Examining employees' affective and behavioral responses to internal crisis communication in times of COVID-19.

Communication is an essential component of crisis management strategies in hospitality and tourism. This study aimed to build on the integrated internal crisis communication framework. This study employed qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Following a preliminary qualitative study, a conceptual model was developed and tested with a total of 806 responses. The results showed that the approach and content of internal crisis communication messages directly affected employees' evaluations of their organizations' crisis management efforts and their psychological safety, both of which further affected their perceived social resilience and turnover intentions. Furthermore, the results of multigroup analyses revealed the different impacts of internal crisis communication on participants who were in full-time positions vs. part-time positions and salaried employees vs. hourly employees. Finally, theoretical and practical implications were provided based on the research findings.

The Role of Base Crisis Response and Dialogic Competency: Employee Response to COVID-19 Internal Crisis Communication

Informed by crisis communication literature and dialogic communication theory, this study proposed an internal crisis communication model for the COVID-19 pandemic, considering base crisis responses (i.e., instructing information, adjusting information) and dialogic competency (i.e., mutuality, openness) as key variables. Trust in organizational commitment related to the COVID-19 pandemic was presented as a mediator. Through this model, we examined how employees' sense of belonging to their organization, relational satisfaction, and their support for organizational decisions about COVID-19 were related to the factors presented. An online survey of full-time employees in the U.S. was conducted. The study found that instructing information in the context of COVID-19 was positively associated with employee trust in their organization's pandemic-related commitment and, in turn, increased employees' support for organizational decisions, sense of belonging, and relationship satisfaction. Conversely, adjusting information had a negative effect on employee trust in organizational commitment. The dialogic competency of employers in COVID-19-related internal crisis communication, characterized by mutuality and openness, was not only indirectly related to positive employee responses through trust in their organization's commitment, but was also directly related to greater support of organizational decisions, a sense of belonging, and relationship satisfaction. Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications were discussed. © 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Internal crisis communication and Nordic leadership: the importance of transparent and participative communication in times of crisis

This multiple case study investigates internal crisis communication in Finnish and Norwegian hotels and restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing a Nordic leadership perspective to the research area. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, a qualitative research design was chosen, and 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted with hospitality leaders, middle managers, and employees. The multilevel analysis revealed that existing internal communication practices were challenged due to the urgency and uncertainty of the crisis. The findings show that managerial transparency and presence facilitated sensemaking processes and contributed to trust in the managers. Yet, limited autonomy among middle managers and lack of employee consultation when communicating about decision-making indicated a conflict between internal crisis communication and aspects of Nordic leadership such as cooperation, consensus-seeking, and delegation of responsibility. However, the findings suggest that the openness and transparency of Nordic leadership prevailed in the crisis and contributed to managerial learning and solution-finding through crisis communication and management. Furthermore, leaders should find a balance between control and participation when communicating about internal decision-making during a crisis. We conclude that transparency and participative communication are essential when striving for effective internal crisis communication, facilitating employees' sensemaking, and building trust relationships during a crisis.

Employee-centric perspective on organizational crisis: how organizational transparency and support help to mitigate employees' uncertainty, negative emotions and job disengagement

Purpose: The study focuses on the negative implications that an organizational crisis can have for individual employees. Specifically, it considers job-related uncertainty, negative emotions (anxiety and frustration) and job disengagement. Through the lens of the social exchange theory, it is argued that internal crisis communication needs to provide sufficient socioemotional resources to their employees in order to mitigate these negative outcomes. In particular, the study argues for internal crisis communication that fosters organizational transparency and organizational support to achieve these mitigating effects. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey among employees in Austria was administered one year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic – this specific crisis context particularly evoked job-related uncertainty and negative emotions which are considered relevant drivers of job disengagement. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling based on a sample of N = 410. Findings: Results show that employees' perceptions of job-related uncertainty are strongly linked to job-related anxiety and frustration;job-related frustration, in turn, strongly influences job disengagement. Overall, employees' perceptions of organizational transparency and organizational support contribute both to prevent the risk of job disengagement;however, the processes how these effects evolve differ. Whereas organizational transparency works on the cognitive level via a reduction of employees' perceptions of uncertainty, organizational support shows its effect on the emotional level through a reduction of job frustration. Originality/value: The study contributes to the scarce research on how internal crisis communication can address employees' uncertainty, negative emotions and job disengagement during a crisis. Moreover, despite the lack of organizational responsibility for creating the crisis, the study emphasizes organizational accountability to respond to the needs of its employees to mitigate negative effects. © 2022, Christopher Ruppel, Julia Stranzl and Sabine Einwiller.

Internal crisis communication strategies: Contingency factors determining an accommodative approach

Given the special relationship with employees, organizations should pay great attention to internal communication during crises. Drawing from the Contingency Theory of Conflict Management and the perspective of employees as active participants in crisis communication, this study proposes a “Contingency Theory of Internal Crisis Communication”. The study identifies and operationalizes three accommodative internal communication strategies: to create a sense of security, to sustain a sense of belonging and to activate employees as allies of the organization. Furthermore, it tests four contingency factors that influence the adoption of an accommodative approach in the context of the Covid-19 health crisis. Findings show the high relevance of the risk of decreased employee engagement, and the risk of employee health and safety;and a weaker relevance of the risk of reputational damage to the organization in the eyes of employees. The relevance of the risk of economic damage is not confirmed.

Rally-around-the-organizational-flag? Internal communication in a professional organization during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis

Purpose This study aims, first, to explore and analyze if and how organizational members' professions or occupations influence perceptions of internal crisis communication. The second, related, aim is to discuss the role of internal communication in creating a strong organizational identity during a prolonged crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This study is mainly conceptual but uses quantitative data from a survey conducted in a health-care organization in late 2020 to illustrate the theoretical reasoning. Findings The results show that the administrative groups perceive factors in the internal crisis communication more favorably than the professional groups. The study suggests that organizational members perceive internal crisis communication differently depending on which intra-organizational group they belong to. This further points to the absence of a "rally-around-the-flag" effect and highlights the importance of working proactively with professionals and in internal crisis communication. Originality/value This study highlights the role of professionals in crisis communication, which is an aspect that so far has been ignored. The internal professionalization processes and an intriguing power struggle between professions have obvious consequences for crisis communication. As shown in the overview of earlier research on internal communication, leadership and professional organizations, the prerequisites for creating an increased organizational unity among coworkers are challenging. The idea that a crisis may, as in certain political situations in society, create a "rally-around-the-flag" effect is still relevant, even if the case study is an example of how this did not happen.