The Organization-Public Relationship and Crisis Communication: The Effect of the Organization-Public Relationship on Publics' Perceptions of Crisis and Attitudes Toward the Organization

This study examined the effect of organization-public relationships on publics' perceptions of a crisis and attitudes toward an organization in crisis. The results showed that regardless of the level of relationship, the perception of the crisis cause had a significant effect on attribution of responsibility. A three-way MANOVA found the unique effects of relationship, crisis responsibility, and the type of crisis-response strategy on attitudes toward the organization in the crisis, but interactions among these predictor variables were not significant. The findings suggest that the cultivation of relationships with publics, as well as the effective use of crisis-response strategies, is an essential part of successful crisis management.