Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship of organizational culture, leadership and crisis management through exploration of these three constructs with respect to crisis management. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, a conceptual framework has been proposed that is based on the literature findings of organizational culture, leadership and crisis management. Two types of cultural elements are used; internal versus external focus and low versus high flexibility. Organizational crisis management process is explained through the five-stage life cycle, including signal detection, prevention, damage containment, recovery and learning. Four types of leadership are included; directive, transactional, cognitive and transformational that are critical during crisis management. Five research propositions have been proposed for each stage of crisis management. Findings Five research propositions have been proposed based on the stages of crisis management. Research limitations/implications The conceptual framework needs to be tested for validity. More research is needed on how changing demographics and technology affect these constructs. Organizations need to develop through reflective practices that focus on leadership competencies and crisis-prone culture to tackle any crisis event. Practical implications Organizations need to develop leadership competencies and crisis-prone culture. Organizations needs to be reflective on their practices. Originality/value The proposed conceptual framework is an expanded version of the crisis response leadership matrix (CRLM) model of Bowers et al. (2017). In this paper, an unique concept is presented by aligning leadership, culture and crisis management with respect to each stage of crisis management and types of crisis.

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