on perceptions of the organization. An
important finding is proof that the more an organization is held responsible
for the crisis, the more accommodative a reputation repair strategy must be in
order to be effective/protect the organization s reputation.
Coombs, W. T. and Holladay, S. J. (2001). An extended examination of the crisis
situation: A fusion of the relational management and symbolic approaches.
Journal of Public Relations Research, 13, 321-340.
This study reports on an experiment designed to test how prior reputation
influenced the attributions of crisis responsibility. The study found that an
unfavorable prior reputation had the biggest effect. People rated an
organization as having much greater responsibility for a crisis when the prior
reputation was negative than if the prior reputation was neutral or positive.
Similar results were found for the effects of prior reputation on the
post-crisis reputation.
Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J. (2002). Helping crisis managers protect
reputational assets: Initial tests of the situational crisis communication
theory. Management Communication Quarterly, 16, 165-186. This article begins to
map how stakeholders respond to some very common crises. Using the level of
responsibility for a crisis that people attribute to an organization, the
research found that common crises can be categorized into one of three groups:
victim cluster has minimal attributions of crisis responsibility (natural
disasters, rumors, workplace violence, and tampering), accidental cluster has
low attributions of crisis responsibility (technical-error product harm and
accidents), and preventable cluster has strong attributions of crisis
responsibility (human-error product harm and accidents, management misconduct,
and organizational misdeeds). The article recommends different crisis response
strategies depending upon the attributions of crisis responsibility.
Coombs, W. T. & Holladay, S. J. (2006). Halo or reputational capital:
Reputation and crisis management. Journal of Communication Management, 10(2),
123-137.
This article examines if and when a favorable pre-crisis reputation can protect
an organization with a halo effect. The halo effect says that strong positive
feelings will allow people to overlook a negative event-it can shield an
organization from reputational damage during a crisis. The study found that
only in a very specific situation does a halo effect occur. In most crises, the
reputation is damaged suggesting reputational capital is a better way to view a
strong, positive pre-crisis reputation. An organization accumulates
reputational capital by positively engaging publics. A crisis causes an
organization to loss some reputational capital. The more pre-crisis
reputational capital, the stronger the reputation will be after the crisis and
the easier it should be to repair.
Corporate Leadership Council. (2003). Crisis management strategies. Retrieved
September 12, 2006, fromhttp://www.executiveboard.com/EXBD/Images/PDF/
Crisis%20Management%20Strategies.pdf .
This online PDF file summarizes key crisis management insights from the
Corporate Leadership Council. The topics include the value and elements of a
crisis management plan (pp 1-3), structure of a crisis management team (pp.
4-6), communicating with employees (pp. 7-9), using web sites including dark
sites (p. 7), using pre-packaged information/templates (p. 7), and the value
of employee assistance programs (p. 10). The file is an excellent overview to
key elements of crisis management with an emphasis on using new technology.
Dean, D. H. (2004. Consumer reaction to negative publicity: Effects of
corporate
reputation, response, and responsibility for a crisis event. Journal of
Business Communication, 41, 192-211.
This article reports an experimental study that included a comparison how
people reacted to expressions of concern verses no expression of concern.
Post-crisis reputations were stronger when an organization provided an
expression of concern.
Dilenschneider, R. L. (2000). The corporate communications bible: Everything
you need to know to become a public relations expert. Beverly Hills: New
Millennium. This book has a strong chapter of crisis communication (pp.
120-142). It emphasizes how a crisis is a threat to an organization s
reputation and the need to be strategic with the communications response.
Downing, J. R. (2003). American Airlines use of mediated employee channels
after the 9/11 attacks. Public Relations Review, 30, 37-48.
This article reviews how American Airlines used its Intranet, web sites, and
reservation system to keep employees informed after 9/11. The article also
comments on the use of employee assistance programs after a traumatic event.
Recommendations include using all available channels to inform employees during
and after a crisis as well as recommending organizations gray out color from
their web sites to reflect the somber nature of the situation.
Fearn-Banks, K. (2001). Crisis communications: A casebook approach (2nd ed.).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. This book is more a textbook for students using
case studies. Chapter 2 (pp. 18-33) has a useful discussion of elements of the
crisis communication plan, a subset of the crisis management plan. Chapter 4
has some tips on media relations (pp. 63-71).
Hearit, K. M. (1994, Summer). Apologies and public relations crises at
Chrysler, Toshiba, and Volvo. Public Relations Review, 20(2), 113-125.
This article provides a strong rationale for the value of quick but accurate
crisis response. The focus is on how a quick response helps an organization to
control the crisis situation.
Hearit, K. M. (2006). Crisis management by apology: Corporate response to
allegations of wrongdoing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
This book is a detailed, scholarly treatment of apologies that has direct
application to crisis management. Chapter 1 helps to explain the different ways
the term
apology is used and concentrates on how it should be treated as a public
acceptance of responsibility (pp. 1-18). Chapter 3 details the legal and
liability issues involved when an organization chooses to use an apology.
Kellerman, B. (2006, April). When should a leader apologize and when not?
Harvard Business Review, 84(4), 73-81. This article defines an apology as
accepting responsibility for a crisis and expressing regret. The value of
apologies is highlighted along with suggestions for when an apology is
appropriate and inappropriate. An apology should be used when it will serve an
important purpose, the crisis has serious consequences, and the cost of an
apology will be lower than the cost of being silent.
Klein, J. & Dawar, N. (2004). Corporate social responsibility and consumers
attributions of brand evaluations in product-harm crisis. International Journal
of Marketing, 21, 203-217.
This article reports on an experimental study that compared how prior
information about corporate social responsibility (a dimension of prior
reputation) affected attributions of crisis responsibility. People attribute
much greater responsibility to the negative corporate social responsibility
condition than to the neutral or positive conditions. There was no difference
between the attributions in the positive and neutral conditions.
Lackluster online PR no aid in crisis response. (2002). PR News. Retrieved
April 20, 2006, fromhttp://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe
This short article notes how journalists and other interested parties are using
web sites during crises to collect information. The article highlights the
value of having a dark site ready before a crisis. A sample of various
criteria for a crisis web are discussed by reviewing Tyco s web site as a case
study.
Lerbinger, O. (1997). The crisis manager: Facing risk and responsibility.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
This book centers on seven types of crises: natural, technological,
confrontation, malevolence, skewed management values, deception, and management
misconduct. There is a strong focus on the role of media relations in crisis
management (pp. 27-29 and pp. 31-34).
Mitroff, I. I., Harrington, K., & Gai, E. (1996, September). Thinking about the
unthinkable. Across the Board, 33(8), 44-48.
This article reinforces the value of creating and training crisis management
teams by having them conduct various types of exercises.
Sonnenfeld, S. (1994, July/August). Media policy What media policy? Harvard
Business Review, 72(4), 18-19.
This is a short article that discusses the need for spokesperson training prior
to a crisis.
Sturges, D. L. (1994). Communicating through crisis: A strategy for
organizational survival, Management Communication Quarterly, 7, 297-316.
This article emphasizes how communication needs shift during a crisis. The
first need is for instructing information, the information that tells people
how to protect themselves physically from a crisis. The next need is adjusting
information, the information that helps people to cope psychologically with the
crisis. The initial crisis response demands a focus on instructing and
adjusting information. The third and final type of communication is reputation
repair. Reputation repair is only used once the instructing and adjusting
information have been provided.
Taylor, M., & Kent, M. L. (2007). Taxonomy of mediated crisis responses. Public
Relations Review, 33, 140-146.
This article summarizes the best practices for using the Internet during a
crisis and advocates more organizations should be using the Internet,
especially web sites, during a crisis. The six best practices are: (1) include
all your tradition media relations materials on your web site; (2) try to make
use of the interactive nature of the Internet for your crisis web content; (3)
provide detailed and clear information on web sites during for a product
recall; (4) tell your side of the story on the crisis web site including
quotations from managers; (5) when necessary, create different web pages for
different stakeholders tailored to their interests in the crisis; and (6) work
with government agencies including hyperlinks to relevant government agency web
sites.
Tyler, L. (1997). Liability means never being able to say you re sorry:
Corporate guilt, legal constraints, and defensiveness in corporate
communication. Management Communication Quarterly, 11(1), 51-73.
This article discusses the legal constraints that prevent apologies during a
crisis. It is a hard look at the choices crisis managers must make between
addressing victims in a particular way and financial constraints. The article
is a reminder that crisis management occurs within the larger context of
organizational operations and is subject to financial constraints.
Ulmer, R. R., Sellnow, T. L., & Seeger, M. W. (2006). Effective crisis
communication: Moving from crisis to opportunity. Thousand Oaks: Sage.This book
is mix of lessons and case studies. Many of the cases focus on large scale
crises or what some would call disasters. Large scale crises/disasters are
unique because they require multiple agency coordination and are often managed
by government agencies. Chapter 12 (pp. 177-187) on renewal as a reputation
repair strategy after a crisis in unique and informative. Renewal focuses on
optimism and an emphasis on moving to some new and better state after the
crisis. Not all organizations can engage in renewal after a crisis. Renewal
requires that an organization have performed ethically before the crisis and
have had strong stakeholder relationships before the crisis.