The Organizational Links Between Risk Communication and Risk Management: The Case of Sybron Chemicals Inc.

The risk communication literature is rife with prescriptions about how organizations should interact with various publics. However, little attention has been paid to the organizational adjustments that may be necessary for corporations to heed this advice. The primary question we explore is: What do companies do internally to increase the effectiveness of their communication externally? In this article, we explore relationships between risk management and risk communication and then suggest the organizational factors that may link the two. We present five propositions dealing with relationships between risk communication and risk management derived from an in‐depth case study of an exemplary risk communication program. We discuss the implications of this case study for further research.