Using what is already there - Integrated Crisis Communication as a new approach in crisis management - Case study and suggestions

Communication plays a vital part in today’s crisis management. Communication-channels and information systems in crisis management are often used separately. Our case study suggests an Integrated Crisis Communication (ICC) approach, which integrates all available communication-channels and information systems in one stakeholder oriented approach. The basis of this article is a case study of a 2-year research project with one of Germany’s largest energy providers. The article starts with outlining the need for a communication-oriented crisis management. It presents results and findings from our research and explicates the main functionality the prototype we developed. Open questions and future research questions are outlined at the end.

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