ABSTRACT

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 do not require prior knowledge about crisis communication and crisis management as the book contains 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.

chapter |2 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|10 pages

Evidence-based crisis communication

How research helps us to understand what works

chapter 2|10 pages

The basics of crisis management

chapter 5|13 pages

Understanding extreme crises

Management misconduct and scansis

chapter 7|8 pages

Articulating guidance for extreme crises

chapter 8|6 pages

VW emissions scandal

chapter 9|5 pages

Purdue Pharma and OxyContin crisis

chapter 10|8 pages

BP and the Texas City explosion, 2005

chapter 11|7 pages

Westpac money laundering

chapter 12|7 pages

Wells Fargo and secret accounts

chapter 13|4 pages

EF Hutton and check-kiting

chapter 14|7 pages

The Mylan Pharmaceuticals price hike

chapter 15|13 pages

Rio Tinto destroys cultural site

chapter 16|13 pages

COVID-19 and pandemic communication

chapter 17|6 pages

What we have learned