Organizational Crisis Communication

Finn Frandsen (mag. art., Aarhus University) is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Business Communication, Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS), Aarhus University (Denmark).  His research interests include crisis management and crisis communication, environmental communication, public communication, stakeholder theory, and the institutionalization of strategic communication in private and public organizations. Together with Winni Johansen, he is the originator of Rhetorical Arena Theory and the multivocal approach to crisis communication.  His research has been published in international journals, handbooks and encyclopedias, such as  Corporate Communications: An International Journal, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Management Communication Quarterly, Public Relations Inquiry, Public Relations Review, Scandinavian Journal of Public Management and The Handbook of Crisis Communication, Encyclopedia of Public Relations, The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication, and Handbook of International Crisis Communication Research.  He is regional editor (Europe) of Corporate Communications: An International Journal and member of the advisory board of the European Communication Monitor. He has served as visiting professor at highly ranked universities and business schools in Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy and Senegal. He has also consulted with organizations in the private and public sector.Winni Johansen (PhD, Aarhus School of Business) is Professor of Corporate Communication and Crisis Management at the Department of Business Communication, Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS), Aarhus University (Denmark).  Her research interests include crisis management and crisis communication, environmental communication, public communication, social media, and the institutionalization of strategic communication in private and public organizations. Together with Finn Frandsen, she is the originator of Rhetorical Arena Theory and the multivocal approach to crisis communication.Her research has been published in international journals, handbooks and encyclopedias, such as Corporate Communications: An International Journal, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Management Communication Quarterly, Public Relations Inquiry, Public Relations Review, Scandinavian Journal of Public Management and The Handbook of Crisis Communication, Encyclopedia of Public Relations, The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication, and Handbook of International Crisis Communication Research. She is co-editor of International Encyclopedia of Strategic Communication I-III.  She has served as visiting professor at highly ranked universities and business schools in Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy and Senegal. She has also consulted with organizations in the private and public sector.

• General IntroductionPART I: KEY DIMENSIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CRISES, CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND CRISIS COMMUNICATIONChapter 1: Living in a Crisis SocietyChapter 2: What Is a Crisis? Definitions and TypologiesChapter 3: Crisis Management (I) General Perspectives: From Anticipation to ResilienceChapter 4: Crisis Management (II): Staged Approaches - Before, During, and After CrisisChapter 5: Crisis Communication (I): Rhetorical and Text-oriented ApproachesChapter 6. Crisis Communication (II): Strategic and Context-oriented ApproachesChapter 7: Crisis Communication Across CulturesPART II: INSIDE THE RHETORICAL ARENAChapter 8: The Rhetorical Arena: A New Theoretical FrameworkChapter 9: Consumers and Citizens: Emotions and Social MediaChapter 10: News Media: Mediatization and Crisis JournalismChapter 11: Intermediaries: Trade AssociationsChapter 12: Managers and Employees: Inside the OrganizationEpilogue: The Future of Organizational Crisis Communication: Agendas for Research, Education, and Practice

Rich with case studies and practical examples, this book is a must read for anyone with an interest in this critical area of management. There is probably no better book and no better team of authors on the subject of crisis communication. Frandsen and Johansen walk the reader through different types of organizational crises, and present their own distinctive arena model of crisis communication that is adept to the current media landscape in which issues emerge and almost over night amplify into full-blown crises for many organizations. Read this book and you will be better able to identify and analyse organizational crises and figure out the right communication response.