Introduction

Abstract

Crisis management broadly encompasses the planning and decision-making process by which decision-makers within an organization manage its risk and respond to and recover from crises. Human aspects of crises and crisis management including, for instance, leadership styles, personalities, and the dynamic within and between decision-making groups have been studied and reported on in social sciences while culture as an influential factor has been underexplored. Attempts to understand and interpret the concept of culture have led to various academic definitions within the social sciences, ranging from capturing nearly every human undertaking to specifically presenting certain symbols. Critics have argued that due to the broad definition, the concept is too weak; if culture can influence everything, it cannot be attributed to particular effects. Scholars have attempted to define scientifically—and thus clarify—the concept. Particular cultures have been patterned, and universal claims been made, based on diverse samples of cultures. Nevertheless, these attempts have not eliminated disagreement on how ‘culture’ should be defined; whether it has a meaningful effect on society; or whether it can be operationalized. The argument of this book is that culture is an influential factor in crisis management that can be both defined and operationalized. An understanding of the relationships between culture and crisis management provides insight into how decision-makers’ cultural values influence the way in which they prepare and respond to crisis.