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Crisis Management and Communications

By W. Timothy Coombs, Ph.D
October 30, 2007

Introduction
Crisis management is a critical organizational function. Failure can result in serious
harm to stakeholders, losses for an organization, or end its very existence. Public
relations practitioners are an integral part of crisis management teams. So a set of
best practices and lessons gleaned from our knowledge of crisis management would
be a very useful resource for those in public relations. Volumes have been written
about crisis management by both practitioners and researchers from many different
disciplines making it a challenge to synthesize what we know about crisis
management and public relations place in that knowledge base. The best place to
start this effort is by defining critical concepts

Definitions
There are plenty of definitions for a crisis. For this entry, the definition reflects key
points found in the various discussions of what constitutes a crisis. A crisis is defined
here as a significant threat to operations that can have negative consequences if not
handled properly. In crisis management, the threat is the potential damage a crisis can
inflict on an organization, its stakeholders, and an industry. A crisis can create three
related threats: (1) public safety, (2) financial loss, and (3) reputation loss. Some
crises, such as industrial accidents and product harm, can result in injuries and even
loss of lives. Crises can create financial loss by disrupting operations, creating a loss
of market share/purchase intentions, or spawning lawsuits related to the crisis. As
Dilenschneider (2000) noted in The Corporate Communications Bible, all crises
threaten to tarnish an organizations reputation. A crisis reflects poorly on an
organization and will damage a reputation to some degree. Clearly these three threats
are interrelated. Injuries or deaths will result in financial and reputation loss while
reputations have a financial impact on organizations.
Effective crisis management handles the threats sequentially. The primary concern in
a crisis has to be public safety. A failure to address public safety intensifies the
damage from a crisis. Reputation and financial concerns are considered after public
safety has been remedied. Ultimately, crisis management is designed to protect an
organization and its stakeholders from threats and/or reduce the impact felt by threats.
Crisis management is a process designed to prevent or lessen the damage a crisis can
inflict on an organization and its stakeholders. As a process, crisis management is not
just one thing. Crisis management can be divided into three phases: (1) pre-crisis, (2)
crisis response, and (3) post-crisis. The pre-crisis phase is concerned with prevention
and preparation. The crisis response phase is when management must actually
respond to a crisis. The post-crisis phase looks for ways to better prepare for the next
crisis and fulfills commitments made during the crisis phase including follow-up

information. The tri-part view of crisis management serves as the organizing

framework for this entry.

Pre-Crisis Phase
Prevention involves seeking to reduce known risks that could lead to a crisis. This is
part of an organizations risk management program. Preparation involves creating the
crisis management plan, selecting and training the crisis management team, and
conducting exercises to test the crisis management plan and crisis management team.
Both Barton (2001) and Coombs (2006) document that organizations are better able to
handle crises when they (1) have a crisis management plan that is updated at least
annually, (2) have a designated crisis management team, (3) conduct exercises to test
the plans and teams at least annually, and (4) pre-draft some crisis messages. Table 1
lists the Crisis Preparation Best Practices. The planning and preparation allow crisis
teams to react faster and to make more effective decisions. Refer to Bartons (2001)
Crisis in Organizations II or Coombs (2006) Code Red in the Boardroom for more
information on these four lessons.
Table 1: Crisis Preparation Best Practices
1. Have a crisis management plan and update it at least annually.
2. Have a designate crisis management team that is properly trained.
3. Conduct exercise at least annually to test the crisis management plan and team.
4. Pre-draft select crisis management messages including content for dark web sites
and templates for crisis statements. Have the legal department review and pre-approve
these messages.
Crisis Management Plan
A crisis management plan (CMP) is a reference tool, not a blueprint. A CMP provides
lists of key contact information, reminders of what typically should be done in a
crisis, and forms to be used to document the crisis response. A CMP is not a step-bystep guide to how to manage a crisis. Barton (2001), Coombs (2007a), and FearnBanks (2001) have noted how a CMP saves time during a crisis by pre-assigning
some tasks, pre-collecting some information, and serving as a reference source. Preassigning tasks presumes there is a designated crisis team. The team members should
know what tasks and responsibilities they have during a crisis.
Crisis Management Team
Barton (2001) identifies the common members of the crisis team as public relations,
legal, security, operations, finance, and human resources. However, the composition
will vary based on the nature of the crisis. For instance, information technology
would be required if the crisis involved the computer system. Time is saved because
the team has already decided on who will do the basic tasks required in a crisis.
Augustine (1995) notes that plans and teams are of little value if they are never
tested. Management does not know if or how well an untested crisis management
plan with work or if the crisis team can perform to expectations. Mitroff, Harrington,
and Gia (1996) emphasize that training is needed so that team members can practice
making decisions in a crisis situation. As noted earlier, a CMP serves only as a rough

guide. Each crisis is unique demanding that crisis teams make decisions. Coombs
(2007a) summaries the research and shows how practice improves a crisis teams
decision making and related task performance. For additional information on the
value of teams and exercises refer to Coombs (2006) and the Corporate Leadership
Councils (2003) report on crisis management strategies.
Spokesperson
A key component of crisis team training is spokesperson training. Organizational
members must be prepared to talk to the news media during a crisis. Lerbinger
(1997), Feran-Banks (2001), and Coombs (2007a) devote considerable attention to
media relations in a crisis. Media training should be provided before a crisis hits.
The Crisis Media Training Best Practices in Table 2 were drawn from these three
books:
Table 2: Crisis Media Training Best Practices
1. Avoid the phrase no comment because people think it means the organization is
guilty and trying to hide something
2. Present information clearly by avoiding jargon or technical terms. Lack of clarity
makes people think the organization is purposefully being confusing in order to hide
something.
3. Appear pleasant on camera by avoiding nervous habits that people interpret as
deception. A spokesperson needs to have strong eye contact,limited disfluencies such
as uhms or uhs, and avoid distracting nervous gestures such as fidgeting or
pacing. Coombs (2007a) reports on research that documents how people will be
perceived as deceptive if they lack eye contact, have a lot of disfluencies,or display
obvious nervous gestures.
4. Brief all potential spokespersons on the latest crisis information and the key
message points the organization is trying to convey to stakeholders.
Public relations can play a critical role in preparing spokespersons for handling
questions from the news media. The media relations element of public relations is a
highly valued skill in crisis management. The public relations personnel can provide
training and support because in most cases they are not the spokesperson during the
crisis.
Pre-draft Messages
Finally, crisis managers can pre-draft messages that will be used during a crisis. More
accurately, crisis managers create templates for crisis messages. Templates include
statements by top management, news releases, and dark web sites. Both the
Corporate Leadership Council (2003) and the Business Roundtable (2002) strongly
recommend the use of templates. The templates leave blank spots where key
information is inserted once it is known. Public relations personnel can help to draft
these messages. The legal department can then pre-approve the use of the messages.
Time is saved during a crisis as specific information is simply inserted and messages
sent and/or made available on a web site.
Communication Channels

An organization may create a separate web site for the crisis or designate a section of
its current web site for the crisis. Taylor and Kents (2007) research finds that having
a crisis web sites is a best practice for using an Internet during a crisis. The site
should be designed prior to the crisis. This requires the crisis team to anticipate the
types of crises an organization will face and the types of information needed for the
web site. For instances, any organization that makes consumer goods is likely to have
a product harm crisis that will require a recall. The Corporate Leadership Council
(2003) highlights the value of a crisis web site designed to help people identify if their
product is part of the recall and how the recall will be handled. Stakeholders,
including the news media, will turn to the Internet during a crisis. Crisis managers
should utilize some form of web-based response or risk appearing to be ineffective. A
good example is Taco Bells E. coli outbreak in 2006. The company was criticized in
the media for being slow to place crisis-related information on its web site.
Of course not placing information on the web site can be strategic. An organization
may not want to publicize the crisis by placing information about it on the web site.
This assumes the crisis is very small and that stakeholders are unlikely to hear about it
from another source. In todays traditional and online media environment, that is a
misguided if not dangerous assumption. Taylor and Kent (2007) and the Corporate
Leadership Council emphasize that a web site is another means for an organization to
present its side of the story and not using it creates a risk of losing how the crisis story
is told. Refer to the PR News story Lackluster Online PR No Aid in Crisis Response
(2002) for additional information about using dark web sites in a crisis,
Intranet sites can also be used during a crisis. Intranet sites limit access, typically to
employees only though some will include suppliers and customers. Intranet sites
provide direct access to specific stakeholders so long as those stakeholders have
access to the Intranet. Dowlings (2003) research documents the value of American
Airlines use of its Intranet system as an effective way to communicate with its
employees following the 9/11 tragedy. Coombs (2007a) notes that the communication
value of an Intranet site is increased when used in conjunction with mass notification
systems designed to reach employees and other key stakeholders. With a mass
notification system, contact information (phones numbers, e-mail, etc.) are
programmed in prior to a crisis. Contacts can be any group that can be affected by the
crisis including employees, customers, and community members living near a
facility. Crisis managers can enter short messages into the system then tell the mass
notification system who should receive which messages and which channel or
channels to use for the delivery. The mass notification system provides a mechanism
for people to respond to messages as well. The response feature is critical when crisis
managers want to verify that the target has received the message. Table 3 summarizes
the Crisis Communication Channel Preparation Best Practices.
Table 3: Crisis Communication Channel Preparation Best Practices
1. Be prepared to use a unique web site or part of your current web site to address
crisis concerns.
2. Be prepared to use the Intranet as one of the channels for reaching employees and
any other stakeholders than may have access to your Intranet.
3. Be prepared to utilize a mass notification system for reaching employees and other
key stakeholders during a crisis

Crisis Response
The crisis response is what management does and says after the crisis hits. Public
relations plays a critical role in the crisis response by helping to develop the messages
that are sent to various publics. A great deal of research has examined the crisis
response. That research has been divided into two sections: (1) the initial crisis
response and (2) reputation repair and behavioral intentions.
Initial Response
Practitioner experience and academic research have combined to create a clear set of
guidelines for how to respond once a crisis hits. The initial crisis response guidelines
focus on three points: (1) be quick, (2) be accurate, and (3) be consistent.
Be quick seems rather simple, provide a response in the first hour after the crisis
occurs. That puts a great deal of pressure on crisis managers to have a message ready
in a short period of time. Again, we can appreciate the value of preparation and
templates. The rationale behind being quick is the need for the organization to tell its
side of the story. In reality, the organizations side of the story are the key points
management wants to convey about the crisis to its stakeholders. When a crisis
occurs, people want to know what happened. Crisis experts often talk of an
information vacuum being created by a crisis. The news media will lead the charge to
fill the information vacuum and be a key source of initial crisis information. (We will
consider shortly the use of the Internet as well). If the organization having the crisis
does not speak to the news media, other people will be happy to talk to the media.
These people may have inaccurate information or may try to use the crisis as an
opportunity to attack the organization. As a result, crisis managers must have a quick
response. An early response may not have much new information but the
organization positions itself as a source and begins to present its side of the story.
Carney and Jorden (1993) note a quick response is active and shows an organization
is in control. Hearits (1994) research illustrates how silence is too passive. It lets
others control the story and suggests the organization has yet to gain control of the
situation. Arpan and Rosko-Ewoldsen (2005) conducted a study that documented
how a quick, early response allows an organization to generate greater credibility than
a slow response. Crisis preparation will make it easier for crisis managers to respond
quickly.
Obviously accuracy is important anytime an organization communicates with publics.
People want accurate information about what happened and how that event might
affect them. Because of the time pressure in a crisis, there is a risk of inaccurate
information. If mistakes are made, they must be corrected. However, inaccuracies
make an organization look inconsistent. Incorrect statements must be corrected
making an organization appear to be incompetent. The philosophy of speaking with
one voice in a crisis is a way to maintain accuracy.
Speaking with one voice does not mean only one person speaks for the organization
for the duration of the crisis. As Barton (2001) notes, it is physically impossible to
expect one person to speak for an organization if a crisis lasts for over a day. Watch
news coverage of a crisis and you most likely will see multiple people speak. The
news media want to ask questions of experts so they may need to talk to a person in

operations or one from security. That is why Coombs (2007a) emphasizes the public
relations department plays more of a support role rather than being the crisis
spokespersons. The crisis team needs to share information so that different people
can still convey a consistent message. The spokespersons should be briefed on the
same information and the key points the organization is trying to convey in the
messages. The public relations department should be instrumental in preparing the
spokespersons. Ideally, potential spokespersons are trained and practice media
relations skills prior to any crisis. The focus during a crisis then should be on the key
information to be delivered rather than how to handle the media. Once more
preparation helps by making sure the various spokespersons have the proper media
relations training and skills.
Quickness and accuracy play an important role in public safety. When public safety is
a concern, people need to know what they must do to protect themselves. Sturges
(1994) refer to this information as instructing information. Instructing information
must be quick and accurate to be useful. For instance, people must know as soon as
possible not to eat contaminated foods or to shelter-in-place during a chemical
release. A slow or inaccurate response can increase the risk of injuries and possibly
deaths. Quick actions can also save money by preventing further damage and
protecting reputations by showing that the organization is in control. However, speed
is meaningless if the information is wrong. Inaccurate information can increase rather
than decrease the threat to public safety.
The news media are drawn to crises and are a useful way to reach a wide array of
publics quickly. So it is logical that crisis response research has devoted considerable
attention to media relations. Media relations allows crisis managers to reach a wide
range of stakeholders fast. Fast and wide ranging is perfect for public safetyget the
message out quickly and to as many people as possible. Clearly there is waste as nontargets receive the message but speed and reach are more important at the initial stage
of the crisis. However, the news media is not the only channel crisis managers can
and should use to reach stakeholders.
Web sites, Intranet sites, and mass notification systems add to the news media
coverage and help to provide a quick response. Crisis managers can supply greater
amounts of their own information on a web site. Not all targets will use the web site
but enough do to justify the inclusion of web-base communication in a crisis
response. Taylor and Kents (2007) extensive analysis of crisis web sites over a
multiyear period found a slow progression in organizations utilizing web sites and the
interactive nature of the web during a crisis. Mass notification systems deliver short
messages to specific individuals through a mix of phone, text messaging, voice
messages, and e-mail. The systems also allow people to send responses. In
organizations with effective Intranet systems, the Intranet is a useful vehicle for
reaching employees as well. If an organization integrates its Intranet with suppliers
and customers, these stakeholders can be reached as well. As the crisis management
effort progresses, the channels can be more selective.
More recently, crisis experts have recommended a third component to an initial crisis
response, crisis managers should express concern/sympathy for any victims of the
crisis. Victims are the people that are hurt or inconvenienced in some way by the
crisis. Victims might have lost money, become ill, had to evacuate, or suffered

property damage. Kellerman (2006) details when it is appropriate to express regret.

Expressions of concern help to lessen reputational damage and to reduce financial
losses. Experimental studies by Coombs and Holladay (1996) and by Dean (2004)
found that organizations did experience less reputational damage when an expression
of concern is offered verses a response lacking an expression of concern. Cohen
(1999) examined legal cases and found early expressions of concern help to reduce
the number and amount of claims made against an organization for the crisis.
However, Tyler (1997) reminds us that there are limits to expressions of concern.
Lawyers may try to use expressions of concern as admissions of guilt. A number of
states have laws that protect expressions of concern from being used against an
organization. Another concern is that as more crisis managers express concern, the
expressions of concern may lose their effect of people. Hearit (2007) cautions that
expressions of concern will seem too routine. Still, a failure to provide a routine
response could hurt an organization. Hence, expressions of concern may be expected
and provide little benefit when used but can inflict damage when not used.
Argenti (2002) interviewed a number of managers that survived the 9/11 attacks. His
strongest lesson was that crisis managers should never forget employees are important
publics during a crisis. The Business Roundtable (2002) and Corporate Leadership
Council (2003) remind us that employees need to know what happened, what they
should do, and how the crisis will affect them. The earlier discussions of mass
notification systems and the Intranet are examples of how to reach employees with
information. West Pharmaceuticals had a production facility in Kinston, North
Carolina leveled by an explosion in January 2003. Coombs (2004b) examined how
West Pharmaceuticals used a mix of channels to keep employees apprised of how the
plant explosion would affect them in terms of when they would work, where they
would work, and their benefits. Moreover, Coombs (2007a) identifies research that
suggest well informed employees provide an additional channel of communication for
reaching other stakeholders.
When the crisis results in serious injuries or deaths, crisis management must include
stress and trauma counseling for employees and other victims. One illustration is the
trauma teams dispatched by airlines following a plane crash. The trauma teams
address the needs of employees as well as victims families. Both the Business
Roundtable (2002) and Coombs (2007a) note that crisis managers must consider how
the crisis stress might affect the employees, victims, and their families. Organizations
must provide the necessary resources to help these groups cope.
We can take a specific set of both form and content lessons from the writing on the
initial crisis response. Table 4 provides a summary of the Initial Crisis Response Best
Practices. Form refers to the basic structure of the response. The initial crisis
response should be delivered in the first hour after a crisis and be vetted for accuracy.
Content refers to what is covered in the initial crisis response. The initial message
must provide any information needed to aid public safety, provide basic information
about what has happened, and offer concern if there are victims. In addition, crisis
managers must work to have a consistent message between spokespersons.
Table 4: Initial Crisis Response Best Practices
1. Be quick and try to have initial response within the first hour.
2. Be accurate by carefully checking all facts.

3. Be consistent by keeping spokespeople informed of crisis events and key message

points.
4. Make public safety the number one priority.
5. Use all of the available communication channels including the Internet, Intranet,
and mass notification systems.
6. Provide some expression of concern/sympathy for victims
7. Remember to include employees in the initial response.
8. Be ready to provide stress and trauma counseling to victims of the crisis and their
families, including employees.
Reputation Repair and Behavioral Intentions
A number of researchers in public relations, communication, and marketing have shed
light on how to repair the reputational damage a crisis inflicts on an organization. At
the center of this research is a list of reputation repair strategies. Bill Benoit (1995;
1997) has done the most to identify the reputation repair strategies. He analyzed and
synthesized strategies from many different research traditions that shared a concern
for reputation repair. Coombs (2007a) integrated the work of Benoit with others to
create a master list that integrated various writings into one list. Table 5 presents the
Master List of Reputation Repair Strategies. The reputation repair strategies vary in
terms of how much they accommodate victims of this crisis (those at risk or harmed
by the crisis). Accommodate means that the response focuses more on helping the
victims than on addressing organizational concerns. The master list arranges the
reputation repair strategies from the least to the most accommodative reputation repair
strategies. (For more information on reputation repair strategies see also Ulmer,
Sellnow, and Seeger, 2006).
Table 5: Master List of Reputation Repair Strategies
1.Attack the accuser: crisis manager confronts the person or group claiming something
is wrong with the organization.
2.Denial: crisis manager asserts that there is no crisis.
3. Scapegoat: crisis manager blames some person or group outside of the organization
for the crisis.
4. Excuse: crisis manager minimizes organizational responsibility by denying intent to
do harm and/or claiming inability to control the events that triggered the crisis.
Provocation: crisis was a result of response to some one elses actions.
Defeasibility: lack of information about events leading to the crisis situation.
Accidental: lack of control over events leading to the crisis situation.
Good intentions: organization meant to do well
5. Justification: crisis manager minimizes the perceived damage caused by the crisis.
6. Reminder: crisis managers tell stakeholders about the past good works of the
organization.
7. Ingratiation: crisis manager praises stakeholders for their actions.
8. Compensation: crisis manager offers money or other gifts to victims.
9. Apology: crisis manager indicates the organization takes full responsibility for the
crisis and asks stakeholders for forgiveness.

It should be noted that reputation repair can be used in the crisis response phase, postcrisis phase, or both. Not all crises need reputation repair efforts. Frequently the
instructing information and expressions of concern are enough to protect the
reputation. When a strong reputation repair effort is required, that effort will carry
over into the post-crisis phase. Or, crisis managers may feel more comfortable
waiting until the post-crisis phase to address reputation concerns.
A list of reputation repair strategies by itself has little utility. Researchers have begun
to explore when a specific reputation repair strategy or combination of strategies
should be used. These researchers frequently have used attribution theory to develop
guidelines for the use of reputation repair strategies. A short explanation of attribution
theory is provided along with its relationship to crisis management followed by a
summary of lessons learned from this research.
Attribution theory believes that people try to explain why events happen, especially
events that are sudden and negative. Generally, people either attribute responsibility
for the event to the situation or the person in the situation. Attributions generate
emotions and affect how people interact with those involved in the event. Crises are
negative (create damage or threat of damage) and are often sudden so they create
attributions of responsibility. People either blame the organization in crisis or the
situation. If people blame the organization, anger is created and people react
negatively toward the organization. Three negative reactions to attributing crisis
responsibility to an organization have been documented: (1) increased damage to an
organizations reputation, (2) reduced purchase intentions and (3) increased likelihood
of engaging in negative word-of-mouth (Coombs, 2007b; Coombs & Holladay, 2006).
Most of the research has focused on establishing the link between attribution of crisis
responsibility and the threat to the organizations reputation. A number of studies
have proven this connection exists (Coombs, 2004a; Coombs & Holladay, 1996;
Coombs & Holladay, 2002; Coombs & Holladay, 2006). The research linking
organizational reputation with purchase intention and negative word-of-mouth is less
developed but so far has confirmed these two links as well (Coombs, 2007b; Coombs
& Holladay, 2006).
Coombs (1995) pioneered the application of attribution theory to crisis management
in the public relations literature. His 1995 article began to lay out a theory-based
approach to matching the reputation repair strategies to the crisis situation. A series of
studies have tested the recommendations and assumptions such as Coombs and
Holladay (1996), Coombs & Holladay, (2002) and Coombs (2004a), and Coombs,
(2007b). This research has evolved into the Situation Crisis Communication Theory
(SCCT). SCCT argues that crisis managers match their reputation repair strategies to
the reputational threat of the crisis situation. Crisis managers should use increasingly
accommodative the reputation repair strategies as the reputational threat from the
crisis intensifies (Coombs & Holladay, 1996; Coombs, 2007b).
Crisis managers follow a two-step process to assess the reputational threat of a crisis.
The first step is to determine the basic crisis type. A crisis managers considers how
the news media and other stakeholders are defining the crisis. Coombs and Holladay
(2002) had respondents evaluate crisis types based on attributions of crisis
responsibility. They distilled this data to group the basic crises according to the

reputational threat each one posed. Table 6 provides a list the basic crisis types and
their reputational threat.
Table 6: Crisis Types by Attribution of Crisis Responsibility
Victim Crises: Minimal Crisis Responsibility
Natural disasters: acts of nature such as tornadoes or earthquakes.
Rumors: false and damaging information being circulated about you organization.
Workplace violence: attack by former or current employee on current employees onsite.
Product Tampering/Malevolence: external agent causes damage to the organization.
Accident Crises: Low Crisis Responsibility
Challenges: stakeholder claim that the organization is operating in an inappropriate
manner.
Technical error accidents: equipment or technology failure that cause an industrial
accident.
Technical error product harm: equipment or technology failure that cause a product to
be defective or potentially harmful.
Preventable Crises: Strong Crisis Responsibility
Human-error accidents: industrial accident caused by human error.
Human-error product harm: product is defective or potentially harmful because of
human error.
Organizational misdeed: management actions that put stakeholders at risk and/or
violate the law.
The second step is to review the intensifying factors of crisis history and prior
reputation. If an organization has a history of similar crises or has a negative prior
reputation, the reputational threat is intensified. A series of experimental studies have
documented the intensifying value of crisis history (Coombs, 2004a) and prior
reputation (Coombs & Holladay, 2001; Coombs & Holladay, 2006; Klein & Dawar,
2004). The same crisis was found to be perceived as having much strong crisis
responsibility (a great reputational threat) when the organization had either a previous
crisis (Coombs, 2004a) or the organization was known not to treat stakeholders
well/negative prior reputation (Coombs & Holladay, 2001; Coombs & Holladay,
2006; Klein & Dewar, 2004). Table 7 is a set of crisis communication best practices
derived from attribution theory-based research in SCCT (Coombs, 2007b, Coombs &
Holladay, 1996; Coombs & Holladay, 2001; Coombs & Holladay, 2006).
Table 7: Attribution Theory-based Crisis Communication Best Practices
1. All victims or potential victims should receive instructing information, including
recall information. This is one-half of the base response to a crisis.
2. All victims should be provided an expression of sympathy, any information about
corrective actions and trauma counseling when needed. This can be called the care
response. This is the second-half of the base response to a crisis.
3. For crises with minimal attributions of crisis responsibility and no intensifying
factors, instructing information and care response is sufficient.
4. For crises with minimal attributions of crisis responsibility and an intensifying
factor, add excuse and/or justification strategies to the instructing information and care
response.

5. For crises with low attributions of crisis responsibility and no intensifying factors,
add excuse and/or justification strategies to the instructing information and care
response.
6. For crises with low attributions of crisis responsibility and an intensifying factor,
add compensation and/or apology strategies to the instructing information and care
response.
7. For crises with strong attributions of crisis responsibility, add compensation and/or
apology strategies to the instructing information and care response.
8. The compensation strategy is used anytime victims suffer serious harm.
9. The reminder and ingratiation strategies can be used to supplement any response.
10. Denial and attack the accuser strategies are best used only for rumor and challenge
crises.
In general, a reputation is how stakeholder perceive an organization. A reputation is
widely recognized as a valuable, intangible asset for an organization and is worth
protecting. But the threat posed by a crisis extends to behavioral intentions as well.
Increased attributions of organizational responsibility for a crisis result in a greater
likelihood of negative word-of-mouth about the organization and reduced purchase
intention from the organization. Early research suggests that lessons designed to
protect the organizations reputation will help to reduce the likelihood of negative
word-of-mouth and the negative effect on purchase intentions as well (Coombs,
2007b).

Post-Crisis Phase
In the post-crisis phase, the organization is returning to business as usual. The crisis
is no longer the focal point of managements attention but still requires some
attention. As noted earlier, reputation repair may be continued or initiated during this
phase. There is important follow-up communication that is required. First, crisis
managers often promise to provide additional information during the crisis phase.
The crisis managers must deliver on those informational promises or risk losing the
trust of publics wanting the information. Second, the organization needs to release
updates on the recovery process, corrective actions, and/or investigations of the
crisis. The amount of follow-up communication required depends on the amount of
information promised during the crisis and the length of time it takes to complete the
recovery process. If you promised a reporter a damage estimate, for example, be sure
to deliver that estimate when it is ready. West Pharmaceuticals provided recovery
updates for over a year because that is how long it took to build a new facility to
replace the one destroyed in an explosion. As Dowling (2003), the Corporate
Leadership Counsel (2003), and the Business Roundtable (2002) observe, Intranets
are an excellent way to keep employees updated, if the employees have ways to
access the site. Coombs (2007a) reports how mass notification systems can be used
as well to deliver update messages to employees and other publics via phones, text
messages, voice messages, and e-mail. Personal e-mails and phone calls can be used
too.
Crisis managers agree that a crisis should be a learning experience. The crisis
management effort needs to be evaluated to see what is working and what needs
improvement. The same holds true for exercises. Coombs (2006) recommends every

crisis management exercise be carefully dissected as a learning experience. The

organization should seek ways to improve prevention, preparation, and/or the
response. As most books on crisis management note, those lessons are then integrated
into the pre-crisis and crisis response phases. That is how management learns and
improves its crisis management process. Table 8 lists the Post-Crisis Phase Best
Practices.
Table 8: Post-Crisis Phase Best Practices
1. Deliver all information promised to stakeholders as soon as that information is
known.
2. Keep stakeholders updated on the progression of recovery efforts including any
corrective measures being taken and the progress of investigations.
3. Analyze the crisis management effort for lessons and integrate those lessons in to
the organizations crisis management system.

Conclusion
It is difficult to distill all that is known about crisis management into one, concise
entry. I have tried to identify the best practices and lessons created by crisis
management researchers and analysts. While crises begin as a negative/threat,
effective crisis management can minimize the damage and in some case allow an
organization to emerge stronger than before the crisis. However, crises are not the
ideal way to improve an organization. But no organization is immune from a crisis so
all must do their best to prepare for one. This entry provides a number of ideas that
can be incorporated into an effective crisis management program. At the end of this
entry is an annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography provides short
summaries of key writings in crisis management highlighting. Each entry identifies
the main topics found in that entry and provides citations to help you locate those
sources.
Annotated Bibliography
Argenti, P. (2002, December). Crisis communication: Lessons from 9/11. Harvard
Business Review, 80(12), 103-109. This article provides insights into working with
employees during a crisis. The information is derived from interviews with managers
about their responses to the 9/11 tragedies.
Arpan, L.M., & Roskos-Ewoldsen, D.R. (2005). Stealing thunder: An analysis of the
effects of proactive disclosure of crisis information. Public Relations Review 31(3),
425-433.
This article discusses an experiment that studies the idea of stealing thunder. Stealing
thunder is when an organization releases information about a crisis before the news
media or others release the information. The results found that stealing thunder
results in higher credibility ratings for a company than allowing others to report the
crisis information first. This is additional evidence to support the notion of being
quick in a crisis and telling the organizations side of the story.
Augustine, N. R. (1995, November/December). Managing the crisis you tried to
prevent. Harvard Business Review, 73(6), 147-158. This article centers on the six

stages of a crisis: avoiding the crisis, preparing to management the crisis, recognizing
the crisis, containing the crisis, resolving the crisis, and profiting from the crisis. The
article reinforces the need to have a crisis management plan and to test both the crisis
management plan and team through exercises. It also reinforces the need to learn
(profit) from the crisis.
Barton, L. (2001). Crisis in organizations II (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: College
Divisions South-Western. This is a very practice-oriented book that provides a
number of useful insights into crisis management. There is a strong emphasis on the
role of communication and public relations/affairs in the crisis management process
and the need to speak with one voice. The book provides excellent information on
crisis management plans (a template is in Appendix D pp. 225-262); the composition
of crisis management teams (pp. 14-17); the need for exercises (pp. 207-221); and the
need to communicate with employees (pp. 86-101).
Benoit, W. L. (1995). Accounts, excuses, and apologies: A theory of image
restoration. Albany: State University of New York Press. This book has a scholarly
focus on image restoration not crisis manage. However, his discussion of image
restoration strategies is very thorough (pp. 63-96). These strategies have been used as
reputation repair strategies after a crisis.
Benoit, W. L. (1997). Image repair discourse and crisis communication. Public
Relations Review, 23(2), 177-180. The article is based on his book Accounts, excuses,
and apologies: A theory of image restoration and provides a review of image
restoration strategies. The image restoration strategies are reputation repair strategies
that can be used after a crisis. It is a quicker and easiest to use resource than the book.
Business>http://www.nfib.com/object/3783593.html.>Business Roundtables Post9/11 crisis communication toolkit. (2002). Retrieved April 24, 2006,
fromhttp://www.nfib.com/object/3783593.html.
This is a very user-friendly PDF files that takes a person through the crisis
management process. There is helpful information on web-based communication (pp.
73-82) including dark sites and the use of Intranet and e-mail to keep employees
informed. There is an explanation of templates, what are called holding statements or
fill-in-the-blank media statements including a sample statement (pp. 28-29). It also
provides information of the crisis management plan (pp. 21-32), structure of the crisis
management team (pp. 33-40) and types of exercises (pp. 89-93) including mock
press conferences.
Carney, A., & Jorden, A. (1993, August). Prepare for business-related crises. Public
Relations Journal 49, 34-35.
This article emphasize the need for a message strategy during crisis communication.
Developing and sharing a strategy helps an organization to speak with one voice
during the crisis.
Cohen, J. R. (1999). Advising clients to apologize. S. California Law Review, 72,
1009-131.
This article examines expressions of concern and full apologies from a legal
perspective. He notes that California, Massachusetts, and Florida have laws that
prevent expressions of concern from being used as evidence against someone in a

court case. The evidence from court cases suggests that expressions of concern are
helpful because they help to reduce the amount of damages sought and the number of
claims filed.
Coombs, W. T. (1995). Choosing the right words: The development of guidelines for
the selection of the appropriate crisis response strategies. Management
Communication Quarterly, 8, 447-476.
This article is the foundation for Situational Crisis Communication Theory. It uses a
decision tree to guide the selection of crisis response strategies. The guidelines are
based on matching the response to nature of the crisis situation. A number of studies
have tested the guidelines in the decision tree and found them to be reliable.
Coombs, W. T. (2004a). Impact of past crises on current crisis communications:
Insights from situational crisis communication theory. Journal of Business
Communication, 41, 265-289.
This article documents that past crises intensify the reputational threat to a current
crisis. Since the news media reminds people of past crises, it is common for
organizations in crisis to face past crises as well. Crisis managers need to adjust their
reputation repair strategies if there are past crises-crisis managers will need to use
more accommodative strategies than they normally would. Accidents are a good
example. Past accidents indicate a pattern of problems so people will view the
organization as much more responsible for the crisis than if the accident were
isolated. Greater responsibility means the crisis is more of a threat to the reputation
and the organization must focus the response more on addressing victim concerns.
Coombs, W. T. (2004b). Structuring crisis discourse knowledge: The West
Pharmaceutics case. Public Relations Review, 30, 467-474.
This article is a case analysis of the West Pharmaceutical 2003 explosion at its
Kinston, NC facility. The case documents the extensive use of the Internet to keep
employees and other stakeholders informed. It also develops a list of crisis
communication standards based on SCCT. The crisis communication standards offer
suggestions for how crisis managers can match their crisis response to the nature of
the crisis situation.
Coombs, W. T. (2006). Code red in the boardroom: Crisis management as
organizational DNA. Westport, CN: Praeger.
This is a book written for a practitioner audience. The book focuses on how to
respond to three common types of crises: attacks on an organization (pp. 13-26),
accidents (pp. 27-44), and management misbehavior pp. (45-64). There are also
detailed discussions of how crisis management plans must be a living document (pp.
77-90), different types of exercises for crisis management (pp. 84-87), and samples of
specific elements of a crisis management plan in Appendix A (pp. 103-109).
Coombs, W. T. (2007a). Ongoing crisis communication: Planning, Managing, and
responding (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage. This book is designed to teach students and
managers about the crisis management process. There is a detailed discussion of
spokesperson training pp. (78-87) and a discussion of the traits and skills crisis team
members need to posses to be effective during a crisis (pp. 66-77). The book
emphasizes the value of follow-up information and updates (pp. 147-148) along with

the learning from the crisis (pp. 152-162). There is also a discussion of the utility of
mass notification systems during a crisis (pp. 97-98).
Coombs, W. T. (2007b). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis:The
development and application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate
Reputation Review, 10, 1-14.
This article provides a summary of research conducted on and lessons learned from
Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT). The article includes a discussion
how the research can go beyond reputation to include behavioral intentions such as
purchase intention and negative word-of-mouth. The information in the article is
based on experimental studies rather than case studies.
Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J. (1996). Communication and attributions in a crisis:
An experimental study of crisis communication. Journal of Public Relations Research,
8(4), 279-295. This article uses an experimental design to document the negative
effect of crises on an organizations reputation. The research also establishes that the
type of reputation repair strategies managers use does make a difference on
perceptions of the organization. An important finding is proof that the more an
organization is held responsible for the crisis, the more accommodative a reputation
repair strategy must be in order to be effective/protect the organizations reputation.
Coombs, W. T. and Holladay, S. J. (2001). An extended examination of the crisis
situation: A fusion of the relational management and symbolic approaches. Journal of
Public Relations Research, 13, 321-340.
This study reports on an experiment designed to test how prior reputation influenced
the attributions of crisis responsibility. The study found that an unfavorable prior
reputation had the biggest effect. People rated an organization as having much greater
responsibility for a crisis when the prior reputation was negative than if the prior
reputation was neutral or positive. Similar results were found for the effects of prior
reputation on the post-crisis reputation.
Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J. (2002). Helping crisis managers protect reputational
assets: Initial tests of the situational crisis communication theory. Management
Communication Quarterly, 16, 165-186. This article begins to map how stakeholders
respond to some very common crises. Using the level of responsibility for a crisis
that people attribute to an organization, the research found that common crises can be
categorized into one of three groups: victim cluster has minimal attributions of crisis
responsibility (natural disasters, rumors, workplace violence, and tampering),
accidental cluster has low attributions of crisis responsibility (technical-error product
harm and accidents), and preventable cluster has strong attributions of crisis
responsibility (human-error product harm and accidents, management misconduct,
and organizational misdeeds). The article recommends different crisis response
strategies depending upon the attributions of crisis responsibility.
Coombs, W. T. & Holladay, S. J. (2006). Halo or reputational capital: Reputation and
crisis management. Journal of Communication Management, 10(2), 123-137.
This article examines if and when a favorable pre-crisis reputation can protect an
organization with a halo effect. The halo effect says that strong positive feelings will
allow people to overlook a negative event-it can shield an organization from
reputational damage during a crisis. The study found that only in a very specific

situation does a halo effect occur. In most crises, the reputation is damaged
suggesting reputational capital is a better way to view a strong, positive pre-crisis
reputation. An organization accumulates reputational capital by positively engaging
publics. A crisis causes an organization to loss some reputational capital. The more
pre-crisis reputational capital, the stronger the reputation will be after the crisis and
the easier it should be to repair.
Corporate Leadership Council. (2003). Crisis management strategies. Retrieved
September 12, 2006, fromhttp://www.executiveboard.com/EXBD/Images/PDF/Crisis
%20Management%20Strategies.pdf .
This online PDF file summarizes key crisis management insights from the Corporate
Leadership Council. The topics include the value and elements of a crisis
management plan (pp 1-3), structure of a crisis management team (pp. 4-6),
communicating with employees (pp. 7-9), using web sites including dark sites (p.
7), using pre-packaged information/templates (p. 7), and the value of employee
assistance programs (p. 10). The file is an excellent overview to key elements of
crisis management with an emphasis on using new technology.
Dean, D. H. (2004. Consumer reaction to negative publicity: Effects of corporate
reputation, response, and responsibility for a crisis event. Journal of Business
Communication, 41, 192-211.
This article reports an experimental study that included a comparison how people
reacted to expressions of concern verses no expression of concern. Post-crisis
reputations were stronger when an organization provided an expression of concern.
Dilenschneider, R. L. (2000). The corporate communications bible: Everything you
need to know to become a public relations expert. Beverly Hills: New Millennium.
This book has a strong chapter of crisis communication (pp. 120-142). It emphasizes
how a crisis is a threat to an organizations reputation and the need to be strategic with
the communications response.
Downing, J. R. (2003). American Airlines use of mediated employee channels after
the 9/11 attacks. Public Relations Review, 30, 37-48.
This article reviews how American Airlines used its Intranet, web sites, and
reservation system to keep employees informed after 9/11. The article also comments
on the use of employee assistance programs after a traumatic event.
Recommendations include using all available channels to inform employees during
and after a crisis as well as recommending organizations gray out color from their
web sites to reflect the somber nature of the situation.
Fearn-Banks, K. (2001). Crisis communications: A casebook approach (2nd ed.).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. This book is more a textbook for students using
case studies. Chapter 2 (pp. 18-33) has a useful discussion of elements of the crisis
communication plan, a subset of the crisis management plan. Chapter 4 has some tips
on media relations (pp. 63-71).
Hearit, K. M. (1994, Summer). Apologies and public relations crises at Chrysler,
Toshiba, and Volvo. Public Relations Review, 20(2), 113-125.
This article provides a strong rationale for the value of quick but accurate crisis

response. The focus is on how a quick response helps an organization to control the
crisis situation.
Hearit, K. M. (2006). Crisis management by apology: Corporate response to
allegations of wrongdoing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
This book is a detailed, scholarly treatment of apologies that has direct application to
crisis management. Chapter 1 helps to explain the different ways the term
apology is used and concentrates on how it should be treated as a public acceptance of
responsibility (pp. 1-18). Chapter 3 details the legal and liability issues involved
when an organization chooses to use an apology.
Kellerman, B. (2006, April). When should a leader apologize and when not? Harvard
Business Review, 84(4), 73-81. This article defines an apology as accepting
responsibility for a crisis and expressing regret. The value of apologies is highlighted
along with suggestions for when an apology is appropriate and inappropriate. An
apology should be used when it will serve an important purpose, the crisis has serious
consequences, and the cost of an apology will be lower than the cost of being silent.
Klein, J. & Dawar, N. (2004). Corporate social responsibility and consumers
attributions of brand evaluations in product-harm crisis. International Journal of
Marketing, 21, 203-217.
This article reports on an experimental study that compared how prior information
about corporate social responsibility (a dimension of prior reputation) affected
attributions of crisis responsibility. People attribute much greater responsibility to the
negative corporate social responsibility condition than to the neutral or positive
conditions. There was no difference between the attributions in the positive and
neutral conditions.
Lackluster online PR no aid in crisis response. (2002). PR News. Retrieved April 20,
2006, fromhttp://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe
This short article notes how journalists and other interested parties are using web sites
during crises to collect information. The article highlights the value of having a dark
site ready before a crisis. A sample of various criteria for a crisis web are discussed
by reviewing Tycos web site as a case study.
Lerbinger, O. (1997). The crisis manager: Facing risk and responsibility. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.
This book centers on seven types of crises: natural, technological, confrontation,
malevolence, skewed management values, deception, and management misconduct.
There is a strong focus on the role of media relations in crisis management (pp. 27-29
and pp. 31-34).
Mitroff, I. I., Harrington, K., & Gai, E. (1996, September). Thinking about the
unthinkable. Across the Board, 33(8), 44-48.
This article reinforces the value of creating and training crisis management teams by
having them conduct various types of exercises.
Sonnenfeld, S. (1994, July/August). Media policyWhat media policy? Harvard
Business Review, 72(4), 18-19.

This is a short article that discusses the need for spokesperson training prior to a
crisis.
Sturges, D. L. (1994). Communicating through crisis: A strategy for organizational
survival, Management Communication Quarterly, 7, 297-316.
This article emphasizes how communication needs shift during a crisis. The first need
is for instructing information, the information that tells people how to protect
themselves physically from a crisis. The next need is adjusting information, the
information that helps people to cope psychologically with the crisis. The initial crisis
response demands a focus on instructing and adjusting information. The third and
final type of communication is reputation repair. Reputation repair is only used once
the instructing and adjusting information have been provided.
Taylor, M., & Kent, M. L. (2007). Taxonomy of mediated crisis responses. Public
Relations Review, 33, 140-146.
This article summarizes the best practices for using the Internet during a crisis and
advocates more organizations should be using the Internet, especially web sites,
during a crisis. The six best practices are: (1) include all your tradition media
relations materials on your web site; (2) try to make use of the interactive nature of
the Internet for your crisis web content; (3) provide detailed and clear information on
web sites during for a product recall; (4) tell your side of the story on the crisis web
site including quotations from managers; (5) when necessary, create different web
pages for different stakeholders tailored to their interests in the crisis; and (6) work
with government agencies including hyperlinks to relevant government agency web
sites.
Tyler, L. (1997). Liability means never being able to say youre sorry: Corporate guilt,
legal constraints, and defensiveness in corporate communication. Management
Communication Quarterly, 11(1), 51-73.
This article discusses the legal constraints that prevent apologies during a crisis. It is
a hard look at the choices crisis managers must make between addressing victims in a
particular way and financial constraints. The article is a reminder that crisis
management occurs within the larger context of organizational operations and is
subject to financial constraints.
Ulmer, R. R., Sellnow, T. L., & Seeger, M. W. (2006). Effective crisis communication:
Moving from crisis to opportunity. Thousand Oaks: Sage.This book is mix of lessons
and case studies. Many of the cases focus on large scale crises or what some would
call disasters. Large scale crises/disasters are unique because they require multiple
agency coordination and are often managed by government agencies. Chapter 12 (pp.
177-187) on renewal as a reputation repair strategy after a crisis in unique and
informative. Renewal focuses on optimism and an emphasis on moving to some new
and better state after the crisis. Not all organizations can engage in renewal after a
crisis. Renewal requires that an organization have performed ethically before the
crisis and have had strong stakeholder relationships before the crisis