Communicating in Extreme Crises Lessons from the Edge

This book is an evidence-based approach to handling common, extreme crises. Extreme crises involve strong moral outrage; moral outrage creates situations where traditional crisis communication advice no longer is effective. These extreme crises create unique demands for crisis managers. Moreover, much of the traditional advice and crisis key performance indicators (KPIs) no longer apply. Validated through research, the book establishes the nature of extreme crises, the optimal crisis response for such crises, and the KPIs (outcomes) crisis managers need to measure for extreme crises. It serves as a guide for how to communicate effectively during extreme crises and provides advice based upon experimental research that validates the effectiveness of the crisis communication interventions.Readers donot require prior knowledge about crisis communication and crisis management as the bookcontains summaries of crisis communication and management before exploring the more specialized topic of extreme crises. Chapters include extended case studies, examining communication within such events as the Westpac money laundering, VW emissions and COVID-19 crises. Communications in Extreme Crises will be of direct interest to scholars of crisis communication in public relations, corporate communication, strategic communication, organizational communication programs and management.

1 Evidence-based crisis communication: how research helps us to understand what works Research methods: creating evidence Evidence-based approach to crisis communication Summary References 2 The basics of crisis management Risk management Crisis management The regenerative model Summary References 3 Understanding the value of and limitations to crisis communication Crisis communication Crisis interventions Summary References 4 Mapping extreme crises as part of crisis preparation Crisis types: the starting point for preparation Crisis preparation: basics and consideration of extreme crises Summary References 5 Understanding extreme crises: management misconduct and scansis Moral outrage: basics and connection to crises Management misconduct Scansis Race and crisis Why worry about extreme crises Summary References 6 Considering boundary conditions and rethinking crisis communication outcomes Boundary conditions Danger: flawed conclusions about crisis interventions in extreme crises Rethinking crisis outcomes Summary References 7 Articulating guidance for extreme crises Extreme crises: the role of moral outrage Optimal crisis interventions following extreme crises Guidance for crisis practitioners Future direction for crisis communication research Summary References 8 VW emissions scandal Background on Volkswagen (VW) Description of the emissions scandal Overview of the crisis intervention Summary of stakeholder reactions Discussion questions References 9 Purdue Pharma and OxyContin crisis Background on Purdue Pharma Description of the OxyContin crisis Overview of crisis intervention Summary of stakeholder reactions Discussion questions References 10 BP and the Texas City explosion, 2005 Background on BP Description of the Texas City explosion Overview of the crisis intervention Summary of stakeholder reactions Discussion questions References 11 Westpac money laundering Background on Westpac Description of the Westpac money laundering case Overview of the crisis intervention Reactions to the crisis and crisis interventions Discussion questions References 12 Wells Fargo and secret accounts Background on Wells Fargo Description of secret accounts case Overview of crisis intervention Summary of stakeholder reactions Discussion questions References 13 EF Hutton and check-kiting Background on EF Hutton Description of EF Hutton check-kiting case Overview of crisis interventions Summary of stakeholder reactions Discussion questions References 14 The Mylan Pharmaceuticals price hike Background on Mylan Pharmaceuticals Description of the Mylan price hike case Overview of crisis intervention Summary of stakeholder reactions Discussion questions References 15 Rio Tinto destroys cultural site Background on Rio Tinto Description of the Juukan Gorge case Overview of crisis interventions Summary of stakeholder reactions Discussion questions References 16 COVID-19 and pandemic communication What is a pandemic, and how does it affect organizations? Anxiety as a driver for pandemic communication Sample COVID-19 messages Discussion questions References 17 What we have learned Models of crisis management Reflecting on the importance of the crisis intervention Guidance for extremophile crisis managers Conclusion References Index

Elina Tachkova is anAssistant Professorat the Department of Communication Studies at HongKong Baptist Univeristy. Her research focuses on crisis communication and especially the concept of 'scansis', the unique intersection between an organizational crisis and a scandal, which is a new theoretical concept in crisis communication research. W. Timothy Coombs is the George T. and Gladys H. Abell Professor in Liberal Arts at the Department of Communication at Texas A&M University, USA. His primary research area is in crisis communication, where he has been developing and testing the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) which provides theory ground and empirically tested strategic advice for the selection of crisis response strategies.