Successive Crises Research Articles

Crisis management and reputation recovery

Through an examination of optimal methodologies and tactics in crisis management and reputation restoration, the objective of this study is to furnish pragmatic perspectives and principles that can be employed by organizations to construct and enhance their individual crisis response frameworks. The main aim of this study is to improve comprehension regarding the successful management of crises, the reduction of reputational harm, and the recovery process following unpleasant occurrences inside businesses. The primary objective of this study is to enhance the current knowledge base by consolidating crisis management and reputation recovery under a cohesive framework. The selected research design for this study employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The research findings highlight a shared agreement across stakeholders about the utmost importance of crisis management and reputation recovery for firms. Transparency, ethical behavior, and social responsibility have also emerged as crucial components in the endeavor to restore confidence, credibility, and brand image subsequent to a disaster. Besides, the effective application of crisis management methods was found to be associated with good stakeholder views. In addition, when firms demonstrate successful crisis management by engaging in preemptive planning, responding rapidly, and maintaining transparent communication, stakeholders tend to develop a more positive perception of these organizations.

Explaining the Taliban’s Revival: Thomas Spragens’s Crisis Theory

The revival of the Taliban and their rapid domination of Afghanistan shocked the world. It is a response to the chronic historical, political and social crises of the Afghan society, which is still in geopolitical and strategic confusion and disorder. Using the analytical descriptive method, the present study attempts to answer the question related to the causes of the reemergence of the Taliban based on Thomas Spragens’ crisis theory. The research hypothesis states that the conflict between political actors and the creation of a political deadlock has caused successive crises and political, social and security disintegration in the society. Accepting the Taliban, the Afghan people seek to solve the crisis and restore, peace, stability, order and security for themselves and their descendants. It seems that the occupation of the country, nonimplementation of Sharia laws and spread of corruption are signs of a brewing crisis caused by the weakness of the central government, lack of nation-state agreement, the spread of ethnocentrism and overdependence on America. To address these challenges, Afghans increasingly resort to Jihad and the formation of an Islamic Emirate as a possible solution.

Institutional change, sovereigntist contestation and the limits of populism: evidence from southern Europe

Abstract It is widely recognized that populists oppose the delegation of more decision-making to supranational actors and that this tendency can be constrained by other branches of government, geopolitical power pressures or factors such as whether populists are minor or major members of coalitions. The literature, however, has not elaborated on how the transformation of international organizations can affect populist politics. We aim to fill this gap with an examination of how the NextGenerationEU (NGEU), a redistributionist and solidaristic form of supranational governance, undermined populist opposition to the European Union in selected beneficiary countries. To demonstrate this, we explore populist discourses in France, Italy and Spain during four successive crises in the EU's history in which its structure and identity were at stake and which prompted debates on the future in/of the EU: the referendum on the Constitutional Treaty of 2005, the Greek referendum of 2015, the Brexit referendum of 2016 and the COVID–19 crisis, followed by the Recovery Fund/NGEU of 2020. Observing populist discourses during the acute phases of these four crises allows us to observe a consolidated trend of populist contestation until 2020, when the NGEU was announced, and supports the conclusion that populists, especially in Spain and Italy, went in a less sovereigntist direction as a result of the NGEU.

Impact of firm characteristics and country-level governance on global energy stocks during crises

Two successive crises have raised the need to understand the dynamics of the global energy sector during these crises. This study examines the effects of the Russia-Ukraine War (RUW) and the COVID-19 pandemic on the energy sector across developed and emerging markets. Additionally, it examines the role of firm- and country-specific variables in stimulating energy stocks. We employ a rigorous event study methodology to analyse data from 387 firms spanning 44 countries and reveal that the RUW exerted a more significant global impact on the energy sector compared to the pandemic, both before and after the event day. Notably, emerging markets displayed early reactions before the global announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic. Remarkably, the American markets were hardest hit by the pandemic, while Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa fared relatively better. Intriguingly, our cross-sectional analysis demonstrates that firm-specific characteristics (leverage and firm size) and the country-level governance variable, corruption control, influenced market performance during these events. Conversely, country-level development variables demonstrated minimal impact. This study enhances the understanding of how global crises uniquely impact the global energy sector. It also demonstrates how country-level governance variables could influence stock market returns.

The use of digital technologies for crisis management

Aim. To identify the role of digital technologies in the context of crisis management and the opportunities that digital tools provide for the development and growth of companies, even in the face of economic turmoil. To pay special attention to the study of effective practices of optimization and modernization of business processes using the latest digital tools, which con[1]tribute not only to increasing productivity and efficiency of business, but also its adaptation to rapidly changing market conditions.Objectives. To analyze the role of digital technologies in the context of crisis management, highlighting the opportunities that digital tools offer for the development and growth of companies, even in conditions of economic turmoil; to study the advantages of applying new business models using modern digital technologies; to consider the principle of operation of platform business models using examples and show the advantages of their use; to evaluate the financial performance of companies.Methods. The author applied the methods of complex and comparative analysis, as well as the study of foreign and domestic experience of digital transformation in crisis conditions. Considerable attention was paid to the work with periodicals, scientific articles and analytical reports in the field of crisis management and digitalization. In addition, methods of observation, generalization and comparison were used.Results. The study suggests that digital technologies contribute to improving the transparency and efficiency of business processes in crisis conditions. The main factors of successful digital transformation of organizations were identified and recommendations for their use were developed.Conclusions. According to the author’s position, the necessity of active use of innovative technologies in crisis management, as well as the importance of a strategic approach to digital transformation in a rapidly changing environment are obvious. The key element of successful crisis management is the active integration of digital technologies into business processes and the use of a strategic approach to digital transformation. Cultural and organizational aspects that ensure sufficient funding and management support are recognized as important factors. The use of online platforms allows organizations to effectively form a digital ecosystem, increasing competitiveness, which ultimately contributes to the successful achievement of business goals in a rapidly changing digital environment. The application of the proposed recommendations on the use of innovative technologies will help organizations not only to cope with the current crises, but will also contribute to their sustainable development and stabilization.

Addressing Democratic Issues in an Era of Education Capitalism

Abstract The economic agenda assigned to education on the basis of human capital contributes to the de-socialization and deterritorialization of educational action, and leads to a weakening rather than a strengthening of schools in their function as institutions of society. Yet, successive crisis contexts, whether they concern climate, security or health, contribute to a collective awareness of the importance of education and the transmission of democratic values in the construction of societies that are both more inclusive and more enlightened about the major challenges of the time. Our purpose is to explore and stress the global and decisive function of a democratic and humanistic education in accordance to these principles, to take the lead, in the troubled times we face, in the global promotion of a humanistic, inclusive and cosmopolitan ideal of cultures, education and societies.

Resilience of rural micro-businesses in an adverse entrepreneurial environment: adapting to the energy crisis

PurposeThis study aims to examine the potential adaptability and resilience of rural micro-businesses within a business environment affected by successive crises, specifically drawing conclusions on crisis management, while simultaneously highlighting enterprises’ capabilities in managing the current energy crisis, basis the experiences and best practices that they themselves have gained previously.Design/methodology/approachConvenience sampling was applied, effectively identifying 18 micro-entrepreneurs in rural Greece. Subsequently, qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured in-depth interviews.FindingsRural micro-businesses have shown adaptability and resilience to both economic and health crises through financial support received and interventions implemented. However, different crises’ types carry different business risks. The energy crisis has led to business operation’s energy costs and raw material prices multiplying exponentially. Additionally, they received limited financial support causing them to respond to the energy crisis though concrete defensive strategies and innovative interventions.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should examine local bodies and trade unions’ perception on the energy crisis’ impact towards rural entrepreneurship.Practical implicationsThe findings are useful to Greek and European policy-makers and rural micro-entrepreneurs as the experience of dealing with several previous crises can be a useful tool when dealing with current and future crises.Originality/valueThis paper adds to international literature on rural micro-businesses resilience, operating in crisis mode. Additionally, it constitutes novel research exclusively focused on the new challenges faced by rural micro-businesses during the recent energy crisis.

The Kremlin and the principle of self- determination

The paper attempts to analyze the principle of self-determination in the international agenda focusing on Moscow´s foreign policy since Gorbachev´s rejection of the Nagorno Karabagh Autonomous Region constitutional request to separate from the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan in February 1988 through the successive crises in the Kosovo, the Caucasus and Ukraine. The central argument sustains that the apparent rejection to the principle of self-determination must be understood in the context of Moscow´s continued drive for hegemony in the geopolitical space of Eurasia, and more specifically, in the ex-Soviet space.

TRUST RELATIONSHIPS AND PROFESSIONAL IDENTITIES IN GREEK PRIMARY SCHOOLS: A STUDY IN THE CONTEXT OF PERMACRISIS

In the present paper, we attempt to present and analyze the levels of trust in the school unit, both the existence of trust relationships and the degree to which they exist, as well as the quality that characterizes them. We focus on differentiated professional identities and whether these are related to levels of trust. The structural condition of the permacrisis is particularly important for the study. The fact that Greece's recent social, economic, and political context has been characterized by volatility also adds significant weight to the study. The debt crisis, as the starting point of the successive crises, the permacrisis, has brought about insecurity and uncertainty. At the same time, the social subject cannot act within the social and economic context. The permacrisis is a compound word, defined as a prolonged period of instability and insecurity, incorporating all the crises. Health, economic, environmental, and geopolitical crises, and the social subject's sense of yet another anticipated crisis. All these individual mosaics that each crisis brings gradually make up the setting for the diversification of the professional identity of the teacher. We chose mixed methods research as the methodological approach, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used as research data collection tools. The target population included teachers and primary school headteachers of primary education school units in Western Greece. The research sample was extracted from these populations through simple random sampling, ensuring the sample's representativeness. This research, including the quantitative and qualitative approaches, was conducted from May 2023 to February 2024. The main results include that the condition of the permacrisis is gradually entering the micro level, negating the linear, and replacing it with the liquid. The risk society is no longer located only in the theoretical sphere but also in the lifeworld, in the everyday life of the social subject. We observed that it is evident that the social subject, and in our case, the teacher and the headteacher, is trying to cope with multiple changes and incorporate structural crisis, liquidity, and subjective risk into his actions. Several conceptualizations emerge by linking the phenomenon of the permacrisis with the phenomenon of the trust crisis.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0711/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Victims of a Human Tragedy or “Objects” of Migrant Smuggling? Media Framing of Greece’s Deadliest Migrant Shipwreck in Pylos’ Dark Waters

Refugee and migration crises has been an integral part of the continuous and successive crises that the world has been experiencing. Media has played a crucial role in shaping public opinion over migration and asylum-seeking. Within this context, this paper aims to discuss Greek media coverage of the migrant shipwreck off the Greek coast of Pylos, in June 2023, in which more than 600 people mostly from Syria, Egypt, and Pakistan are thought to have drowned. Based on data from a quantitative content analysis and a sample of news stories stemming from the online version of five Greek news media outlets, representing diverse political spaces, a broader set of criteria for content analysis, including the absence of refugee and migrant voice in media content, dehumanization, absence of solutions and context, among many others, was used in order to explore how the Greek media framed what has been labeled as one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean. Results revealed (i) frames of dehumanization, (ii) insufficient reporting of injustice and discrimination stemming from (state) structures and practices, and an (iii) overemphasis on migrant smuggling.

Youth employment amid successive crises and the low-carbon transition: The case of Εurozone coal regions

Over the last decade, the EU has entered a phase of transition to a low-carbon economy, which has led to a decline in the competitiveness of coal. Despite efforts to restructure their energy sectors, coal regions continue to struggle with the lingering effects of the 2008/09 Global Crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, which affect their economies and decarbonisation trajectories. In this context, the paper examines the role of youth in the local labour regimes (LLRs) of Eurozone coal regions. Drawing on perspectives of Geographical Political Economy and Political Ecology, the transition from coal to renewable energy is conceptualised as a new socio-ecological fix, reflecting capitalist mechanisms seeking novel avenues for profiting while maintaining established power asymmetries and inequalities. The study employs a mixed methods approach to examine the exacerbated structural challenges faced by youth. Firstly, by analysing secondary macroeconomic, (youth) employment and demographic data, key differences between the LLRs of the coal regions of six Eurozone countries are highlighted. Secondly, a qualitative analysis of Western Macedonia in Greece, one of the most lagging coal regions, is carried out. The analysis is based on primary data collected in focus groups and interviews with key informants, energy workers and locals in the period 2021-2022. Findings suggest that uneven development, labour flexibilisation, and lack of economic diversification hinder the entry of young people into the labour market and contribute to their out-migration from coal regions, thus the latters' role in shaping the changing energy landscape remains marginal.

Engaging communities as partners in health crisis response: a realist-informed scoping review for research and policy

BackgroundHealth is increasingly affected by multiple types of crises. Community engagement is recognised as being a critical element in successful crisis response, and a number of conceptual frameworks and global guideline documents have been produced. However, little is known about the usefulness of such documents and whether they contain sufficient information to guide effective community engagement in crisis response. We undertake a scoping review to examine the usefulness of conceptual literature and official guidelines on community engagement in crisis response using a realist-informed analysis [exploring contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes(CMOs)]. Specifically, we assess the extent to which sufficient detail is provided on specific health crisis contexts, the range of mechanisms (actions) that are developed and employed to engage communities in crisis response and the outcomes achieved. We also consider the extent of analysis of interactions between the mechanisms and contexts which can explain whether successful outcomes are achieved or not.Scope and findingsWe retained 30 documents from a total of 10,780 initially identified. Our analysis found that available evidence on context, mechanism and outcomes on community engagement in crisis response, or some of their elements, was promising, but few documents provided details on all three and even fewer were able to show evidence of the interactions between these categories, thus leaving gaps in understanding how to successfully engage communities in crisis response to secure impactful outcomes. There is evidence that involving community members in all the steps of response increases community resilience and helps to build trust. Consistent communication with the communities in time of crisis is the key for effective responses and helps to improve health indicators by avoiding preventable deaths.ConclusionsOur analysis confirms the complexity of successful community engagement and the need for strategies that help to deal with this complexity to achieve good health outcomes. Further primary research is needed to answer questions of how and why specific mechanisms, in particular contexts, can lead to positive outcomes, including what works and what does not work and how to measure these processes.

Crisis Management in Organizations

In the contemporary business environment, the ability to effectively manage crises is paramount to ensuring organizational continuity and resilience. Crisis management encompasses proactive strategies to prepare for potential disruptions and reactive measures to mitigate the impact of unforeseen events. This paper explores the various types of crises that organizations may encounter, including natural, technological, and human-caused crises, and examines the importance of developing robust crisis management strategies. The study highlights the significance of organizational resilience, detailing key components such as anticipation, adaptivity, and renewal capacity. Through case studies and best practices, the paper illustrates successful crisis management approaches and emphasizes the need for continuous investment in preparedness and resilience. Keywords: Crisis management, organizational resilience, business continuity, risk management, proactive strategies, crisis response, natural crises, technological crises, human-caused crises.

Failed hereditary succession in comparative perspective: The case of Senegal (2000–2024)

Abstract Contrary to enduring theoretical expectations on neopatrimonialism, family successions are rare in sub-Saharan Africa. This article demonstrates that family successions are difficult to set up and might fail when rulers attempt to implement them. Building on the scholarship on political dynasties and family successions in broader comparative politics, I demonstrate that the study of failed attempts helps unveil the specific mechanisms of such failure. While scholarship documents how formal rules (such as term limits) constrain the ruler’s succession agenda, I contend that other types of constraints -party politics, opposition coalition, and public opinion-might also strongly impact it but have remained underexamined. The Senegal case study helps uncover these constraints. The article begins by emphasizing the theoretical importance and empirical challenges of studying non-cases of family successions and, more specifically, failed attempts. Then, the article examines the Senegalese failed hereditary succession between former President Abdoulaye Wade and his son Karim. Through a longitudinal single-country case study (2000–2024), this article employs process-tracing to uncover the three main interrelated mechanisms, which led to this failure: Popular resentment towards the succession attempt, a succession crisis due to the ruler’s not leaving power, and elite defection leading to party split. In mutually reinforcing each other, these dynamics converged to block the transfer of power from the ruler to his son. Therefore, this single case study of a failed attempt enhances our empirical and theoretical understanding of what drives variation in the success or failure of family succession. I argue that the role of actors (party elites and voters) in the succession process and how they engage with the rules of the game (mainly over party leadership selection and elections) impact the succession outcome.

Bringing the state back in: Ruling parties and regime collapse during the Arab Uprisings

Scholars have mostly investigated the fall of dictatorships during the Arab Uprisings through the lens of contentious politics, uncovering new information about the protest dynamics and how they spread both within countries and throughout the wider region. However, the longer structural vulnerabilities within regimes have received little attention; yet such factors internal to states and their regimes proved paramount to the social revolutions investigated by Theda Skocpol. Focusing on the case of Tunisia, the author shows how the economic downturn and a succession crisis contributed to the decay of the Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali regime starting in the 2000s. Importantly, they heightened internecine conflicts within the regime and, in particular, within the longtime ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally. It is through this backdrop that the events of the 2010–2011 Tunisian revolution must be understood: far from supporting the regime in times of crisis, members of Ben Ali’s ruling party engaged in contentious activities against him, thus crucially weakening the regime from within.

Study of mental health perceptions among Central African refugee populations and host communities in the East Cameroon region

IntroductionCameroon’s eastern region faces numerous security challenges linked to successive crises in the Central African Republic, particularly with the massive influx of refugees especially since 2013. Official UNHCR figures speak of 349,409 Central African refugees present on Cameroonian soil. These are both refugees already well established in their host communities, and new arrivals. Since the post-electoral crisis in CAR at the end of 2020, the situation has gradually stabilized in the Kadey department, but remains volatile due to daily insecurity in the northern regions of the Central African Republic.ObjectivesWith a view to meeting the mental health and psychosocial support needs of the region’s population and better integrating refugees into their host communities, it was necessary to obtain a more exhaustive picture of the population’s perception of mental health, to understand the mechanisms of psychosocial support at community level and any differences between refugees and the indigenous population.MethodsA mixed methodology with quantitative and qualitative data was chosen for a more detailed analysis. The survey was carried out in two communes in the Kadey department: Kentzou and Kette. The sample was disaggregated to take account of the socio-demographic characteristics and to enable to make comparisons between the situations of host communities, living in refugee sites and outside sites. For quantitative data, 205 the individuals responded to a questionnaire. 12 individual interviews and 12 Focus Group Discussions (involving 60 participants ) guided by semi-structured questions were used to collect qualitative data from key members of the community.ResultsAnalysis of quantitative and qualitative data has confirmed the successful integration of Central African refugees into the host community. Nevertheless, there is a difference between these two groups in terms of their perception and understanding of the definition of mental health, mental health disorders and treatment options. Thus, there was a clear difference in training and awareness needs between the host and refugee communities.ConclusionsBased on the qualitative and quantitative results of our assessment, a number of recommendations have been drawn up. It would be interesting to find a balance in the definition, attribution of causes and treatment of mental disorders between the traditional, mystical and cultural vision and the psychological and psychiatric one. It would be important to encourage refugee communities to return to some of their traditional practices, and to allow several visions of the human being to coexist between a traditional and a more medical vision.To address the lack of resources for mental health care in the Kadey area, more training in mental health and psychosocial support is needed for health and social workers in the area.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

‘A sense of the systemic’: the Bank of England and the language of inclusive capitalism

Successive crises – social, environmental and political – have led some in global governance circles to advocate a more ‘inclusive capitalism’. In this article, I show how this postcrisis language of inclusive capitalism was used by a specific subset of officials within the Bank of England: Those with high levels of experience in public sector and international official institutions. It is argued that these officials are ‘organic intellectuals’ who mobilise their experience of inter-institutional collaboration as a deliberative model for solving long-term social problems. The institutional experience of these officials and their concern with crises of trust in expertise facilitated the adoption of these models of communicative intervention. I draw on a novel dataset of Bank officials’ career data and speeches, as well as twelve interviews with current and former Bank staff, to show who used this language, in what settings and what motivated its adoption. The article makes a novel contribution to debates about the motivations of key figures in central banks, suggesting that their actions go beyond reputation defence to encompass an expansive worldview of how capitalism might solve its myriad crises.

Adaptive Market Hypothesis And Overconfidence Bias

This paper examines the effect of excessive investor confidence on market efficiency. We study this impact for 21 developed markets and 25 emerging markets for a period from January 2006 until June 2020. First, we estimate weak market efficiency using the auto-correlation test (Ljung-Box, 1978). Thus, based on the adaptive approach, we assume that the overconfidence of investors has a negative impact on market efficiency. Concerning the over-confidence variable; we use the transaction volume decomposition method of Chuang and Lee (2006). Finally, we used the logit panel model to study the impact the impact of investor overconfidence on market efficiency. The result shows that during our study period, the trust bias had no impact either on the efficiency of developed markets or on the efficiency of emerging markets. We attribute this result to successive crises during our study period, including the subprime crisis, the eurozone crisis, the stock market crash in China, and the COVID crisis, which likely caused investors to become pessimistic and lose confidence in the stock market.

Leading in a Time of Crisis: The Coronavirus Effect on Leadership in America

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented global health emergency, the study explores the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by leadership. The crisis, exemplified by issues such as the misinformation around Omicron Boosters in rural America, has brought to light the complex interplay between leadership, public health initiatives, and societal dynamics. This scenario underscores the study's aim: to analyze and understand the specific attributes, styles, and communication strategies that define effective crisis leadership within the American context. Adopting a quantitative research methodology, the study conducted a survey with 521 respondents, encompassing a diverse cross-section of American society, including members of minority communities, volunteers, students, healthcare workers, business owners, and residents of areas significantly impacted by the pandemic. The survey, focused on collecting data through a structured questionnaire, to assess the interplay between the independent variables (transparency, empathy, stakeholder engagement, context-sensitive leadership style, adaptable leadership styles, targeted communication, and culturally sensitive communication strategies) and the dependent variables (success of crisis leadership and improved crisis management), using Likert scale questions. The data collected were used to test the hypothesis, using regression analysis. The findings reveal significant insights: transparency, empathy, and engagement with stakeholders are crucial for successful crisis leadership; context-sensitive and adaptable leadership styles are more effective than rigid ones in diverse crisis scenarios; and targeted, culturally sensitive communication strategies significantly improve crisis management outcomes. These results underscore the multifaceted nature of crisis leadership and the importance of nuanced, adaptable approaches in times of uncertainty while the study agrees with the assertions of McGregor Burns (2004) and Kouzes and Posner (2023) on the leader’s competencies as key to successful leadership in moments of crisis, this study further reveals the vitality of stakeholders’ engagement and contributions in crisis leadership. Also, while the study’s findings align with those of Erickson (2021) on transparency in communication, the study further reveal that exhibiting empathy along with transparency is very essential in crisis leadership. Therefore, the study recommends developing leadership qualities that emphasize transparency, empathy, and stakeholder engagement, and enhancing adaptability in leadership styles. Additionally, it highlights the need for culturally sensitive communication strategies, tailored to diverse audiences.

Managing Uncertain Times in Turkey: Refugee Healthcare Research during a Global Pandemic

When I entered graduate school in September 2016, Turkey was mired in a series of successive crises. I had spent the first half of the year living in Istanbul, writing about the country's reception of Syrian refugees as a journalist and researcher. During that stretch, a series of suicide bombings and, in my last week in the country, an attempted coup, were formative for the way I made sense of future fieldwork in Turkey. I surmised that it would be wrought with unpredictability. My research interest in Syrian refugees’ access to Turkey's state services was itself marked by uncertainty. This uncertainty was tied to the nature of Syrians’ explicitly temporary legal status within Turkey and the broader domestic and geopolitical context that shaped the contours of Turkey's refugee policy. Given these layers of unpredictability both endogenous and exogenous to my research interest, I planned to design my research with uncertainty as an analytical focus.