Nonprofit in Crisis: An Examination of the Applicability of Situational Crisis Communication Theory

Coombs' (2007) Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) provides the theoretical framework for a 3 × 2 experiment testing the effects of SCCT response strategies from a nonprofit organization. The body of research devoted to crisis communication rarely addresses one of the largest areas of public relations, the public sector. Findings illustrate that in two extremes, one in which the nonprofit is a victim and one in which the nonprofit acts intentionally, the strategies of SCCT are successful. The least effective strategy was when the nonprofit was responding to an accident, the most frequent type of crisis situation.