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The traditional critical incident technique (CIT) and variants of the same have frequently been applied in service research for several decades. The technique has often been used to capture data on and analyse both negative and positive critical incidents. While one technique displays hosts of critical incidents in benchmark‐type series (SIT), another variant describes the dynamism in one discrete critical incident and a third the dynamism of the configuration of critical incidents (SPAT). In this article the different variants are discussed in relation to psychological theory focusing on the concepts of time, history and memory. To be able to analyse the criticality from the individual customer’s perspective, we argue that one must understand the significance of critical incidents in the light of human memory mechanisms and judgement processes. The discussion forms the basis for suggesting a new, tentative framework for analysing the criticality of critical incidents. We call this criticality critical incident technique (CCIT).

The purpose of this study isto synthesize recent empirical research investigating memory of stressful critical incidents (both simulated and occurring in the field) among law enforcement officers.

The study used the approach of systematic state-of-the-art review.

In total, 20 studies of police and military officers show reduced detail and accuracy of high- versus low-stress incidents, especially for peripheral versus target information. Decrements in memory performance were mediated by the extent of physiological stress responses. Delayed recall accuracy was improved among officers that engaged in immediate post-incident rehearsal, including independent debriefing or reviewing body-worn camera footage.

Most studies were not found through systematic database searches, highlighting a need for broader indexing and/or open access publishing to make research more accessible.

By understanding how stress physiology enhances or interferes with memory encoding, consolidation and recall, evidence-based practices surrounding post-incident evidence gathering are recommended.

The current review addresses common public misconceptions of enhanced cognitive performance among police relative to the average citizen.

The current work draws from scientific knowledge about the pervasive influence of stress physiology on memory to inform existing practices surrounding post-incident evidence gathering among police.

The objective of this paper is to describe the teleological actions needed to assess and manage critical incidents that cause negative emotions in service encounters. Teleological actions are movements into the future that are believed to be move either towards a predictable/known or unpredictable/unknown state or condition. The authors distinguish between, define and apply three categories: transformative – ad hoc and present-based actions; formative – pre-determined and past-based actions; and rationalist – goal-directed and future-based actions.

A qualitative study, based upon a two-phase approach applying convenience and judgemental sampling, was used. Focussing on one teleological theory, a process of abductive matching was applied throughout the study. Abductive matching refers to recurring themes, patterns and categories that are uncovered through the iterative processes of analysis. The teleological framework structured and guided the data collection and empirical observations.

Seen through the perspective of teleological actions, the study enhances our understanding of the manner in which critical incidents generate negative emotions in service encounters. Through the same perspective, the investigation also reveals that the outcome of a negative service encounter depends upon the interactive interface between service provider and service receiver.

The teleological actions between service providers and service receivers in negative service encounters appear to be mediators between cause-and-effect on the one hand (critical incident and negative emotions) and a perceptual gap on the other (outcome of negative service encounter). The teleological perspective also provides numerous opportunities for further research in this area.

Managers should strive to understand the teleological actions potentially undertaken by service receivers, so that they can deal with the teleological actions of their front-line staff accordingly. The interactive interface between a service provider and a service receiver is crucial in assessing and managing critical incidents.

Based on teleological actions, the investigation provides both a valuable and complementary contribution on assessing and managing critical incidents and the negative emotions that are often triggered in the service-encounter interface between a service provider and a service receiver. Providers also need to educate their staff on what can occur and on how to react appropriately.

This research explores the learning process of entrepreneurs in relation to the parallel processes of personal and business development. Building on theories of individual learning and of the business life‐cycle, this paper discusses the impact of critical incidents from an individual perspective and, in particular, their role within entrepreneurial learning. A phenomenological case study approach was employed, with the sample consisting of six small business owners. The interviews concentrated on the developmental history of the business, focusing on critical incidents as they arose in the general conversation. The findings emphasise the complexity of the concept of “critical incident” and demonstrate that entrepreneurs often face prolonged and traumatic critical periodsor episodes, illustrating the emotionally‐laden nature of these events. Furthermore, the critical incidents described here resulted in fundamental, higher‐level learning, and highlight the need for mentoring support programmes designed to help entrepreneurs to interpret critical incidents as learning experiences, in order to increase the power of the learning outcomes. The authors conclude by stressing the need for further theory development that conceptualises the complex and dynamic interactivity between the individual and the business.

This paper examines ongoing research (Blass & Carr, 2006) exploring the development of future leaders using new and innovative approaches. Research asking experienced leaders about what they wish they had known 10 years ago is used to provide an insight into the critical incidents that shaped these leaders' careers. These critical incidents were used as the basis for an innovative leadership development programme for the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) which is further examined in this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of three different dimensions of switching costs on customer dissatisfaction response styles as well as on the evaluation of service recovery.

Study 1 is a scenario-based experiment and Study 2 uses a critical incident technique combined with survey-based measures of switching costs, dissatisfaction responses and perceived complaint handling.

The results of these studies highlight the need to consider the different effects of switching costs. Not only do different switching costs lead to varying customer dissatisfaction responses, they also have differential moderator effects on the interrelationships between customer-perceived recovery justice and service recovery satisfaction.

Service failure severity was an influential control variable. Future studies should investigate how the type, context and severity of service failure influence customers’ complaint behavior. Furthermore, participants had trouble differentiating between their relations toward their service provider in general and one particular employee. Hence, further research should explore the relationship between customers and frontline employees.

The authors encourage managers to take a closer look at the switching cost dimensions of their service industry. This may lead practitioners to promote differentiated strategies for complaint stimulation and complaint handling.

This is the first study to simultaneously explore all three dimensions of switching costs when examining their impact on customers’ dissatisfaction response styles as well as the moderating effects in the recovery process. In doing so, this study reveals some hitherto uncovered effects.

The focus of the present study was on police officers reactions to and memories of a manhunt after a shooting incident. Emotional impact and memories of these events are discussed in relation to time elapsed, support from co‐workers, supervisors and professional debriefing.

A total of 11 police officers responding to a mass shooting carried out by a young offender resulting in seven dead civilians were asked to describe the event ten months after the event, five years after the event, and again nine years after the event.

All police officers reported having vivid memories of the mass shooting incident, and visual and auditory memories of the event were best retained, although a decline was observed nine years after the incident. Regarding working through the traumatic experience, the police officers had not been offered professional help in connection with the mass shooting incident.

Owing to the fact that police officers in the present study answered the survey anonymously, it was not possible to work out repeated measures statistics for these memories over time.

Knowing that the psychological distress due to exposure to a traumatic event may be long lasting, it is crucial that police organizations consider time as an important factor in working through these experiences.

Research on emotion and memory is highly relevant to the work of police officers and to the legal system.

How firefighters cope with critical incidents is partly influenced by the culture of the fire brigade. The purpose of this study is to better understand how informal peer support helps firefighters cope with critical incidents.

An ethnographic field study of explorative nature was conducted. Data were collected by means of 20 participating observations and 72 interviews with Dutch firefighters from 37 different fire brigades. The analysis was an iterative process alternating data collection, analysis and theory formation processes.

Firefighters will turn to informal peer support to cope with critical incidents provided that facilitating circumstances are present and there is adherence to certain implicit rules. The collective sharing of memories, whether immediately post-incident or after the passage of time, helps firefighters process critical incidents and serves to promote unit cohesion. Most firefighters reported these informal debriefings to be preferable to the formal sessions. By comparison, a minority of firefighters reported that they did not benefit at all from the informal interactions.

This study only focused on the informal peer support given by colleagues. Future research should focus on: (1) The possible differences between men and women as to what extent informal peer support is experienced after critical incidents, (2) Commanding officers: how do they, given their hierarchical position, experience coming to terms with critical incidents, (3) Premeditated critical incidents and the role of informal peer support, (4) Similarities and differences between career and non-career firefighters in experiencing and coping critical incidents.

Firefighters are an under-researched group in academic literature, that would benefit from mental health counsellors having a better understanding of their unique work culture and the complexity of the firefighting profession. More knowledge about the role of informal peer support is necessary to tailor help and aftercare more effectively to their needs.

Most studies confirm the importance of informal peer support when coping with critical incidents. This study provides initial, in-depth evidence of the role of informal peer support in helping firefighters cope with critical incidents.

High-profile critical incidents involving multiple witnesses, particularly terrorist attacks, have increased over the years. The purpose of this paper is to describe the components of a witness interview strategy for this type of investigation. Central to these cases is a need for a triage system which deals with a large number of witness/victim interviews that must be conducted fast time.

This paper was developed based on the experience of the authors who provide practical advice and support to these types of investigations and a dialogue with police interview advisers involved in developing this type of strategy.

A witness interview strategy for critical incidents involving multiple witnesses should be set within a framework that covers initial contact with the witnesses, the interview process and post-interview processes.

It is important that a witness interview strategy is developed for any critical incident involving multiple witnesses to ensure that what could otherwise be a chaotic process is effectively managed.

No other papers have been published that consider the development of witness interview-strategies for multiple-witnesses in critical incidents.

The purpose of this paper is to offer a reconceptualization of the critical incident technique (CIT) and affirm its utility in management and organization studies.

Utilizing a case study from a leadership context, the paper applies the CIT to explore various leadership behaviours in the context of nonprofit boards in Canada. Semi-structured critical incident interviews were used to collect behavioural data from 53 participants – board chairs, board directors, and executive directors – from 18 diverse nonprofit organizations in Alberta, Canada.

While exploiting the benefits of a typicality of events, in some instances the authors were able to validate aspects of transformational leadership theory, in other instances the authors found that theory falls short in explaining the relationships between organizational actors. The authors argue that the CIT potentially offers the kind of “thick description” that is particularly useful in theory building in the field.

Drawing on interview material, the authors suggest that incidents can be classified based on frequency of occurrence and their salience to organizational actors, and explore the utility of this distinction for broader theory building purposes.

Principally, the paper proposes that this method of investigation is under-utilized by organization and management researchers. Given the need for thick description in the field, the authors suggest that the approach outlined generates exceptionally rich data that can illuminate multiple organizational phenomena.

The role of nonprofit boards is of major importance for those organizations and the clients that they serve. This paper shed new light on the leadership dynamics at the top of these organizations and therefore can help to guide improved practice by those in board and senior management positions.

The CIT is a well-established technique. However, it is timely to revisit it as a core technique in qualitative research and promote its greater use by researchers. In addition, the authors offer a novel view of incidents as typical, atypical, prototypical or archetypal of organizational phenomena that extends the analytical value of the approach in new directions.