Strategic crisis response: managerial implications and direction for recovery and survival

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide managers with insights to help survive a crisis, create advantage during slow-growth recoveries and thrive when the crisis is over. Given the environment at the time of this paper, this paper focuses on widespread crises, such as a public health crisis like COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach The authors offer a conceptual framework, grounded in the attribution theory and situation crisis communication theory (SCCT), for managers to use when determining which crisis response strategy is most appropriate to use during a crisis. Propositions based on this framework are provided. This paper focuses on widespread crises, such as a public health crisis, particularly on the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the framework proposed for organizational crisis response strategy and recovery, several insights for managers across a variety of industries emerge. Consideration of the best strategic approach to a crisis is essential, and time is critical. This framework provides a starting point for creating a proper response strategy when a crisis arises that is not within the organization’s crisis management planning. Managerial implications for several industries, such as restaurant, hotel, airline, education, retail, medical and other professional services, and theoretical implications to further the advancement of understanding are provided. Findings The findings of this paper demonstrate that organizations that apply an accommodative strategy during unintentional crises will survive, while during intentional crises, they will thrive in the marketplace. Similarly, organizations that apply an offensive strategy during unintentional crises will thrive, while during intentional crises, they will survive in the marketplace. Practical implications This paper provides a framework highlighting strategies that best protect an organization during both internally and externally caused crises. The response strategy and crisis framework are based on the attribution theory and SCCT. Building on this framework, six propositions are postulated. In keeping with this strategy and crisis framework, this study provides several crisis response insights for managers across a variety of industries. These suggestions act as a guide for managers when assessing how to respond in the early days of a crisis and what to do to recover from it. Originality/value This paper provides a crisis-strategy matrix, grounded in the attribution theory and SCCT, to provide decision-making guidance to help managers survive a crisis, create advantage during slow-growth recoveries and thrive when the crisis is over. The authors provide multiple industry insights related to the “how to” and the “what to” in the recovery from and survival through internally and externally caused crises.

EU’s Crisis Response Strategy in Light of Global Challenges

The author explores the key aspects of EU‟s crisis response strategy evolution. Special attention is paid to the EU‟s policy countering hybrid threats and promoting cyber security, informationcommunication technology, mediation. The article shows that the EU‟s strategy aimed at creation of modern information-communication infrastructure and digital platforms in different regions of the world significantly broaden the technical capacity of the EU to monitor crisis situations, to take measures for an early prevention of conflicts and to timely forecast potential armed conflicts and optimal parameters of the EU‟s technical assistance for the purpose of development and post-conflict reconstruction of conflict-affected states. The author underlines that the modernization of the EU‟s crisis prevention strategy is driven by the new challenges to global and European security as well as by a profound transformation of modern international relations. Cooperation of the EU and the UN in the sphere of peacekeeping and the EU‟s military operation in the framework of the crisis management strategy has also been analyzed. Specific details of the EU‟s concept of “complex approach” to the crisis prevention strategy have been equally presented in the paper.

Defending against fake news

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Fake news has the potential to devastate the reputation of a brand. Storytelling is a crisis response strategy that is able to combat fake news effectively. Originality The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

An Experimental Designs For The Impact Of Attributed Organization Crisis Responsibility On Halal Organization Image As Mediated By Crisis Response Strategy

In Malaysia, food crises related with Halal issues is becoming an imperative issue among Halal consumer with organizations facing crisis that have been suspected to sell NonHalal food products. This type of crisis has the potential to damage the organization image. Therefore, the adoption of appropriate crisis response strategy is needed in order to manage this outcome. In crisis communication field, experimental designs start to be adopted by many of researchers thus shift away from using the case studies. This phenomena occur due to the experimental research provides more understanding on the relationship and consequences of the crisis stimuli. Therefore, this research develop an experimental designs that using 3x3 between subjects factorial design, utilizing survey questionnaires as the instrument in order to investigate the crisis response strategies that most successfully accommodate the level of organization crisis responsibility perceived by the halal food consumer that will impact the organization image. In this research crisis response strategy will mediated the relationship between the organization crisis responsibility and organization image

Anticipating the unknown: Crisis communication while under investigation

The cause of a crisis may have to be reidentified when, during the aftermath of the crisis, new insights come to light in the accident reports. The possible reassignment of responsibility for a crisis complicates the suitable choice of an appropriate crisis response strategy that is ultimately intended to optimize reputational protection. This article describes how this phenomenon should be taken into account and suggests an ‘acknowledge and await’ response strategy for situations in which organizations prefer to respond with care and not jump to conclusions before the outcomes of an investigation are known.