TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore crisis history further. The paper also examines the possible impact of information source on publics’ perceptions. The study seeks to expound on the tenets of the situational crisis communication theory (SCCT), particularly the underutilized crisis history component.Design/methodology/approach The study used a 3 × 3 between-subjects experiment design to examine the effects of crisis history and information source on publics’ crisis emotions, perception of crisis responsibility, control, and organizational reputation. Participants were 174 undergraduate students from a large Southeastern university.Findings The study’s findings suggest that an organization’s crisis history by the media can increase publics’ perceived organizational control (referred to as personal control) in a crisis situation. However, negative crisis history told by the media can evoke more severe public anger in a crisis. A positive crisis history still could lead to negative perceptions.Research limitations/implications The study uses a fictional crisis scenario that may not evoke the same emotions or perceptions as an actual crisis.Practical implications Crisis communicators concerned with angry publics should focus less on traditional media relations and more on new media to reach other gatekeepers; or focus more heavily on media strategy since the media is more likely to elicit more anger among publics. Furthermore, a positive crisis history does not give organizations a pass in current crises.Originality/value Although the SCCT identifies crisis history as an intensifier of attribution of responsibility, few studies have examined crisis history.
VL  - 23
IS  - 2
SN  - 1356-3289
DO  - 10.1108/CCIJ-04-2017-0039
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-04-2017-0039
AU  - Eaddy LaShonda Louallen
AU  - Jin Yan
PY  - 2018
Y1  - 2018/01/01
TI  - Crisis history tellers matter: The effects of crisis history and crisis information source on publics’ cognitive and affective responses to organizational crisis
T2  - Corporate Communications: An International Journal
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 226
EP  - 241
Y2  - 2024/05/14
ER  -