Crisis Communication Practice Research Articles

Crisis Communication on Social Media: Managing Reputation and Maintaining Public Trust

This study aims to analyze crisis communication strategies implemented by organizations in Indonesia through social media, using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method. This method was chosen to collect, evaluate, and analyze relevant literature, in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of crisis communication practices in Indonesia in the context of social media. The data collection process was carried out by filtering relevant scientific articles, reports, and studies related to crisis communication and social media, published through various sources such as academic journals, conferences, and industry reports. Each selected article was evaluated based on the criteria of relevance, methodological quality, and its contribution to the understanding of crisis communication in social media. The results of the study indicate that effective crisis communication in social media requires a fast, transparent, and consistent response. Organizations that successfully manage communication through social media have a greater chance of maintaining public trust and reducing the negative impact on their reputation. The speed of response is a key factor, given the very rapid spread of information on social media. In addition, transparency and consistency of messages are essential to prevent public confusion. This study concludes that organizations in Indonesia must design communication strategies that are adaptive to the dynamics of social media, by ensuring clear, accurate, open messages, and monitoring public reactions directly. Thus, effective communication can help organizations manage crises and maintain public trust.

The what and how of warning messages: An experimental examination of instructing information and linguistic features use

AbstractWe conducted a between‐subjects experiment (N = 1626) to examine the effects of instructing information, an important theoretical keystone in crisis communication research, in predicting two key outcomes in the literature—protective behavioral intentions and message retransmission intentions. Given the communicative context, high‐impact weather warnings, we additionally considered the moderating role of linguistic features use in predicting these outcomes. Based upon theory and research in this area, we examined the mediating roles of self‐efficacy and perceived instructing information in predicting protective behavioral intentions and message retransmission intentions, respectively. Results mainly support our hypotheses. The instructing information conditions predicted the proposed intervening variable, which in turn predicted both outcomes. Linguistic features use moderated the direct effect of instructing information in predicting protective behavioral intentions, but not message retransmission intentions. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for crisis communication theory and practice.

‘There is so much we can learn from the mistakes of Covid-19’: service provider recommendations for more accessible crisis communication in multicultural Australia

ABSTRACT This paper presents the findings of a qualitative, reflexive investigation into the challenges facing Australia’s migrant and refugee communities when engaging with mediated communication during global crisis events. Informed through a Culture-Centred Approach, I present an interpretive thematic analysis of interview and focus group discussion with 16 service providers and community leaders who supported migrant and refugee communities during the Covid-19 pandemic in Melbourne, Australia. Participants discussed significant problems concerning the accessibility of Covid-related communication, noting numerous health equity implications, which many described as heightened for migrant and/or refugee communities with disabilities. These findings lend further credence to calls for more intersectional and participatory research and practice approaches, with participants advocating strategies that centre the embodied expertise of people with direct experience of both racialised exclusion and health inequity. I discuss these recommendations with careful consideration of documented challenges in global efforts to inform crisis communication scholarship, policy, and practice.

Effectiveness of Crisis Communication Strategies on Public Trust in Chad

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of crisis communication strategies on public trust in Chad. Materials and Methods: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study indicate that transparent and timely communication significantly influences public trust during crises. Organizations that prioritize honesty, accuracy, and empathy in their communication tend to experience higher levels of trust among the public. Furthermore, the use of multiple communication channels, such as social media, traditional media, and direct communication with stakeholders, enhances the effectiveness of crisis communication strategies. Additionally, acknowledging mistakes, providing regular updates, and demonstrating a commitment to addressing concerns are key factors that contribute to rebuilding trust in the aftermath of a crisis. Overall, these findings underscore the importance of proactive and transparent communication in maintaining and restoring public trust during challenging times. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Situation crisis communication theory, coordinated management of meaning and image repair theory may be used to anchor future studies on assessing the effectiveness of crisis communication strategies on public trust in Chad. Implement tailored crisis communication approaches that are specific to different sectors or industries, considering their unique challenges and stakeholder dynamics. Advocate for the development and adoption of guidelines and standards for crisis communication practices, emphasizing the importance of timeliness, transparency, and empathetic communication.

Public transit and crisis communication for critical populations: A content analysis of web-based communication strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the United States, selected subgroups of historically marginalized populations include people with disabilities and people in racial/ethnic minority groups ("critical populations") who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. These groups are also more likely to use public transit to access essential resources; thus, understanding transit agencies' communication strategies to reach these populations during crises is of utmost importance. We conducted a content analysis of 16 transit agencies' webpages and Twitter® accounts during the first 6 months of the pandemic to assess alignment of agencies' COVID-19-related communications with best practices in crisis communication across five themes: perceivability, navigability, understandability, suitability, and content. Findings suggested that transit agencies frequently communicated about schedule changes and safety, eg, masking, station sanitation, and reflected racial/ethnic diversity in images. Yet, less than half consistently used communication strategies known to enhance accessibility and uptake of messaging among critical populations, eg, alternative text, and even less reflected disability diversity in images. We offer recommendations for public transit agencies to move beyond compliance to effectively address the needs of ridership most substantially impacted by public health emergencies.

Mediated crises and strategic crisis communication of third sector organizations: a content analysis of crisis reporting in six countries

PurposeThis study aims to contribute to strategic crisis communication research by exploring international media representations of third sector crises and crisis response; expanding the range of crisis types beyond transgressions; and developing a framework that integrates framing and crisis communication theory.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative content analysis was applied to identify patterns in crisis reporting of 18 news media outlets in Canada, Germany, India, Switzerland, UK and US. Using an inductive framing approach, crisis coverage of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) between 2015 and 2018 was analyzed across a wide range of crises, including but not limited to prominent cases such as Oxfam, Kids Company, or the Islamic Research Foundation.FindingsThe news media in six countries report more internal crises in the third sector than external crises. The most frequent crisis types were fraud and corruption, sexual violence/personal exploitation and attacks on organizations. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three components of crisis response strategies quoted in the media, conditional rebuild, defensive and justified denial strategies. Causal attributions and conditional rebuild strategies significantly influenced media evaluations of organizational crisis response. Three frames of third sector crises were detected; the critique, the damage and the victim frame. These frames emphasize different crisis types, causes, crisis response strategies and evaluations of crisis response.Originality/valueThe study reveals the particularities of crises and crisis communication in the third sector and identifies factors that influence mediated portrayals of crises and crisis response strategies of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) from an international comparative perspective. The findings have relevant implications for crisis communication theory and practice.

The Best Practices and Strategies for Crisis Communication and Reputation Management in Kenya

Purpose: The aim of the study was to the best practices and strategies for crisis communication and reputation management in Kenya
 Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
 Findings: the best practices and strategies for crisis communication and reputation management in Kenya revolve around timely and transparent communication, local context sensitivity, community engagement, digital media utilization, collaboration with traditional media, partnerships with government agencies, internal communication, preparedness, stakeholder engagement, and ethical conduct. These findings provide valuable insights for organizations and government bodies in Kenya seeking to navigate and mitigate the impact of crises while preserving their reputation.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), image restoration theory & cultural context theory may be used to anchor future studies on the best practices and strategies for crisis communication and reputation management in Kenya. Proactively develop crisis communication plans tailored to Kenya's unique challenges, such as natural disasters or political instability. Align crisis communication practices with Kenya's legal and regulatory framework, including data protection and media laws.

The Impact of Fake News and Misinformation on Political Communication and Civic Engagement in Nigeria

Purpose: The aim of the study was to the impact of fake news and misinformation on political communication and civic engagement in Nigeria
 Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
 Findings: Fake news and misinformation have a significant impact on political communication and civic engagement in Nigeria. They hinder informed decision-making, fuel political polarization, and erode public trust in institutions. These issues also contribute to the spread of rumors and conspiracy theories, undermining the credibility of accurate news sources. Furthermore, fake news is used for political manipulation and inciting violence in the country. Addressing this problem requires a comprehensive approach, including media literacy programs, fact-checking efforts, and legislative measures to combat the dissemination of false information.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Agenda-setting theory, selective exposure theory & social identity theory may be used to anchor future studies on impact of fake news and misinformation on political communication and civic engagement in Nigeria. Proactively develop crisis communication plans tailored to Kenya's unique challenges, such as natural disasters or political instability. Align crisis communication practices with Kenya's legal and regulatory framework, including data protection and media laws.

Public controversy and citizens' attitude formation about animal research: A case for scholarship and recommendations on conflicts at the science-society interface.

Activist groups attack animal research and put scientists and their institutions under pressure, whereas scientists often remain silent. We report an interdisciplinary research project driven by a communication science perspective on how citizens respond to news reports about animal research (3 experiments, overall N = 765) and a German science-initiated information platform ("Tierversuche verstehen"; controlled user study, N = 100). Findings demonstrate that a critical journalist perspective within neutral, two-sided news reports (e.g., skeptical expert statements or images of suffering animals) does not affect citizen opinion strongly. Information media provided by scientific institutions seem to be welcomed even by citizens who hold critical prior attitudes. From these results, we develop a set of recommendations for future public communication of animal research that builds on best practices in organizational and crisis communication. These suggestions are intended to empower animal researchers to actively participate in public debate to support citizens' informed attitude formation.

Internal crisis communication practices and job performance during the COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating effects of internal crisis communication satisfaction

ABSTRACT The study examines the influence of internal crisis communication practices on internal crisis communication satisfaction and the job performance of frontline employees. Also, the mediating effects of internal crisis communication satisfaction are considered. Data were collected from 284 frontline employees working in the UAE public service organisations, and SmartPLS was used to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that internal crisis communication practices are positively related to internal crisis communication satisfaction. Also, the relationships between internal crisis communication satisfaction and the identified work outcomes (job satisfaction, employee engagement and affective organisation commitment) were statistically significant. This study will assist service organisations in converging their attention on communication practices, particularly during crisis time to enhance employees’ work-related outcomes and achieve desired job performance. Our research extends work on organisational communication in an emerging economy context. This study offers solutions to advance communication practices in service organisations.

КРИЗИСНЫЕ КОММУНИКАЦИИ ВЛАСТИ И ОБЩЕСТВА В КНР НА ПРИМЕРЕ КЕЙСА «ДАВКА В ШАНХАЕ 2014»

The modern digital world is dominated by new media, which, compared to traditional ones, are characterized by promptness, interactivity, which often leads to distortions of transmitted information. The latter circumstance is especially important in the communication between the authorities and society in crisis situations: to promptly place an official statement from the authorities, to stop the spread of rumors and knock down the wave of panic. The article analyzes the crisis communication of the authorities and society on the example of the “2014 Shanghai Stampede” case on December 31st, 2014, as a result of which 36 people died and 49 suffered. Photos and videos of this event spread uncontrollably around the world through social media, which caused a whole wave of alarming rumors. As an empirical material for the analysis, traditional Chinese media were involved: the “People’s daily” newspaper, the “Liberation Daily” newspaper, the “Shanghai Issue” account on Weibo from January 1 to January 21, 2015. The purpose of the article is to analyze the crisis communication practices of Shanghai municipal authorities with the public, to identify the used situational communication strategies and to evaluate them taking the Chinese specifics into account.

Crisis construction in the comtemporary communication environment: a dynamic, complex, and mis/disinformation-rich process

Digital technologies have revolutionized the current media and communication ecosystem, changing the dynamics of information exchange during disruptive events. These changes, combined with the range of global crises and challenges that the world has been recently facing, warrant allocating the process of crisis communication greater scholarly attention. Against this background, a review of the crisis communication literature is herein conducted to identify the key features and emerging trends characteristic of the contemporary communication landscape and thereby contribute to informing future decision-making. The literature review unveiled the dynamic, complex, and mis/disinformation-dominated nature of modern crisis communication channels. Equally important, drawing on these observations, this research outlined two key recommendations for practitioners to upgrade their crisis communication practices and keep abreast of the changing media and information paradigms. On a theoretical plane, the article recommends a more practice-oriented approach to be adopted by future crisis communication studies, thus following a more prescriptive research agenda.

Assessing the comprehensibility of SMS warnings: An example of crisis communication in the Estonian trilingual landscape

This research aims to assess the comprehensibility of SMS warnings in three languages and explore effective communication strategies for conveying vital information during emergencies. The study focuses on understanding the impact of linguistic elements on different language communities. The findings will contribute to the development of recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of warning communication through SMS. The study gathered feedback from a sample of 6909 participants, who were recruited through various media platforms, including Facebook. Participants provided their consent via LimeSurvey survey tool to protect their data. A test message was sent to 6597 participants nationwide, with feedback received from 5028 individuals. The results indicated that 96% of respondents read the message immediately upon noticing it. However, it is important to note that this self-selecting sampling method may not represent the general population, and therefore, extrapolation of the results or probability analyses cannot be conducted. The reliance on social media for participant recruitment resulted in an under-representation of non-internet and non-social media users, which may affect the perception of threats conveyed through notifications. The research was conducted in four stages: preparation, message delivery, feedback collection, and data analysis. The nationwide message was trilingual (Estonian, Russian in Latin characters, and English), while regional messages varied in script used and also the order of languages. The data was collected through LimeSurvey from November 29th to December 10th, 2022. This study sheds light on comprehensibility of trilingual SMS warnings and identifies areas for improvement. The findings provide valuable insights for improving crisis communication practices and optimising the effectiveness of SMS alerts in emergencies.

Exploring the active-empathic listening behaviors of the Quezon City local government social media at the time of the pandemic

Organizations have substantially taken to social media their attempts to address the communication gaps caused by COVID-19. This investigation sought to explore how a local government unit’s social media page practiced and manifested active-empathic listening in response to the communication challenges brought about by the global health emergency. Although this study recognizes that active-empathic listening is a dimension already integrated in local interpersonal contexts, there is still a need to contextualize listening behaviors exchanged in social media in consideration of the local government unit’s crisis communication practices. Press releases from Quezon City’s official Facebook page were selected and analyzed using content analysis anchored in Bodie’s Active-Empathic Listening Scale. The study discovered that more than half of all key phrases and sentences that exhibited listening behaviors in the press releases manifested sensing behaviors – they reflected active-empathic listening through being sensitive and receptive to public opinion, acknowledging that their constituents were being sought and heard, and verbalizing empathy. A number of messages also demonstrated the responding listening dimension, with statements denoting proactive measures done to address the citizen’s concerns. Only a few messages were found to have exhibited processing listening behaviors which are messages aimed to verbalize the cognitive processes of hearing and remembering. By successfully integrating dimensions of active-empathic listening, Quezon City – through its Facebook page – managed to not only deliver public health information but also extend empathy, social support, and responsiveness to its constituents. The study’s findings ultimately suggested how local government units can utilize social media to incorporate relational initiatives to make crisis communication more empathetic and interpersonal.

The Global Study of COVID News: Scope, Findings, and Implications of Quantitative Content Analyses of the COVID-19 News Coverage in the First Two Years of the Pandemic

ABSTRACT Researchers and practitioners have unanimously acknowledged the impact of legacy media coverage of past pandemics as well as COVID-19 and its importance for health-related risk communication. Therefore, this study provides scholars and health communication practitioners with a deeper understanding of the patterns, main themes, and limitations of media reporting and peer-reviewed research in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in different national media environments. Because the objective is to evaluate patterns, this paper focuses on early quantitative and automated content analyses for theoretical contribution, geographic diversity, methodological rigor, and inclusion of risk and crisis communication theory. It also assesses whether authors deduced implications, for both theory and practice of health-related risk and crisis communication. We conducted a content analysis of 66 studies in peer-reviewed journals from the beginning of the pandemic until April 2022. The findings demonstrate that early quantitative analyses of the news coverage of COVID-19 are often not theory-driven, apply heterogeneous forms of framing analysis, and lack references to risk and crisis communication theory. Consequently, only few implications for health communication practice during pandemics were drawn. However, there is evidence of improvement in geographic scope compared to previous research. The discussion addresses the importance of developing a consistent approach to framing analyses of risk and crisis media coverage and the importance of well-designed cross-cultural research in a global pandemic.

Heterogeneity of crisis communication practices in hotels: Anti-COVID-19 measures on Adriatic beach hotels’ websites

Based on situational crisis communication theory, this study designs a research framework to identify differences in crisis communication practises on beach hotel websites in different Adriatic countries and between three consecutive summer seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative inductive content analysis of official pandemic-related guidelines/recommendations from national and international competent organizations was carried out. Subsequently, an overlooked repeated measures design with deductive quantitative content analysis of crisis communications on hotel websites during the three summer seasons was conducted. Employing the McNemar test, the Cochran's Q-test and Friedman test with post-hoc comparisons, it was discovered that (1) beside the bolstering strategy, the new ‘ignore strategy’ of crisis communication was also identified, which has many implications, (2) communication of anti-COVID-19 measures is statistically significant and relatively strongly associated with the country in which hotels are located, and (3) the number of different announcements on anti-COVID-19 measures is significantly different only between two seasons.

A public health crisis in the university: Impact of crisis response strategies on universities’ transparency and post-crisis relationships during COVID 19 pandemic

During the COVID 19 pandemic, one of the most critical tasks of the university was to effectively communicate with students, faculty, and staff members. This study aims to explore perceived universities’ crisis response messages during the pandemic and examine the effectiveness of each response strategy on public relations outcomes. A survey with 346 university students in the U.S., results showed how defensive and accommodative response strategies differently affected PR outcomes. Accommodative strategies generated higher OPR and greater perceived transparency efforts among students, while several defensive strategies affected students’ negative evaluations on post-crisis OPR and perceived transparency of their universities. Such results revealed valuable insights that make significant contributions to theory and practices in university crisis communication and management, especially when dealing with public health crises that are seen as external locus of control.

Integrating Moral Outrage in Situational Crisis Communication Theory: A Triadic Appraisal Model for Crises

This study uses moral outrage to create a triadic appraisal of crises for situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). The addition of moral outrage improves the theory with an eye toward enhancing its application to the practice of crisis communication. The authors argue that adding moral outrage resulted in a needed reconceptualization of the preventable crisis cluster in SCCT identified by earlier researchers. Moral outrage becomes a third factor stakeholders utilize to assess crisis threats along with (1) determining if the situation is negative and (2) evaluations of crisis responsibility. The results of the study indicate that the preventable crisis cluster should be treated as three distinct sub-clusters. We argue that this triadic appraisal of crisis threat improves SCCT theoretically and has implications for the practice of crisis communication.

Crisis communication during emergency (on the example of the Al-Farabi KazNU)

Higher education institutions in Kazakhstan face various imperatives to better deal with the myriad crises affecting their staff and campuses. A crisis is an unexpected or unforeseen event that disrupts and threatens an organization and can be caused by both human and natural causes. Social media has become a powerful tool in crisis management on campus. Social media has challenged crisis communications professionals at universities. The main purpose of this study is to explore the usefulness of social media as a crisis communication practice in the university. The main research question: “How and what social network technologies are selected, planned, implemented and controlled in anti-crisis management at universities, in particular, at al-Farabi KazNU, in the leading multidisciplinary higher educational institution of Kazakhstan?” The “January tragedy of 2022” is considered as a period of emergency. Because of this, secondary research questions arise that relate to linked components of social networks and crisis management and include the following: How was information received during the January events? What types of communication were used? How do university crisis communication officers monitor and respond to social media in the myriad stages of crises? The results of this study include documenting practices that contribute to the successful integration of crisis communication in social networks. The conclusions are of particular interest and can be used in scientific research on the problems of studying crisis communication. The work also provides an opportunity to expand the understanding of the tragic January events, as it opens up the results of the online survey "Crisis communications during the inversion period of the January events". Therefore, the factual material introduced into scientific circulation, conclusions, assessments, recommendations make it possible to use them in the creation of generalizing works on the issues under study. Keywords: crisis communication, social networks, January tragedy, emergency period.

Elaborating the concept of threat in contingency theory: An integration with moral outrage and situational crisis communication theory

The notion of threat is central to contingency theory in general and its specific applications to crisis communication. Contingency theory researchers have noted how the concept of threat needs to be developed in more depth. This paper integrates moral outrage into the threat appraisal model by refining and reusing the threat level variable. We advance an explanation of extreme threat level crises based upon moral outrage and articulate a series of propositions about their effects on the threat appraisal process. Specifically, this manuscript incorporates research related to extreme crises and moral outrage to advance the new conceptualization of threat appraisal that features the role of emotions in crisis communication theory and practice. We believe enhancing threat assessment improves the application of contingency theory to crisis communication and may be a factor to consider more generally for how threat is conceptualized within contingency theory.