Purpose -Previous crisis communication research has primarily examined the external dimension of crisis communication, i.e. the crisis response strategies applied by organizations to protect and/or restore their image or reputation among external stakeholders in a crisis situation. The purpose of this paper is to set up an integrative framework for the study of internal crisis communication in private and public organizations. Design/methodology/approach -The paper takes a theoretical approach reviewing the literature on crisis management and crisis communication and discussing the concept of internal stakeholder and the implications of a staged approach. Findings -An integrative framework for the study of internal crisis communication is developed based on two assumptions: first, that internal crisis communication research must start with a detailed study of the relationship between an organization and its internal stakeholders (in this case: the employees) to clarify to what extent internal crisis communication differs from external crisis communication; and second, that internal crisis communication research can best be systematized applying a staged approach (precrisis stage, crisis event, postcrisis stage) as an heuristic method. Originality/value -Apart from a few exceptions, the internal dimension of crises, crisis management, and crisis communication has, by and large, been unexplored.

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The aim of this conceptual article is to study a possible dual relationship between public relations and the new institutionalism. How can neo-institutional organizational theory contribute to public relations research, including answering the question: How is public relations (corporate communication or strategic communication) institutionalized in private and public organizations? And how, vice versa, can public relations contribute to the neo-institutional study of organizations, including answering the question: How does public relations institutionalize? In the first part of the article, a short upto-date précis of the new institutionalism is given demonstrating how this theoretical framework within organizational sociology has developed through various stages and in various directions. The focus is on the shift towards a more complex and interactive understanding of how and why organizations adopt institutionalized norms. In the second part of the article, the new interest in rhetorical, discursive and communicative aspects among neo-institutional scholars is discussed with special reference to Lammers's theory of institutional messages. An outline of a new theory about how public relations institutionalizes is presented. Each of the two parts of the article ends with a set of research questions to be addressed by future cross-disciplinary research in public relations and neo-institutional organizational theory.