Coping, Not Choking, Under the Pressure of a Terrorist Attack: A Crisis Leadership Coping Model

Organizational crises, especially those of an extreme nature that include threats to survival and mass casualties, are deeply psychologically challenging for leaders. Previous research has focused on the effectiveness of leaders’ crisis management without much consideration for how leaders manage their own crisis reactions. This study was carried out in the crisis management facilities at the headquarters of a multinational energy corporation while a terrorist attack was ongoing in one of its subsidiaries. The unique access and data provide insights into how leaders react to crises and seek support by using different coping strategies. We develop a three-phase model (acceptance, psychological flexibility, and commitment) that illustrates the in-situ creation of a holding environment to support leaders in coping, not choking, under the pressure of a life-threatening crisis.

Hacking a reputation: crisis communication and the Ashley Madison data breach

[Para. 1] At a time where online activists are targeting and obtaining the intellectual property of companies on a regular basis, how should a company communicate and mitigate the data breach to ensure that its valued customers feel protected, or in the best case scenario, prevent it altogether? The adoption and implementation of a sound crisis communication and management strategy is thus a fundamental operative for the success of any organization. Organizational crises can fundamentally disrupt and harm companies, organizations and individuals alike; they are characterized as “non-routine, severe event[s] that [can] destroy [its] reputation or operations” (Koerber, 2017). When a crisis arises for an organization, it is imperative that they have a strong sense of clarity regarding the issue at hand – specifically, they must understand the context and “background narrative that gives interpretative shape to [its] foreground issues” (Arnett, Deiuliis, Corr, 2017). Perhaps most emblematic of these background narratives is the circulation of competing information and perspectives, by both social media and traditional news sources. With the rise of social media and the 24/7 news cycle, a new sense of power and inflated ability to frame an issue has been afforded to many publics – particularly due to the ability of these mediums to rapidly transmit and receive information. These affordances have the potential to be either beneficial or detrimental to a company when faced with a crisis. While an organization can benefit from strategic media relations and effective crisis communication, even the most established of firms can have their voice become convoluted or be reprimanded if communication is poorly executed.

Hacking a reputation: crisis communication and the Ashley Madison data breach

[Para. 1] At a time where online activists are targeting and obtaining the intellectual property of companies on a regular basis, how should a company communicate and mitigate the data breach to ensure that its valued customers feel protected, or in the best case scenario, prevent it altogether? The adoption and implementation of a sound crisis communication and management strategy is thus a fundamental operative for the success of any organization. Organizational crises can fundamentally disrupt and harm companies, organizations and individuals alike; they are characterized as “non-routine, severe event[s] that [can] destroy [its] reputation or operations” (Koerber, 2017). When a crisis arises for an organization, it is imperative that they have a strong sense of clarity regarding the issue at hand – specifically, they must understand the context and “background narrative that gives interpretative shape to [its] foreground issues” (Arnett, Deiuliis, Corr, 2017). Perhaps most emblematic of these background narratives is the circulation of competing information and perspectives, by both social media and traditional news sources. With the rise of social media and the 24/7 news cycle, a new sense of power and inflated ability to frame an issue has been afforded to many publics – particularly due to the ability of these mediums to rapidly transmit and receive information. These affordances have the potential to be either beneficial or detrimental to a company when faced with a crisis. While an organization can benefit from strategic media relations and effective crisis communication, even the most established of firms can have their voice become convoluted or be reprimanded if communication is poorly executed.

Corporate Responses to COVID-19: A Nonmarket Strategy Approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented threat to the survival of U.S. firms. Prior studies show that firms use market strategies such as layoffs and pay cuts to cope with organizational crises. Little is known about how firms engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate political activities (CPA) during crises. This study focuses on how America’s largest publicly traded firms use these two nonmarket strategies to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Results suggest that public firms actively engaged in both CSR and CPA after the outbreak. The preliminary estimation shows that firms listed in Russell 1000 have donated or pledged over $3.9 billion to corporate philanthropy and invested over 2.1 billion in observed political donations and lobbying in Congress in the early pandemic. The marked variation in corporate nonmarket strategies could be partially attributed to corporate elites’ political ideology, political accountability, and perceived COVID-19 risk.

Achieving employee support during the COVID-19 pandemic – the role of relational and informational crisis communication in Austrian organizations

PurposeBased on social exchange theory, the study examines the influence of informational and relational internal communication on cognitive and affective responses and job engagement during organizational crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachData were collected by means of an online survey among people working in organizations with a minimum of 10 employees (N = 1,033) and analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsResults show that informational and relational communication as organizational resources have a significant but distinct influence on how employees support their employer during the crisis. While informational communication influences employees' acceptance of managerial decisions, relational communication exerts most influence on affective commitment, which is the strongest driver of job engagement.Research limitations/implicationsThe cross-sectional design, specific crisis situation and geographic location are limitations of the study.Practical implicationsDelivering relevant information to employees quickly and reliably is important. Yet, relationship-oriented communication that demonstrates appreciation and allows for participation has even stronger effects on job engagement, which is essential to mastering challenges arising from a crisis.Social implicationsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations demanded much from their employees. In exchange, organizations should provide the resources information, status and love (Foa and Foa, 1980) by means of internal crisis communication.Originality/valueThe study demonstrates the role of different types of internal communication during organizational crises used to convey organizational resources, and it highlights the mediating role of acceptance and commitment to enhance employees' engagement at work.

HOW COSO ERM AND SHIMODEL ALGORITHM CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE

Based on theoretical model (COSO ERM), I developed a tool that companies can use to correctly identify the risks they were exposed to, to prevent operational crises in due time, as there is no such a tool publicly available for companies to use. The objective was to offer a solution for all kind of organizations for the problem of correctly identifying and mitigating operational risk exposure, to consolidate their position and be able to prevent organizational crises. This is particularly important as it seems that a “permanentizing of crises” has occurred in the business environment. Compared to the other tools existing in the field of risk management, available to the public use, the mathematical algorithm is offering specific instructions for the managers to use, not just theoretical guidelines. Also, the tool offers a unique feature of being able to be applied for any kind of business organization, from any kind of business field, due to its capacity to adapt to the specificities of every enterprise. Meanwhile, while it seems to be very practical, it is based on a right theoretical framework, supported by the complexity theory.

Organizational and Institutional Crisis Management

Research on organizational crisis emanates from multiple disciplines (public administration, international relations, political science, organization science, communication studies), yet basically argues that three main categories of crises exist: • Crises in organizations: often tangible, immediate threats or incidents that completely upset an organization’s primary process or performance, while both cause and problems are more or less confined to the organization and those affected by its malperformance. • Crisis to the organization: a threat or damage occurs outside of the organization at hand but implicates the organization by attribution of responsibility or culpability (for causing the problems or allowing them to occur). • Crisis about the organization, or institutional crisis: even without a tangible threat or damage, in a short period of time the organization’s perceived performance deficit becomes so deeply problematic that the organization itself is subject to intense scrutiny and criticism. Previously agreed-on values and routines, the structure, and policy philosophy of the organization are no longer seen as adequate or legitimate. The three types of organizational crises tend to have not only different causes but also different implications as to the commensurate crisis response, both functionally and politically. There is no single best response to organizational crises: appropriate responses are both commensurate to the crisis type at hand and to different phases of a crisis. Still, discerning between crisis typologies opens a research agenda to provide a better understanding of the relation between the internal and external dynamics of a crisis.

Editor’s Essay: Moving beyond Western Corporate Perspectives: On the Need to Increase the Diversity of Risk and Crisis Communication Research

The field of crisis and risk communication research has experienced significant growth and increasing institutionalization in the past decades. However, there are still geographic and perspective blind spots. Up to date, by far the most research focuses on the U.S.; non-Western perspectives remain marginal. Moreover, the focus on organizational crises still clearly dominates. We therefore call for more research better reflecting the global environment and diverse crisis and risk contexts in which our field can make contributions. This argument is supported by the current pandemic mandating cross-cultural and multi-perspective approaches.