Unearthing the Facets of Crisis History in Crisis Communication: A Conceptual Framework and Introduction of the Crisis History Salience Scale

Abstract

Coombs’s Situational Crisis Communication Theory suggests performance history, composed of relationship history and crisis history, intensify crisis responsibility attribution. Relationship history is organizations’ actual and perceived rapport with publics, while crisis history is an organization’s previous crises. Extant literature has only examined crisis history one-dimensionally. This study proposes the Crisis History Framework that provides insight into influential factors that can make crises more or less salient to individuals. Furthermore, the study introduces the Crisis History Salience Scale that can help crisis communications scholars conduct empirical research examining crisis history’s multiple facets. Moreover, the study offers suggestions for how crisis history considerations can inform proactive crisis management, key messaging, and strategy development during crises.

Resilience, well-being, and organizational outcomes of Croatian, Thai, and US workers during COVID-19

“…Hence, future research should explore the role of prior stressors and generalized or situational appraisals in the relationship between resilience, well-being, and organizational outcomes. Finally, it would also behoove organizational researchers to investigate the extent to which organizations that have successfully weathered past crises – particularly with regard to employee and organizational resilience – were able to translate their previous success into an effective response to COVID-19 (Eaddy, 2021 ).…”

Notes From the Editors: 60 Years Young and a Work in Progress

“…The next anniversary issue article gives a valuable and distinct take on crisis communication strategy through model building and measurement design. “Unearthing the Facets of Crisis History in Crisis Communication: A Conceptual Framework and Introduction of the Crisis History Salience Scale” by Eaddy (2023) pioneers a measure for gauging effective crisis responses: consulting the wisdom of history. Eaddy’s study also intersects historical learning with core factors used by external stakeholders in assessing crisis responses: evaluation, impact, immediacy, and emotion.…”

Optimizing the Organizational Crisis Communication Portfolio

“…Severity of the crisis, relationship history (Coombs 2006 ), prior reputation, and crisis history (Eaddy 2021 ) have an influence on stakeholders’ perception of organizational responsibility (Coombs 2006 ; Holladay 2010 ). The higher the damage resultant from a crisis, the higher stakeholders tend to rate organizational responsibility (Coombs 2006 ; Ye and Ki 2018 ).…”