Book Reviews: A Mini Symposium on
For private sector firms, how to communicate effectively during and after a crisis is often critical for survival. Yet it is an area where there is a lack of good research. Timothy Coombs teaches public relations and crisis management at Clemson University in the US and works as a consultant for a private sector communications firm. He is well placed to make a contribution to this issue and, in this book, he outlines his ideas and experiences concerning crisis communications.
The author’s main intention is to overcome the fragmented nature of crisis management literature and to provide an integrative framework for approaching crisis management. A second stated goal is to develop ‘new parts of the crisis management process to improve the overall process’ (p. x). Coombs suggests that the book will be an aid to those interested in practising crisis management, by offering a comprehensive approach for structuring a crisis management program. It also provides an analytical framework for the study of crisis management efforts. Finally, for those teaching crisis management, it is claimed that this book provides an additional resource for education.
The reader’s appetite is wetted by such claims, which, if fulfilled, promise to resolve some of the key questions that have beset crisis management research over the last 15 years. It is appropriate, therefore, to assess the extent to which the author succeeds in his stated aims.
In terms of the overall aim, the book does not provide a new integrated framework for the study of crisis management. The approach is heavily influenced by writers such as Fink, Sturge and Mitroff. A key chapter provides an outline for an ongoing approach to crisis management. This is not a new integration, but a recitation of a well-known three stage approach to crisis (pre-crisis, crisis event, post-crisis). The only addition is to emphasise the importance of communication in the process. There is no evidence as to how this is a new insight or how it gives greater integration to the subject.
The second goal of the book is to develop new parts of the crisis management process. This goal is fulfilled by again discussing the issue of communication as part of the process of crisis management. One aspect of this is how a firm can deal with a potential loss of reputation. Coombs concentrates on the types of communication strategies that can be employed. He also mentions that these need to be matched to the situation. This is an interesting area, but unfortunately he does not explore the issues in any depth. For example, the discussion on credibility, based on McCroskey (1997), and trustworthiness, derived from Allen and Caillouet (1994), deserves much more analysis. How different communication strategies can be used to support the reputation of an individual or organization could have been explored in much more detail. A further interesting question which the author does not address is how such communications strategies might work across cultural boundaries. What is appropriate in the US may be seen as intolerable in India or Japan. The author’s lack of cross-cultural awareness is matter of concern for those international firms wanting to use this book in developing their approach to crisis communications.
In the light of these comments, it is clear that the usefulness of this book for practitioners is likely to be limited. It may be a useful read for those involved in the PR and communication aspects of crisis, but it provides no significant development or assistance for those involved in other areas of crisis preparation or management.
For researchers, the book’s analytical framework is hardly a new or fresh insight. Coombs highlights the issue of communications. This has, however, been discussed in other works from a practical view in Flin (1996) and in detailed reports of research, such as Daft, Bettenhausen and Tyler (1995). The book does provide an additional resource for teachers. Indeed, the book reads as though it has been developed as a result of a series of lectures, with ‘application points’ to get students to engage in active learning. It is clearly meant as an introduction to the subject. As such, it is an easy-to-read contribution aimed very much at an American audience. There is a lack of citations from European sources and a lack of reports of research from journals in the crisis management area (as opposed to the PR and communications area). The appendix provides a useful list of cases that, the author says, could be used in the application of the points raised in the text, but he does not provide any details of sources of the cases. He outlines the content of each case but not the main learning points that can be derived from the case.
The author concludes the book by saying that ‘I believe the integrative power of this book offers unique insights into crisis management’. The book, rather, provides an introductory account of crisis communication. The weakness of this contribution is that it does not provide a detailed systematic report of research in crisis communication. The book’s aims and intentions are ambitious, but on the author’s own criteria the fulfilment of the aims are substantially less than might be expected. The power of public relations does not hide the paucity of ideas and the lack of systematic research.
References
Allen, M.W. and Caillouet, R.H. (1994), ‘Legitimation Endeavors: Impression Management Strategies Used by an Organisation in Crisis’, Communication Monographs, Volume 61, Number 2, April, pp. 44–62.
Daft, R.L., Bettenhausen, K.R. and Tyler, B.B. (1995), ‘Implications of Top Managers Communications Choices for Strategic Decisions’, in Huber, G.H. and Glick, W.H. (Eds), Organizational Change and Redesign, Oxford, Oxford University Press, pp. 112–146.
Flin, R. (1996), Sitting in the Hot Seat, Chichester, Wiley.
McCroskey, J.C. (1997), An Introduction to Rhetorical Communication, Boston, Allyn and Bacon.
