Article published in:
Strategic Communication: Beyond nation cultural adaption, images and identity
Edited by Hassan Abu Bakar and Bahtiar Bin Mohamad
[Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 28:1] 2018
► pp. 107–128

Towards measuring internal crisis communication

A qualitative study

| Universiti Utara Malaysia
| Universiti Utara Malaysia
| Universiti Utara Malaysia
Researchers are often faced with challenges of measurements for the phenomena of their interest. Progress in such situation can only be done through developing new measurements. Therefore, grounded on the pool of items generated from previous literature, this study takes a qualitative approach to develop a valid measure for internal crisis communication following two stage of Churchill’s seminal theory. This study used semi-structured in-depth interviews for collecting data with a sample of 12 informants who are employees of an electric distribution company in Nigeria. The findings of this study indicated that the new internal crisis communication measure improved the quality of communication between management and employee during crisis. This study could provide policy makers, regulators, managers, and government on how to improve the crisis management among stakeholders. Also, the study is significant to the literature particularly in developing economy on crisis management that is lacking. Further study could look at internal stakeholders during crisis in other sectors.
Keywords: internal crisis communication, employees’ sensemaking, qualitative
Article outline
  • Review of literature
    • Internal crisis communication
    • Sense making
    • Attributes of internal crisis communication
  • Method
    • Interview administration
    • Results and discussion
      • The concept of internal crisis communication
      • Pool of items generated from the literature
      • New items generated from the interview
  • Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 19 January 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00006.ada
References
Abdul Manaf, N. A., Mas’ud, A., Ishak, Z., Saad, N., & Russell, A.
(2016) Towards establishing a scale for assessing the attractiveness of petroleum fiscal regimes – Evidence from Malaysia. Energy Policy, 881, 253–261. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Adamu, A. A., Mohamad, B., & Adzrieman, N. R.
(2016) Antecedents of Internal Crisis Communication and its Consequences on Employee Performance, 61, 33–41. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Benoit, W. L.
(1997) Image repair discourse and crisis communication. Public Relations Review, 23(2), 177–186. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bryman, A.
(2012) Social research methods. Social Research Methods (Vol. 41). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Churchill Jr., G.
(1979) A paradigm for developing better measures of marketing constructs. Journal of Marketing Research, 16(1), 64–73. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J.
(2001) An extended examination of the crisis situations: A fusion of the relational management and symbolic approaches. Journal of public relations research, 13(4), 321–340. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2002) Helping Crisis Managers Protect Reputational Assets: Initial Tests of the Situational Crisis Communication Theory. Management Communication Quarterly, 16(2), 165–186. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Coombs, W. T.
(2010a) Pursuing evidence-based crisis communication. Handbook of crisis communication, 719–725.Google Scholar
(2010b) Parameters for crisis communication. The handbook of crisis communication, 17–53.Google Scholar
Craig, C. S., & Douglas, S. P.
(2001) International Marketing Review Emerald Article: Conducting international marketing research in the twenty-first century. International Marketing Review, 18(1), 80–90. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Creswell, J. W.
(2009) Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Research Design Qualitative Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches, 3rd, 260.Google Scholar
DeVellis, R. F.
(2012) Scale development: Theory and applications (Vol. 261). Sage publications.Google Scholar
Fearn-Banks, K.
(1996) Crisis communication theory and ten businesses hit by news for making crises. Global business trends, 55–62.Google Scholar
Frandsen, F., & Johansen, W.
(2011) The study of internal crisis communication: towards an integrative framework. Corporate Communications: An International Journa, 16(4), 347–361. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Fearn-banks, K.
(2007) Crisis Communications: A Casebook Approach (Third Edit). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L.
(2006) How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field methods, 18(1), 59–82. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hannah, S. T., Avolio, B. J., Walumbwa, F. O., & Chan, A.
(2012) Leader Self and Means Efficacy: A multi-component approach. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 118(2), 143–161. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Heide, M.
(2013) Internal crisis communication–the future of crisis management. In Handbuch Krisenmanagement (pp. 195–209). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Heide, M., & Simonsson, C.
(2013) Cross-fertilizing change and crisis research: Towards a better understanding of internal crisis communication. In 3rd International Conference on Crisis Communication in the 21st Century.Google Scholar
(2014) Developing internal crisis communication. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 19(2), 128–146. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2015) Struggling with internal crisis communication: A balancing act between paradoxical tensions. Public Relations Inquiry, 4(2), 223–255. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hiede, M.
(2013) Handbuch Krisenmanagement. In Handbuch Krisenmanagement (pp. 343–357). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.Google Scholar
Hinkin, T. R., Tracey, J. B., & Enz, C. A.
(1997) Scale construction: Developing reliable and valid measurement instruments. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 21(1), 100–120. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jamal, J., & Abu Bakar, H.
(2015) The Mediating Role of Charismatic Leadership Communication in a Crisis: A Malaysian Example. International Journal of Business Communication. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jin, Y., Liu, B. F., Anagondahalli, D., & Austin, L.
(2014) Scale development for measuring publics’ emotions in organizational crises. Public Relations Review, 40(3), 509–518. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Johansen, W., Aggerholm, H. K., & Frandsen, F.
(2012) Entering new territory: A study of internal crisis management and crisis communication in organizations. Public Relations Review, 38(2), 270–279. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kent, M. L.
(2010) What is a Public Relations “Crisis?” Refocusing Crisis Research. In The Handbook of Crisis Communication (pp. 489–507).Google Scholar
Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M.
(2002) Toward a dialogic theory of public relations. Public Relations Review, 28(1), 21–37. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mackenzie, S. B., Podsakoff, P. M., & Podsakoff, N. P.
(2011) Construct measurement and validation procedures in MIS and behavioral research: Integrating new and existing techniques. MIS Quarterly, 35(2), 293–334. Retrieved from http:/​/dl​.acm​.org​/citation​.cfm​?id​=2017510\npapers3://​publication​/uuid​/E4D3717C​-7F3F​-4791​-8835​-141D4309976B
Maitlis, S., & Sonenshein, S.
(2010) Sensemaking in Crisis and Change: Inspiration and Insights From Weick (1988). Journal of Management Studies, 47(3), 551–580. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mazzei, A., Kim, J. -N., & Dell’Oro, C.
(2012) Strategic Value of Employee Relationships and Communicative Actions: Overcoming Corporate Crisis with Quality Internal Communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 6(1), 31–44. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mazzei, A., & Ravazzani, S.
(2013) Responsible Communication with Employees to Mitigate the Negative Effects of Crises: A Study of Italian Companies. In International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communication: Responsible Communication (pp. 2–11). IT.Google Scholar
(2015) Internal Crisis Communication Strategies to Protect Trust Relationships: A Study of Italian Companies. International Journal of Business Communication, 52(3), 319–337. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Merriam, S. B.
(2009) Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (Vol. 531).Google Scholar
Mohamad, B.
(2013) The Structural Relationships between Corporate Culture, ICT Diffusion Innovation, Corporate Leadership, Corporate Communication Management (CCM) Activities and Organisational Performance, (Ccm).Google Scholar
Myer, R. A., Williams, R. C., Ottens, A. J., & Schmidt, A. E.
(1992) Crisis assessment: A three-dimensional model for triage. Journal of Mental Health Counseling.Google Scholar
Myer, R. A., Conte, C., & Peterson, S. E.
(2007) Human impact issues for crisis management in organizations. Disaster Prevention and Management, 16(5), 761–770. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Nikolaev, A. G.
(2010) Thirty common basic elements of crisis management plans: Guidelines for handling the acute stage of “hard” emergencies at the tactical level. The handbook of crisis communication, 261–281. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pineau, P. O.
(2008) Electricity sector integration in West Africa. Energy Policy, 36(1), 210–223. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Promsri, C.
(2014) Thai Employees’ Perception Towards Organizational Crisis Preparedness. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(14), 41–51.Google Scholar
Ravazzani, S.
(2016) Exploring internal crisis communication in multicultural environments: a study among Danish managers. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 21(1), 73–88. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Shimp, T. A., & Sharma, S.
(1987) Consumer Ethnocentrism: Construction and Validation of the CETSCALE. Journal of Marketing Research, 24(3), 280–289. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Strandberg, J. M., & Vigsø, O.
(2016) Internal crisis communication: An employee perspective on narrative, culture, and sensemaking. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 21(1), 89–102. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sweeney, J., & Soutar, G.
(2001) Consumer perceived value: the development of a multiple item scale. Journal of Retailing, 77(2), 203–220. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Tyler, L.
(2005) Towards a postmodern understanding of crisis communication. Public Relations Review, 31(4), 566–571. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, M.
(2010) Toward a holistic organizational approach to understanding crisis. The handbook of crisis communication, 698–704.Google Scholar
Veil, S. R.
(2011) Mindful Learning in Crisis Management. Journal of Business Communication, 48(2), 116–147. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Weick, K. E.
(1979) The social psychology of organizing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
(1988) Enacted Sensemaking in Crisis Situations. Journal of Management Studies, 25(4), 305–317. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(1993) The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organizations : The Mann Gulch Disaster Author ( s ): Karl E . Weick Source : Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Dec. 1993), pp. 628–652 Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of the Johns, 38(4), 628–652.Google Scholar
Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., Obstfeld, D., Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D.
(2005) Organization Science and the Process of Sensemaking. Organization Science, 16(4), 409–421. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 3 other publications

Adamu, Adamu Abbas & Bahtiar Mohamad
2019. A reliable and valid measurement scale for assessing internal crisis communication. Journal of Communication Management 23:2 ► pp. 90 ff. Crossref logo
Adamu, Adamu Abbas & Bahtiar Mohamad
2019. Developing a Strategic Model of Internal Crisis Communication: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria. International Journal of Strategic Communication 13:3 ► pp. 233 ff. Crossref logo
Mohamad, Bahtiar, Adamu Abbas Adamu & Muslim Diekola Akanmu
2022. Structural Model for the Antecedents and Consequences of Internal Crisis Communication (ICC) in Malaysia Oil and Gas High Risk Industry. SAGE Open 12:1 ► pp. 215824402210798 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 19 april 2022. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.