ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the concepts of crisis, risk, organizational crises and crisis communication as a field of research and two perspectives within this field. Crises can be regarded both as something negative and catastrophic and as a turning point, and also as a chance to develop and learn. Risks and crises are inherently intertwined. Risks can be described as dangerous events that have a certain likelihood of occurring, and that can have serious consequences for an organization. Organizational crises often injure or endanger a stakeholder group, and thus can deteriorate the relationship with these stakeholders. Furthermore, a common consequence of organizational crises is that the legitimacy of the organization and the confidence that various stakeholders have in that organization is severely damaged. Organizational crises are often a consequence of an incident inside or outside of the organization, though it is possible that a double crisis may occur due to poor management of or a lack of communication during a crisis.
