The New Rules For Crisis Management

Many stakeholder groups now control their own media and sources of information, and they are increasingly setting the agenda for how companies resolve crises.

Mark Lee Hunter, Luk N. Van Wassenhove, and Maria Besiou

Summer 2016

In executive development, it’s called “the newspaper test.” In a simulated interview or press conference, managers must respond to a crisis scenario; through this exercise, they learn to show compassion and keep their facts straight while maintaining their composure under pressure. That’s fine so far as it goes, but in today’s world, the traditional news media do not always control how crises unfold. Now, executives are facing stakeholder communities that control their own sources of ...