What constitutes an organizational crisis? A scoping review and a conceptual model of crises as stakeholder perceptions (CASPER Model)

Crises pose a major threat to organizations and have attracted extensive scholarly attention. However, even with this extensive research, there is little consensus on what constitutes an organizational crisis. This study systematically examines the definitional landscape, identifying key commonalities and differences. Through a scoping review of 443 definitions, our analysis reveals a remarkable degree of terminological fragmentation and conceptual ambiguity. We distinguish between core definitional elements and accompanying characteristics based on whether an element is universally observable and necessary for recognizing a crisis. Synthesizing these insights, we define organizational crises as episodes within an organization’s lifespan that are perceived as threatening by a critical mass of relevant stakeholders due to their significant risk of severe consequences. Building on this definition, we develop a conceptual model of crises as stakeholder perceptions (CASPER Model), which explains how individual perceptions arise from risk assessments and perceived threats, and how these perceptions aggregate into a collective understanding when a critical mass of relevant stakeholders recognizes the situation as a crisis. • This study analyzes 443 definitions of organizational crises to identify shared elements and differences. • A scoping review reveals strong terminological fragmentation and conceptual ambiguity across crisis definitions. • Five core crisis elements: risk of negative outcomes, temporal boundedness, affected entity, significance, and perceptual nature. • We propose a new definition of organizational crises based on these five elements. • A conceptual model illustrates how individual perceptions aggregate into a collective crisis understanding.