Navigating Crisis: The Role of Communication in Organizational Crisis

Abstract

This article introduces the special issue on crisis communication, whose aim is to bring together diverse approaches and methods of analysis in the field. The article overviews the field by discussing two main frameworks, dealing with postcrisis (reputation management) and precrisis (issue management) communication, respectively. The article then overviews some major theories of crisis communication and their different methodologies: image repair, situational crisis communication theory, rhetorical arena theory, narrative, and integrated crisis mapping. It ends with a description of some lessons learned that apply to all approaches and an overview of the contributions to the issue. By comparing and contrasting different perspectives on crisis communication, the article emphasizes the rich diversity that characterizes this branch of business communication.