The Influence of Communication Leadership Qualities on Effective Crisis Preparedness Strategy Implementation: Insights from a Global Study

Abstract

Based on an international online survey of communication management leaders in multiple countries, this study analyzed the responses from a total of 532 leaders who indicated crisis preparedness as a top issue for their organizations. Our results indicate: 1) Communication leaders in North America, Europe and a combination of Asia, Middle East and South America differed significantly in their implementation of crisis preparedness strategies; and 2) Different communication leadership qualities jointly predicted communication leaders implementation of each of the crisis preparedness strategies, respectively. Our findings provide important implications for global crisis leadership theory development. Research insights from this study also shed light on the importance for international organizations to integrate communication leadership qualities with crisis preparedness strategy development and implementation.