Planning Makes (Closer to) Perfect: Exploring United States’ Local Government Officials’ Evaluations of Crisis Management

Abstract

How a government responds to, manages, and communicates about crisis has direct implications for public well-being and ultimately shapes public opinion about local governments and government officials. Yet, little is known about crisis preparation, especially that of local governments. Local governments are involved in managing any crisis situation that affects their communities, regardless of the responsible organization or nature of the crisis. This study surveys local government officials (N = 307) in 44 states across the United States who manage crisis communication to reveal unique considerations of planning, magnitude and citizen satisfaction on crisis management. Novel findings are revealed with respect to each variable to direct future crisis research, particularly that informing the precrisis stage. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.