Normal chaos: A new research paradigm for understanding practice

Lauder, Michael Alan; Marynissen, Hugo

doi:10.1111/1468-5973.12189

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…In a world where multiple stakeholders are highly interconnected and where vast amounts of informal conversations appear as a reaction to a situation that is too complex to understand, it is an illusion one can manage the communication with a guaranteed positive result in safeguarding one's own reputation. The idea of "manage" suggests a high degree of control that is often an illusion (Lauder & Marynissen, 2018); nudging may be all that is possible. Alternatively, as each crisis situation is different, it is questionable as to whether crisis communication strategies can be reduced to a predefined strategy.…”

Section: Discussion Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Crisis situations are too complex to simply be understood through a cause and effect relationship within a system (Lauder & Marynissen, 2018). Hence, the question arises how to effectively manage public communication during a crisis.…”

Section: Discussion Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hence, the question arises how to effectively manage public communication during a crisis. Although communication is integral to crisis management, there is a tendency to adhere to a “perfect world paradigm” (Lauder & Marynissen, 2018) that supports the idea that “perfect is not only an aspirational goal, but also a real-world benchmark to measure performance against that aspiration” (Lauder & Marynissen, 2018, p. 319). In a world where multiple stakeholders are highly interconnected and where vast amounts of informal conversations appear as a reaction to a situation that is too complex to understand, it is an illusion one can manage the communication with a guaranteed positive result in safeguarding one’s own reputation.…”

Section: Discussion Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stakeholder-Focused Communication Strategy During Crisis: A Case Study Based on the Brussels Terror Attacks

Marynissen

Lauder

2019

International Journal of Business Communication

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Research in the field of risk and crisis communication indicates that large disasters not only cause distress among those affected by a crisis situation but also among the wider public. It is known that feelings of anxiety and dread are rooted in a heuristic interpretation of the situation, and that this leads to elevated stress levels in both the individual and the collective. From the literature on psychosocial behavior, we know that the lack of information, the shortness of guidance on what to do, and the absence of acknowledgement of any emotional distress, all have an immediate negative impact on the individual’s stress level. To tackle this phenomenon, this research looks to communication practices as a way of dealing with this issue during a crisis. The prevailing crisis communication literature suggests its prime aim is to safeguard the sender’s reputation thereby preventing the loss of trust. In our work, we inverted that logic by introducing a crisis communication strategy that focuses on restoring trust by diminishing victims’ and other stakeholders’ stress levels. Based on a case, the Brussels terror attacks (March, 2016), we proved the effectiveness of this approach and the diminishing effect on the population’s stress levels.

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Section: Discussion Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stakeholder-Focused Communication Strategy During Crisis: A Case Study Based on the Brussels Terror Attacks

Marynissen

Lauder

2019

International Journal of Business Communication

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“…The APA's high performance can be (at least) partially attributed to it being principal driven rather than rule driven (cf. Lauder and Marynissen 2018). The APA's guiding principle during the pandemic was that the port should remain open.…”

Section: Findings On Crisis Management By the Network Of Network: Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

Network of Networks: Preliminary Lessons from the Antwerp Port Authority on Crisis Management and Network Governance to Deal with the COVID‐19 Pandemic

Oord

Vanlaer

Marynissen

et al. 2020

Public Administration Review

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In this article, the authors describe and illustrate what they call a “network of networks” perspective and map the development of a lead network for the Antwerp Port Authority that governed organizations and networks in the port community before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic. They find that setting a collective focus and selective integration are crucial in the creation and reproduction of an effective system to adequately deal with a wicked problem like the COVID‐19 pandemic. The findings on crisis management and network governance are used to engage practitioners and public policy planners to revisit the current design and governance of organizational networks within organizational fields that have been hit by the COVID‐19 pandemic.

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“…In an ideal world, crisis communication plans are ready to use, although the reality is often very different (Gribas et al , 2018). One may, for example, not exaggerate the function of a plan since plans are fragile and can be ambiguous (Lauder and Marynissen, 2018). It is important to note that no two crises are completely identical, and as a consequence no one crisis communication plan is applicable to every crisis (Horsley and Barker, 2002; Coombs, 2020).…”

Section: Crisis and Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crisis communication in public emergencies: multistakeholders' perspectives

Cannaerts

2020

IJES

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PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence for effective crisis communication in public emergencies including the relevance of planning and training and rehearsal; to explore the role of different stakeholders and how social media influence effective crisis communication.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research design was employed. Two events were analysed, via the synthesis model for handling crisis communication in the public sector, as cases. First, via post-crisis semi-structured interviews, a gas explosion in the city of Antwerp was analysed. Second, via participant observation of a training and rehearsal exercise, more insight was gained on the role of training and social media for crisis communication.FindingsThe findings of this paper provide empirical evidence that (1) effective crisis communication is communication that is diversified across different crisis stages and diverse stakeholders; (2) that different internal social media tools and external social media tools are necessary to be monitored for effective crisis communication; (3) that training and rehearsal are of great importance for effective crisis communication.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to three current crisis communication research calls. First, the call for more research focusing on public sector crisis management, using public sector crisis communication models. Second, the call for the implementation of a more multiple-actor approach instead of an organisation-centred approach; and, third, the call for gaining insight into how specific communication channels are used before, during and after a crisis.

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Normal chaos: A new research paradigm for understanding practice

Cited by 9 publications

References 30 publications

Stakeholder-Focused Communication Strategy During Crisis: A Case Study Based on the Brussels Terror Attacks

Stakeholder-Focused Communication Strategy During Crisis: A Case Study Based on the Brussels Terror Attacks

Network of Networks: Preliminary Lessons from the Antwerp Port Authority on Crisis Management and Network Governance to Deal with the COVID‐19 Pandemic

Crisis communication in public emergencies: multistakeholders' perspectives

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