Crisis Management Policies Research Articles

CONCEPT OF CRISIS IN SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE

The article examines the main approaches to the concept and content of crisis in scientific literature. The main trends in the development of the crisis and its contradictions are analyzed. It is emphasized that most crises and their understanding are the result of a combination of human errors, institutional «failures» and constant changes in the sphere of functioning of society and states. The main stages of the development of theoretical approaches regarding the concept and content of the crisis and its main derivatives are considered. It has been proven that he does not have a clear understanding of the concept and essence of the crisis; there are three main approaches to understanding the concept and content of crisis; there are several stages of development and formation of the concept and content of the crisis; for the most part, researchers give this phenomenon a positive or negative character. This is explained by the complex nature of these phenomena and insufficient attention for a long time. It is indicated that analyzing the existing definitions of the concept of «crisis», we can talk about three main approaches: a crisis is a stage of the life cycle of any system, that is, a form of its development; crisis is a turning point in the functioning of the system, which provokes any changes, regardless of the result; a crisis is a deterioration of one or more parameters of the system's functioning, which can even lead to its final disappearance. It is emphasized that the crisis is not a separate phenomenon, but a process unfolding as various factors and forces interact in an unpredictable manner; disruption of the usual daily rhythm of life; the emergence and increase of anxiety and stress in the population; potential and real threats to basic values and structural social systems. It has been proven that all views on the concept and meaning of «crisis» and related concepts are determined by the established framework of their interpretation, as well as by the theoretical and spatiotemporal relationship in which they are interpreted. The conducted research shows that in modern scientific literature there are many approaches to understanding the concepts of crisis and risk, sometimes they are even opposite to each other. In this regard, it is appropriate to generalize the existing approaches to these concepts. This will provide an opportunity to more comprehensively reveal the essence of the concepts and will help during the formation of crisis and risk management policy. The modern world is quite complex and dynamic, which leads to the appearance of an increasing number of various crises and risks. Only a thorough understanding and perception of the crisis will allow, if not to avoid them, then to get out of them with the least losses.

Between Here and There. The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Restoring the Supply Chain of Face Masks During the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract As a cross-border, transboundary crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic affected societies worldwide, compromising socio-technical systems across geographical, judicial, and administrative borders. The outbreak can be considered a health crisis, but due to the measures taken to control the spread of the virus, it also exposed the global medical supply chain’s vulnerability. Formal authorities struggling to restore the supply chain caused serious problems in the crisis response as the supply of vital medical equipment was scrutinized. However, unexpected allies including social entrepreneurial initiatives provided bottom-up solutions to restore the broken supply chain. This paper seeks to bring attention to how social entrepreneurs respond to a crisis alongside the formal crisis governance system and generate resources related to product development and logistics. By presenting a case study about how Refugee Company’s “Mondmaskerfabriek” (Face Mask Factory) engaged with the cross-border dimension of the COVID-19 crisis, we show how a social enterprise was able to establish a supply chain and domestically produce personal protection equipment. As the article shows, both crisis management scholars and policy makers should pay more attention to the potential of social entrepreneurial activities during crisis.

The Impact of Neoliberalism on Crisis Management in Bali’s Tourism Sector

ABSTRACT With the demise of sustainable tourism as a panacea for the community-level impacts of mass tourism, some scholars have) called for destination management and planning to re-focus on the politics behind tourism. In response, we examine tourism destination management from a political economy perspective to provide a contemporary understanding of tourism crises and inform what changes are required to achieve sustainable tourism. We do this by investigating of a well-known global tourism destination, Bali, using interviews and a survey. These indicate the extent to which neoliberal development policies in Indonesia’s tourism sector have intensified Bali’s susceptibility to crises and kept crisis management policies minimal, temporary and unable to respond effectively. While the obvious argument is that tourism planning at all levels needs to be more cognisant of the sector’s vulnerability to crisis, neoliberal development doctrine inhibits engagement with crisis and its impacts on society, which was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How Do Crises Affect Policy Subsystems? The Evolution of Policy Core Beliefs in the EU Asylum Policy

AbstractCrises, shocks, and perturbations are frequently considered turning points in public policy literature. The Advocacy Coalition Framework has become one of the most employed policy process frameworks, focusing on policy subsystems, belief systems and shocks as one of the drivers of policy change. Relying on a network approach, this article aims at analysing the EU asylum policy by exploring the prioritisation of policy core beliefs before, during and after the so‐called refugee crisis. From a methodological perspective, discourse network analysis (DNA) is employed. The results show that the system of policy core beliefs has not stabilised in the aftermath of the crisis, implying a ‘conservative’ crisis response approach and short‐term effects on the policy subsystem. The innovation of this article stands on the theoretical–analytical elaborations of some crisis management and public policy literature core concepts and the empirical testing of said concepts through an original dataset with DNA.

Controversial issues in crisis management. Bridging public policy and crisis management to better understand and address crises

AbstractThe current body of multidisciplinary literature on crisis management still has some unresolved problems. This paper focuses on the following four “controversial issues” in dealing with crises: the usefulness of emergency plans; early signal detection; decision‐making amid high uncertainty; and the centralization/decentralization dilemma. The paper first presents the various, contradictory dimensions of these controversial issues, drawing on different strands of organization research, public policy theory, and crisis management studies. Next, these controversial issues are analyzed through the lens of public policy research, drawing specifically on the literature on policy robustness and policy capacities. This theoretical application shows how controversial issues can be framed differently and thus overcome—at least from an analytical and theoretical perspective—confirming that a bridge between crisis management and public policy can be very fruitful in improving our understanding of how crises can be addressed.

Trust as a catalyst: revealing the impact of government trust and professional trust on public health policy compliance during a pandemic.

Existing research has extensively explored the relationship between government trust and compliance behaviour, but significant controversies exist. Some studies suggest a strong positive correlation between the two. Other studies have found that government trust hinders compliance behaviour. However, during the pandemic, the effectiveness of public health policies largely depends on the public's compliance with these policies. To examine the aforementioned controversies, this study utilizes survey data on the Chinese population during the COVID-19 period to explore the relationship between compliance with public health policies and government trust. The study conducted a questionnaire survey of 1,395 individuals from 25 provinces in China from mid-November to mid-December 2022. Firstly, we categorized the public's compliance behaviour with public health policies based on the results of factor analysis. Subsequently, we examined the impact of government trust and professional trust on compliance behaviour with public health policies by constructing a structural equation model. Based on the results of factor analysis, we classified public adherence to public health policies into protective compliance and restrictive compliance. Results from the structural equation model show a positive correlation between the public's trust in the government and both protective and restrictive compliance, with a stronger influence on protective compliance. Government trust also exerts a positive impact on restrictive compliance behaviour through professional trust. Additionally, the study indicates a significant positive correlation between the public's professional trust and restrictive compliance, while it does not significantly affect protective compliance. Moreover, the public from rural areas demonstrates a greater willingness to adhere to both types of public health policies. Married individuals exhibit a stronger inclination toward protective compliance, while females show a stronger tendency toward restrictive compliance. The study revealed a significant positive impact of government trust and professional trust on compliance behaviour with public health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, refuting any negative correlation between government trust and compliance behaviour. Normative motivations for compliance behaviour had a substantial impact on adherence. These findings offer valuable insights for future public health crisis management and public policy formulation.

Covid-19 lockdown policy and market quality: evidence from European stock markets

ABSTRACT This study empirically examines the impact of lockdown policies in European financial markets, encompassing the United Kingdom and France, on market quality. I employ fixed-effect regression models to assess the influence of lockdown policies, alongside a Difference-in-Difference (DiD) natural experiment, incorporating Sweden as a control group. My findings reveal negative effects of lockdown policies on market quality, particularly regarding information efficiency. Moreover, these effects show persistent strength among all lockdowns. I also find non-lockdown policies can help to avoid significant decreases on market quality from both aspects. This study contributes valuable insights for policymakers and regulators, offering pertinent reference points for crafting and implementing effective crisis management policies from financial markets during turbulent economic periods.

Central Bankers in Crisis: Interpersonal Trust, Cooperation, and the Creation of the Fed Swap Network during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis

Abstract How do policymakers respond to global crises? I argue that interpersonal trust enables policymakers to engage in ad hoc cooperation, in conditions of crisis and uncertainty. Leaders’ differentiated ties by degree—of stronger, looser, or absent—interpersonal trust influenced economies’ access to Federal Reserve swap lines over costlier unilateral and multilateral alternatives during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Using this framework, I re-examine the emergence of the Fed swap network. I triangulate evidence from elite interviews with central bankers in office during the crisis, and transcripts of Fed meetings. My findings highlight the role of interpersonal trust as an operating variable in shaping patterns of international cooperation and problematize the politics of technocratic governance. While necessary and successful, these crisis management policies reinforce global hierarchies and exacerbate the democratic deficit in central banking. This article thus draws attention to the contentious and undemocratic foundations of the global financial safety net.

Leadership Styles and Organizational Resilience in Times of Crisis in Sudan

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the leadership styles and organizational resilience in times of crisis in Sudan.
 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: Research on leadership styles and organizational resilience in times of crisis underscores the critical role of leadership in navigating turbulent environments. Studies suggest that transformational leadership, characterized by vision, inspiration, and individualized consideration, tends to foster organizational resilience by promoting adaptability, innovation, and employee commitment. Additionally, servant leadership, which prioritizes the needs of others and emphasizes empathy and humility, has been linked to enhanced organizational resilience through fostering trust, collaboration, and a sense of community.
 Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Contingency theory, social exchange theory and complexity leadership theory may be use to anchor future studies on assessing the leadership styles and organizational resilience in times of crisis in Sudan. Organizations, both public and private, should prioritize leadership development initiatives aimed at nurturing transformational leadership behaviors among their leaders. Policymakers should recognize the importance of leadership in promoting organizational resilience and incorporate leadership development initiatives into crisis management policies and strategies.

What makes health systems resilient? An analytical framework drawing on European learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic based on a multitiered approach

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge, which caught many health systems widely unprepared. The aim of this research was to develop a comprehensive analytical framework on health system resilience...

DL-SLICER: Deep Learning for Satellite-Based Identification of Cities with Enhanced Resemblance

This paper introduces a deep learning (DL) tool capable of classifying cities and revealing the features that characterize each city from a visual perspective. The study utilizes city view data captured from satellites and employs a methodology involving DL-based classification for city identification, along with an Explainable Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool to unveil definitive features of each city considered in this study. The city identification model implemented using the ResNet architecture yielded an overall accuracy of 84%, featuring 45 cities worldwide with varied geographic locations, Human Development Index (HDI), and population sizes. The portraying attributes of urban locations have been investigated using an explanatory visualization tool named Relevance Class Activation Maps (CAM). The methodology and findings presented by the current study enable decision makers, city managers, and policymakers to identify similar cities through satellite data, understand the salient features of the cities, and make decisions based on similarity patterns that can lead to effective solutions in a wide range of objectives such as urban planning, crisis management, and economic policies. Analyzing city similarities is crucial for urban development, transportation strategies, zoning, improvement of living conditions, fostering economic success, shaping social justice policies, and providing data for indices and concepts such as sustainability and smart cities for urban zones sharing similar patterns.

Identification of Water Crisis Management Policy Indicators in the Country Based on the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) Approach

Objective: The aim of the present research was practical in terms of its objectives and descriptive-survey in terms of its data collection method, utilizing an Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) approach. Methodology: The participants of this study were 15 managers, policymakers, and water sector experts, who were purposefully invited to participate in this research. The tool used in this investigation was a closed-response questionnaire in a matrix format. The criterion for expertise at this stage was the respondent's professional legitimacy. Findings: The results of implementing the research model indicate that the most important components of the study include legal and regulatory environment factors, economic environment, cultural environment, conflict of interest management, culture building, participation drivers, trust, political strategies, crisis management necessity, constructive institutional interaction, motivation, communication factors, governmental actions, reform and adaptation, facilitative leadership, decision-making stability, financial support, guarantee of sustainable development, control of marginalization, attention to local capacities, appropriate water pricing, promotion of public monitoring, improvement of agricultural water use efficiency, consumption pattern improvement, and legal support. Conclusion: Therefore, issues such as economy and budgeting, healthcare, welfare and social security, education, energy, environmental damage, foreign policy, and national internal security, as well as threats to occupational and job security, or matters like insufficient access to healthcare services should be examined by the government, the private sector, and the commitment of individuals and companies, or a combination of both.

Validation Model of Water Crisis Management Policy in Iran

The present study is applied in nature and employs a quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional survey method for data collection. The statistical population comprises all experts and active managers associated with the water industry (national water resources management). According to the latest human resources statistics in national water resources management, the population includes 20,000 technical, engineering, and managerial personnel across the country. The sample size for this study was calculated using the Morgan table, resulting in a sample of 391 respondents. The research instrument consists of a 47-item questionnaire developed by Mahdavi Far et al. (2024). The reliability of the research instrument was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, yielding a value of 0.724. The findings from the study indicate that the highest path coefficient pertains to the relationship between strategies and outcomes, with a path coefficient of 0.947. The second highest is the relationship between causal conditions and the core category, with a path coefficient of 0.923. The relationship between contextual conditions and strategies follows, with a path coefficient of 0.879. The fourth highest path coefficient is between intervening conditions and strategies at 0.851, and finally, the core category and strategies have a path coefficient of 0.844. The results of the research demonstrate that causal conditions have a significant positive effect on the core phenomenon (β = 0.923, t = 49.568, p < 0.0001). Therefore, an increase in causal conditions leads to an increase in the core phenomenon. Additionally, contextual factors significantly and positively affect strategies (β = 0.879, t = 47.632, p < 0.001), suggesting that an increase in contextual factors leads to an enhancement in strategies. Intervening conditions also have a significant positive effect on strategies (β = 0.851, t = 41.937, p < 0.001), indicating that these conditions contribute to the reduction in strategies. Furthermore, the core phenomenon significantly and positively influences strategies (β = 0.844, t = 45.177, p < 0.001), suggesting that an increase in the core phenomenon enhances strategies. Finally, strategies significantly and positively affect outcomes or results (β = 0.947, t = 53.941, p < 0.001), indicating that an increase in strategies leads to improved outcomes or results.

Storylines of the impacts in the Netherlands of alternative realizations of the Western Europe July 2021 floods

The 2021 summer flooding was an extremely rare event, driven by precipitation extremes that exceed Dutch design levels for flood protection of relatively small rivers and waterways. However, similar events in neighboring locations cannot be ruled out in the near future. The implications of such extreme rainfall amounts will vary by region, subject to local topography, water systems, and societal exposure. We explore the diversity of potential flood impacts induced by a similar event by constructing impact-oriented event storylines for characteristic water management regions in the Netherlands. The plausibility of the storylines is underlined by using physical evidence, proven impact-modelling concepts, and expert judgment successfully assessing the (sometimes unexpected) outcomes. The approach supports impact assessment and risk management of extraordinary rainfall and flood events. The outcomes show the relevance for crisis management and spatial policies, and confirms the need for in depth-analysis to assess concrete adaptation options

Hospital-Level COVID-19 Preparedness and Crisis Management in Czechia.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the inadequacy of pandemic preparedness mechanisms worldwide. This study gathered comprehensive data from Czech hospitals, identified possible weaknesses in important areas of crisis preparedness, and quantified changes performed to enhance crisis resilience of healthcare facilities. Methods: Drawing on literature review on pandemic preparedness and hospital crisis management and detailed interviews with hospital representatives, a questionnaire was designed and distributed by email among quality managers of all Czech hospitals. Statistical analysis of their responses was conducted using EZR software. Fisher's exact test and Kruskal-Wallis test, with post hoc testing, were used to assess statistical significance. Results: Achieving response rate of 31.9%, responses from 65 hospitals were analysed. New crisis management policies were necessary in 72.3% of responding hospitals. Furthermore, a majority of the respondents changes indicated the need for changes in policies on general pandemic, human resources and infrastructure and material preparedness. Conclusion: The COVID-19 crisis required significant alterations to previously established hospital crisis management protocols and establishment of new ones. The absence of a unified system for crisis preparedness was noted at hospital and national levels.

Political institutions and their role during health emergencies of global scale (COVID-19)

This research consistently investigates the pivotal role and significance of political institutions during global emergencies, with a specific focus on pandemics. The analysis centers on the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has underscored the paramount importance of political institutions in orchestrating and formulating pandemic response strategies. Notably, health authorities, alongside the broader healthcare system, anchor their actions in alignment with guidelines and directives promulgated by political institutions spanning various tiers of government. In such exigent circumstances, the executive branch of political power plays a particularly vital role. The efficacy and seamless collaboration among these institutions become instrumental in executing successful crisis management policies. The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a vivid illustration of the situation, where executive branches at various governmental levels wielded substantial influence over decision-making processes and resource allocation. This paper contends that the harmonious interplay and synchronized efforts of political institutions are indispensable for effectively navigating and surmounting crises of global magnitude, such as pandemics.

Paths to trust: Explaining citizens' trust to experts and evidence‐informed policymaking during the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic brought forward new questions about the efficient implementation of arduous public policies. Drawing evidence from the pandemic, this article argues that, during crises, policymakers will often opt for evidence‐informed policymaking, hoping for better results. In line with previous studies, we show that citizens trust more policies coming from experts rather than policymakers and elected politicians. We also add nuance to these claims as we attribute this tendency to the technocratic legitimacy thesis, referring to the symbolic significance of expert authority. Employing a public opinion survey conducted across four European countries, Germany, Greece, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, we show that independently of prior levels of political trust and each country's mortality rate, citizens welcomed evidence‐informed policies during the pandemic's first wave. Politicians can leverage these insights to increase public compliance with crisis management policies.

A Comparative Study on Military Climate Crisis Management Policies in South Korea and the United States

The climate crisis is emerging as an extreme crisis for the entire earth and humanity. Recently, the 6th IPCC report was published, but the forecast results are even more disastrous. Accordingly, the United States, one of the world's strongest developed countries, is doing its best to prepare active countermeasures against the climate crisis in the field of defense. In particular, the United States recognizes the climate crisis as one of the biggest threats to national security, and is designing policies based on this perception. However, in the case of South Korea, there is no continuously policy for responding to the climate crisis in the defense sector. In this study, in order to think about the problems of South Korea's defense climate crisis management policy, a comparative study was conducted with the U.S. defense climate crisis management policy. As a result, specific policies for each field are being conceived and implemented in the U.S. defense climate crisis management policy. However, in the case of South Korea, it was confirmed that there is no recognition of the climate crisis as a threat by the Ministry of National Defense and no specific policy.

Resilient banking: model-based assessment of business continuity policies on commercial banks

PurposeCommercial banks face several risks, including credit, liquidity, operational and disruptive risks. In addition to these risks that are challenging for banks to control and manage, crises and disasters can exert substantially more destructive shocks. These shocks can exacerbate internal risks and cause severe damage to the bank's performance, leading banks to bankruptcy and closure. This study aims to facilitate achieving resilient banking policies through a model-based assessment of business continuity management (BCM) policies.Design/methodology/approachBy applying a system dynamics (SD) methodology, a systemic model that includes a causal structure of the banking business is presented. To build a simulation model, data are collected from a commercial bank in Iran. By presenting the simulation model of the bank's business, the consequences of some given crises on the bank's performance are tested, and the effectiveness of risk and crisis management policies is evaluated. Vensim Personal Learning Edition (PLE) software is used to construct the simulation model.FindingsResults indicate that the current BCM policies do not show appropriate resilience in the face of various crises. Commercial banks cannot create sustainable value for the banks' shareholders despite the possibility of profitability, as the shareholders lack adequate resilience and soundness. These commercial banks do not have the appropriate resilience for the next pandemic after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Moreover, the robustness of the current banking business model is very fragile for the banking run crisis.Practical implicationsA forward-looking view of resilient banking can be obtained by combining liquidity coverage, stable funding, capital adequacy and insights from stress tests. Resilient banking requires a balanced combination of robustness, soundness and profitability.Originality/valueThe present study is a combination of bank business management, risk and resilience management and SD simulation. This approach can analyze and simulate the dynamics of bank resilience. Additionally, present of a decision support system (DSS) to analyze and simulate the outcomes of different crisis management policies and solutions is an innovative approach to developing effective and resilient banking policies.

Risk management system to reduce COVID-19 infection in health personnelSistema de gestão de riscos para reduzir o contágio de COVID-19 em profissionais de saúde

To assess the occupational factors associated with the occurrence of COVID-19 in health personnel who were exposed to different magnitudes of risk and who followed the United Nations crisis management policy for COVID-19. Cross-sectional survey conducted between April and May 2021. The low-risk group (LRG) were considered to be those who had minimal contact with patients; the medium-risk group (MRG) had contact with non-COVID-19 patients and did not perform instrumental airway intervention; and the high-risk group (HRG) were those who cared for COVID-19 patients and performed instrumental intervention with aerosol generation. Diagnosed COVID-19 disease and the presence of positive IgG antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 measured with Elecsys® anti-SARS-CoV-2 were considered as outcomes. Outcome recorded in 43.8% of the LRG, versus 46.7% in the MRG (odds ratio [OR]: 1.125; 95% confidence interval [CI 95% ]: 0.896-1.414; p = 0.311), and 48.6% in the HRG (OR: 1,214; CI 95%: 0.964-1.530; p= 0.10). Belonging to the high-risk group and the medium-risk group, based on the degree of exposure to confirmed COVID-19 patients in the work area, was not associated with a higher occurrence of disease or seroconversion.