Effective emergency warning systems rely not only on technological infrastructure but also on message design that supports rapid, accurate, and context-appropriate decision-making. As short text warning messages (STWMs) become central to institutional crisis communication systems, understanding their optimal structure and how staff interpret them during real emergencies has become a critical practical and theoretical question. This paper examines staff perceptions of STWMs within the British High Commission (BHC) in Nairobi, Kenya, a high-risk organisational environment characterised by dispersed mobility patterns, multi-level responsibilities, and heightened security threats. Drawing on Effective Use Theory (EUT), Nudge Theory (NT), and the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM), this paper develops a refined conceptual framework explaining how representational fidelity and behavioural design interact to shape message utility. Using a cross-sectional mixed-methods survey, the paper identifies staff preferences across five message components: location, guidance, incident description, time to act, and source. Findings demonstrate that spatial specificity, imperative guidance, and temporal urgency constitute the “core triad” of high-utility content, while message source becomes less salient after trust is established. Variations across staff roles, working regimes, and risk proximity highlight the need for role-sensitive and mobility-aware tailoring. The paper argues that effective institutional warning messages must balance cognitive efficiency, behavioural prompting, and contextual relevance. The study contributes new empirical evidence and a refined theoretical model that can guide STWM design in diplomatic, governmental, and humanitarian organisations operating in high-risk environments. • Emergency warning effectiveness in diplomatic missions depends on a core triad of location, guidance, and urgency information. • Staff roles, mobility patterns, and residential proximity significantly shape message needs and interpretations. • Message source becomes less important once institutional trust in official channels is established. • Staff prefer concise, directive, behaviour-focused STWMs supported by predictable update rhythms. • Multi-platform alerting (SMS + WhatsApp + email) increases reach, redundancy, and protective action reliability.
Pariyar et al. (Sun,) studied this question.