thesis on crisis management

• På svenska
•   Ammattikorkeakoulut
• Yrkeshögskolan Arcada
• Opinnäytetyöt (Avoin kokoelma)
• Näytä viite

Crisis Management in Small Organizations during COVID-19

Ghulam, neil diamond (2021).

Avaa tiedosto

Tiivistelmä, selaa kokoelmaa, henkilökunnalle.

Crisis Management in Chinese Organizations pp 1–8 Cite as

Introduction to Crisis Management

• Ruth Alas 2 &
• Junhong Gao 2  

758 Accesses

5 Citations

A crisis is a type of organizational phenomenon. Existing in human society, the organization is closely connected with society in one ori­entation. In another orientation, the organization needs to face and fix the crisis through crisis management. Therefore, the study of organiza­tional crisis management should be based on and focus on the organi­zational and societal levels. The following Dual-Concentric Circles (Figure 1.1) illustrate the theoretical framework of this book.

• Leadership Style
• Crisis Management
• Short Response Time
• Sample Company
• Basic Triangle

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution .

Buying options

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info
• Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Unable to display preview.  Download preview PDF.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Professor, Estonian Business School, USA

Ruth Alas & Junhong Gao

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Estonian Business School, USA

Ruth Alas ( Professor ) & Junhong Gao ( Researcher ) ( Professor ) &  ( Researcher )

Copyright information

© 2012 Ruth Alas and Junhong Gao

About this chapter

Cite this chapter.

Alas, R., Gao, J. (2012). Introduction to Crisis Management. In: Alas, R., Gao, J. (eds) Crisis Management in Chinese Organizations. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230363168_1

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230363168_1

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, London

Print ISBN : 978-1-349-32385-2

Online ISBN : 978-0-230-36316-8

eBook Packages : Palgrave Business & Management Collection Business and Management (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

118 Crisis Management Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best crisis management topic ideas & essay examples, 💡 interesting topics to write about crisis management, 📝 good research topics about crisis management, 👍 simple & easy crisis management essay titles, ❓ crisis management questions.

• Crisis Management: Nissan Company and the 2011 Earthquake Expand on the points made in the case to identify the potential costs and benefits of these actions. The sharing of information was quite beneficial to Nissan in its response to the disaster.
• Effective Communication as a Crisis Management Strategy The company was in a dilemma of which strategy to adopt to ensure that the crisis was properly dealt with without affecting the reputation and the sale of its product, which was earning the company […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Crisis Management: British Petroleum Company It was claimed to be one of the greatest disasters that led to human deaths and oil spills that affected the ecosystem adversely. In addition to that, the management team was affected because it had […]
• How McDonalds Handles Their Crisis Management Program Globally? Crisis management, therefore, becomes a crucial factor of checking and controlling the performance of the organization by acting in a proactive and active way to prevent an event which has a potential likelihood of leading […]
• The Carnival Triumph Cruise Ship’s Crisis Management This paper is a critical analysis of the crisis communication surrounding the marooning of the Carnival Triumph Cruise ship. The contribution of the Carnival’s PR in addressing the Triumph crisis is subject to analysis to […]
• Fraud at Bank of Baroda: Risk and Crisis Management The negative publicity that BoB received as a result of its recklessness has clearly affected the investment risks to a considerable degree, yet the current strategy used by the company to manage the situation does […]
• Crisis Management & Communication During COVID-19 Topic of the Paper: The actual effectiveness and success of the various crisis communication and management methods used by the governments of different countries. 3, 2021, pp.1-7.
• Critical Analysis of Crisis Management Theory and Frameworks If the event of September 11, 2001 is recalled then one would realize that the events of September 11, 2001 were an overwhelming reminder of the need to be prepared for crises.
• Toyota Recall – Global Crisis Management Devlin asserts that it is the premise of an organization’s management and the Public Relation offices to ensure that in the event of a crisis, the organization recovers gracefully and in a timely manner.
• Crisis Management at Organizational Level They have also put in place measures to be taken and how the public is expected to respond in case of a tsunami emergency.
• Crisis Management: Fire and Rescue Services The model postulates that for a crisis to be effectively managed there is need to define the crisis that has occurred and the factors that have contributed to the occurrence of the crisis.
• AirAsia: Crisis Management Case Study The crash was the first to be recorded in the eighteen years of operation of AirAsia. It was described as the third worst plane crash in the year 2014.
• Clinical Aspects of Crisis Management What I realized working on the case is that there are differences between the patients who are in crisis and the ones who are not, and the primary is their desire to cooperate with me […]
• Risk and Crisis Management and Business Continuity The lack of clarity in the definitions of the identified concepts and the vagueness of the relationships between them undermine the field of risk management in several areas.
• Crisis Management: Overdose of Premature Babies in Indianapolis, Indiana The hospital was quick to respond to the issue and it gave details of the error that had led to the death of the premature babies.
• Crisis Management: Toyota Company and EU Crisis is subject to a domain of several variables particularly in international business which include; the features of the event, the significance to both parties, the magnitude of the impact on both parties and the […]
• Public Relations and Crisis Management Link The significance of developing a CMP lies in the fact that it aids in the process of collecting the necessary information to deal with the crisis.
• School Crisis Management: Bomb Threat and Shooting As for the shooting incident, the initial step was to calm down the students to avoid the panic, and after that, inform the rest of the school about the red code situation and initiate the […]
• The 2012 Tel Aviv Bus Bombing and Crisis Management Musa was the manufacturer and detonator of the bomb, which he used Mafarji to deliver inside the Tel Aviv-based commuter bus.
• Understanding Crisis Management and Resilience The book is especially interesting for understanding the global financial crisis, the climate crisis, the poverty crisis, and the financial crisis of 2008. In this book, the author discusses the origin, dynamics, and uses of […]
• Pennsylvania’s Crisis Management and Response For instance, the development of relationships between service agencies, national and local crisis responding organizations, state and local affiliates, and even governments is required for efficient planning that allows to minimize the consequences of a […]
• Poor Communication in the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority The UAE National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority is a quite essential and recently introduced government department that addresses various natural and man-made accidents and issues and maintains the safety of the community.
• Quality Management in a Crisis in Qatar The development of the new economy, occurring in the context of strategic change, may be accompanied by the emergence of unstable or crises. As for the solution to the current crisis, the government needs to […]
• Managing an Organization During a Crisis To alter the negative consequences of the crisis and enhance our situation, we need to create a video message in which our company will express our concerns and regrets about the tragic death of a […]
• Being a Public Manager in Times of Crisis Stakeholder Engagement and Storytelling might be implemented to acquire the public’s confidence, and public managers need to understand how their citizens will view their ideas and activities.
• COVID-19 Crisis Management in China vs. the US The current paper is going to provide a detailed analysis of crisis management approaches taken by China and the United States in an attempt to curb the Covid-19 pandemic and protect the local population from […]
• Public Transportation in Dubai: Critical Factors Affecting Crisis Management Problems RTA is currently facing are related to the sector’s exposure to numerous environmental and market forces that require constant changes and foster relational complexity.
• Aviation Crisis Management Toolkit The impacts on these organisations vary considerably depending on the type of crisis, the severity of the crisis and the way in which the organisation has planned for, and responded to the crisis.
• Crisis Management: The Interactive Simulation The objective of this article is to outline and explain one of these new techniques, the interactive simulation, and to discuss some of the problems and possibilities of this approach.
• Crisis Management in the Healthcare Setup The process starting from the reception up to the discharging of the patient needs much attention in order to avert any crises.
• Tsunami: Crisis Management The saving of lives during a disaster and emergency incident will depend on the proper coordination of the rescue team, delivery of the right skills to the scene which can only be achieved through the […]
• Crisis Management: 1998 North American Ice Storm According to the academy of management executives the field of crises management is still in the young stages of development and thus more is required to be done so as to get the required effectiveness.
• Crisis Management and Communications Though it may not be entirely responsible for the management of the crisis it’s usually instrumental in communicating the strategies laid down to deal with the crisis and especially to the media.
• Crisis Response, Behavior Intervention, and Management Safety of the children is a priority, and the crisis management team ought to be trained on the identification of stress-induced symptoms in children as a result of a crisis.
• Financial Crisis Management in the United Nations A crisis can be defined as the perception of an abnormal situation that is beyond the capability of the business and its scope to deal with.
• Crisis Management and Environmentalism: A Natural Fit For an organization to be effective in planning, it should integrate both global and the local aspects of managing a crisis.
• Templeton Engine Company’s Crisis Management The advantage of this alternative is that it will help the company to regulate the price of its products because it will be using its own raw materials.
• Crisis Management Models for Risk Assessment To assess the relative risk of each of the risk events, the assessment tool quantified the probability of occurrence, impact on students, impact on staff, impact on learning, the preparedness of the institution, and the […]
• Hurricane Harvey Crisis Management This paper will provide a series of bullet points that will outline the damage, how it was handled, what outcomes were present, and the possible ways in which it could have been done better.4.
• Crisis Management in the Film “Apollo 13” However, it was also a success, as, despite major damage to the spaceship, all astronauts returned to the Earth in safety. The film shows that the crew and the team worked hard to develop ways […]
• European Union: Legitimacy and the Euro Crisis Management Chapters included in the paper will discuss such topics as sources of legitimacy in the EU, the Eurozone crisis, main actors that should participate in the management of the crisis, as well as problems of […]
• Crisis Management and National Security Strategy This is a crisis because the company will lack the expertise to enhance the operations of the business. In addition, crisis assessment is a vital approach to ensure that the crisis does not affect or […]
• Crisis Management for Vulnerable Populations The main goal of this paper is to assess alternative systems for communication and describe vulnerable populations and strategies for reaching and communicating with them during a crisis.
• Tourism Industry: Emergency and Crisis Management The technological and scientific breakthrough that has been witnessed over the past several decades has created the foil for the rapid development of the tourism industry. What are the primary causes of emergencies and crises […]
• FlyDubai Company’s History and Crisis Management The company takes pride in its comfortability and environmental friendliness, presented by loyalty and security of the staff, and by fuel productivity. Despite a horrific incident, the company made everything possible to sustain its popularity […]
• The Role of Social Media in Aviation Crisis Management Therefore, this paper considers the general role that social media might play in a crisis or emergency in the airline industry and describes methods that could be used to deal with the potential adverse outcomes […]
• Business Continuity and Crisis Management The biggest challenge for an organisation operating in a disaster-prone business environment is the development of mechanisms of predicting risks and ways of protecting their brands from collapsing in the event of organisational crisis.
• Crisis and Risk Management Communication: Qatar World Cup 2020 While the willingness of the Qatar government to look innocent is quite understandable, the fact that the authorities’ statements conflict with the ones that cycle around the modern media exacerbates the situation for Qatar, creating […]
• Tesco Plc’s Crisis & Communication Management The company, Tesco Plc, must prioritise its activities, decision, and other factors to resolve the effects of the current economic depression on the company with the resolve to avoid such pitfalls.
• Crisis Management in the Organization Crisis is an unexpected catastrophe happening in or to a company and it threatens the operations of the company. Recognize the crisis Identify the potential effect of the crisis on the company and take action.
• PRs Role in Crisis Management: BP and Toyota Provision The department of PR should ensure that there is the improvement of an even provision at the crisis management stage.
• Organizational Crises: Management or Crisis Response System Some of key learning points include: Planning for crisis Stages of crisis Causes of crisis Consequences of crisis Cautions of crisis Traditional approach on crisis management New approach to crisis management Complexity-informed framework for effective […]
• Crisis Management: Online Banking Security Breach Despite the initial statement, the negative media attention given to the company, and growing concerns from our consumers, clients, stakeholders and the public as a whole, the company has taken upon itself to get to […]
• Crisis Management From the Perspective of the Austrian Business Cycle
• Crisis Management and Emergency Response Plans: OSHA Standards
• Financial Crisis Management: Why Did Alitalia Go Out of Business
• Difference Between Crisis Management and Risk Management
• Learning From the Katrina About Crisis Management
• Effective Crisis Management Techniques
• Bhopal Disaster – an Example of Unsuccessful Crisis Management
• The Crisis Management Lesson From Toyota: The Smart Business Process
• Conceptual Dynamic Framework for Crisis Management
• Afghanistan Public Sector: From Crisis Management to Comprehensive Reform Strategy
• Funding Hungary: Exposing Normal and Dysfunctional Crisis Management
• Crisis Management and Financial Stability: Some Lessons from the United Kingdom
• Baderman Island Crisis Management Plan
• Crisis Management Approaches and Philanthropic Motives
• Gender and Rescue Services in Crisis Management: Male Leadership Positions and Women’s Personal Experiences
• The Crisis Management System in Germany
• Information Literacy Skills Assessment in Digital Crisis Management
• Crisis Management: The 2010 Melbourne Storm Salary Cap Scandal
• Crisis Management’s Psychological Aspects
• Analysis of Maggi Crisis: Crisis Management and Image Restoration through Social Networking
• Crisis Management Strategies and the Long-Term Effects of Product Recalls on Firm Value
• Nestlé Crisis Management: The Baby Killer
• Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis: Barbie Dolls and Hot Wheels Cars
• Preparing for Future: Creating a Crisis Management Team
• Business Ethics and Crisis Management: Circumstances for a Second Chance
• Crisis Management Dilemmas: Differences in Attitudes Towards Reactive Communication Strategies
• Crisis Management in the Reformed European Agricultural Policy
• Crisis Management: the Most Important Factors in the Hospitality Industry
• Systemic Crisis Management and Central Bank Independence
• Crisis Management Impact on the Accounting Policy of Enterprises
• General Motors: The Crisis Management and Controversy Today
• Crisis Management: Cathay Pacific Labor Dispute Analysis
• What Roles Does the Media Play in Crisis Management
• Crisis Management in Belgium: The Case of Coca‐Cola
• Role of Apologies in Crisis Management
• Crisis Management: Resolution for a European Banking System
• Role of Public Leaders in Crisis Management
• Crisis Management at Lego: Save the Whales
• Which Company Has the Best Crisis Management
• Integrating the Crisis Management Perspective into the Strategic Management Process
• Are Labor Market Reforms the Answer to Post-Euro-Crisis Management?
• Why Is Social Media Monitoring an Important Part of Issue and Crisis Management?
• What Is the Most Important Thing in Crisis Management?
• Is Crisis Management a Part of Risk Management?
• What Are the Most Important Components of a Tourism Crisis Management Plan?
• What Makes a Good Crisis Management Plan?
• How Does Having an Ethical Crisis Management Plan Benefit a Company?
• What Is Considered the Most Important Step of Crisis Management?
• What Are the Tools of Crisis Management?
• How Are Risk Management and Crisis Management Similar?
• What Is the Relationship Between Crisis Management and Crisis Communication?
• What Is the Purpose of Crisis Management?
• Is Crisis Management Part of the Business Continuity Plan?
• What Is the Importance of Disaster Risk Reduction Management and Crisis Management?
• Why Should Ethical Decision Making Be Incorporated Into Crisis Management?
• Does Starbucks Have a Crisis Management Team?
• What Is the First Rule of Crisis Management?
• Is There a Correlation Between Organizational Culture and Crisis Management?
• What Is the Role of Internal Audit in Crisis Management?
• Is Crisis Management and Disaster Management the Same?
• What Skills Are Required for Crisis Management?
• Who Is Responsible for Crisis Management?
• How Does Crisis Management Affect Organizational Culture?
• What Is the Difference Between Crisis Management and Disaster Recovery?
• What Is Crisis Management in Public Relations Strategies?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, November 9). 118 Crisis Management Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/crisis-management-essay-topics/

"118 Crisis Management Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." IvyPanda , 9 Nov. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/crisis-management-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2023) '118 Crisis Management Essay Topic Ideas & Examples'. 9 November.

IvyPanda . 2023. "118 Crisis Management Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." November 9, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/crisis-management-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "118 Crisis Management Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." November 9, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/crisis-management-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "118 Crisis Management Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." November 9, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/crisis-management-essay-topics/.

• Collective Bargaining Essay Titles
• Antitrust Law Research Topics
• Corporate Sustainability Paper Topics
• Behavioral Finance Titles
• Economic Topics
• Financial Crisis Paper Topics
• Global Issues Essay Topics
• Family Businesses Questions
• Growth Strategy Titles
• Public-Private Partnerships Questions
• Hospitality Management Essay Ideas
• Public Relations Titles
• Tourism Management Questions
• Risk Assessment Questions
• Management Skills Research Topics

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• SAGE - PMC COVID-19 Collection

Crisis management practices during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of a newly-opened hotel in Bali

The global COVID-19 pandemic—and the ensuing safety measures—has inflicted a debilitating blow against the lodging industry by transforming tourism patterns and discouraging travel. Guided by tourism disaster management framework and the contingency theory, this study attempts to explore the crisis management practices (CMPs) conducted by the leaders of a newly-opened hotel in Bali, Indonesia, during each phase of crisis. Through an interview with eight hotel executives, the findings of this study provide both theoretical and managerial implications for comprehending CMPs during the current circumstances. As the pandemic has not yet ended, a company that has reached the resolution phase may revert to the emergency phase, or worse. Therefore, this study also recommends considering the advantages of communication, contingency plans, open leadership styles, organization culture, past experiences, and business continuity as the principle tools with which to increase the chances of successful CMPs. These findings may also prove to be significant to other areas of the tourism sector beyond the hotel industry, as well as to other cultural tourism destinations outside of Bali.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly reverberated throughout the world, causing not only an international health crisis, but also triggering a global economic downturn ( Chang et al., 2020 ). The tourism industry has been immensely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This industry has suffered enormously due to the imposition of lockdowns, travel bans, and safety warnings ( Jamal and Budke, 2020 ). These measures resulted in the absence of inbound visitors for several months. The industry thus faces a crisis which might irreparably damage businesses or cause widespread bankruptcies ( Wang and Laufer, 2020 ).

To combat such ramifications, those involved in the tourism industry must now seek executive level strategies in response to the crisis caused by the pandemic. Several studies have suggested useful crisis management practices (CMPs) for the industry, as well as strategies designed to mitigate the negative impacts of the crisis. For example, Liu et al. (2015) developed the “hotel 4R” (reduction, readiness, response, and recovery) model for the bed bug crisis within hotels. This study focused on the use of social media as part of CMPs, with future research expected to broaden the CMPs framework to manage all stages of another health crisis.

Another study by Ali and Al-Aali (2016) outlined several strategies aimed at improving effective Crisis Management (CM), such as imagination and adaptability as necessary qualities for crisis prevention or the reduction of its negative impacts. This article then revealed that CM is doomed to failure without proper training, education, and human capital development. A recent study by Pavlatos et al. (2020) developed five practices that can be used for the recovery of Greek hotels from the COVID-19 pandemic: operations, maintenance, human resources, marketing, and government. The study’s limitations encourage future research to investigate CMPs over a longer crisis period in order to obtain details on the actual practice implementation rather than solely the decision.

In the context of health crises, previous research on CM during SARS ( Kim et al., 2005 ; Leung and Lam, 2004 ; Mansour, 2013 ), swine flu ( Hung et al., 2018 ; Pan and Meng, 2016 ), Ebola ( Maphanga and Henama, 2019 ), as well as the current COVID-19 pandemic ( Chang et al., 2020 ; Hao et al., 2020 ), have indicated how health crises can damage hotels. Their findings showed that crises must be managed seriously by well-educated and knowledgeable managers able to effectively cope with emergent challenges.

Although the aforementioned studies are valuable for the hotel industry in terms of crisis preparation, recent studies have questioned the efficacy of practices unable to cover all stages of a crisis ( Huang et al., 2020 ). Such studies were limited to a particular time period of the crisis, for instance, much research has been conducted only in the pre- or post-crisis stage. Comparing CMPs between initial and pandemic stages has also been insufficient for ascertaining the management strategies at every crisis phase ( Lai and Wong, 2020 ).

In light of the above, this paper aims to explore the CMPs undertaken by hotel managers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings could well contribute to both the CM literature and the industry itself by aiding the development of a CMP framework in each phase, which could be adopted both by hotel managers and other stakeholders in the tourism industry. Additionally, prior research has identified that some managers still rely on unwritten strategies, thereby highlighting the need for formalizing key CM strategies beside detailed practices ( Ali and Al-Aali, 2016 ; Bhaduri, 2019 ). To address this issue, we also highlighted some critical success factors from selected hotel executives, including their leadership style as lessons learned for future management ( Campiranon and Scott, 2014 ; Ghaderi et al., 2014 ; Ritchie and Jiang, 2019 ). We expect these lessons to help companies adapt to future challenges and determine how to fully operate a business during on ongoing health crisis.

Located in Indonesia, Bali, known as the Island of the Gods, is undoubtedly one of the country’s highest revenue-generating tourism destinations. According to Colliers International Report ( Yonasari, 2020 , 2021 ), the hotel income in Bali has plummeted dramatically since the first quarter of 2020. Despite the temporary closure of hundreds, overall hotel occupancy in Bali was heading in a positive direction with an occupancy rate of 10% and increases in domestic visits during 2020s fourth quarter. Both existing and newly-opened hotels contributed to the industry surviving the COVID-19 crisis.

Given that the majority of existing hotels were struggling to maintain their business resilience, a study of a newly-opened hotel that can survive with normal operations during a crisis will provide an important contribution to CM knowledge. This study is also unique in the sense that it explores how leaders successfully manage crises in a “newbie” company despite the possibility of their having insufficient resources and cash flows ( Gaudig et al., 2020 ). Moreover, we seek to bolster previous research conducted in several countries, including Israel ( Israeli et al., 2011 ), Thailand ( Campiranon and Scott, 2014 ), and numerous African countries ( Maphanga and Henama, 2019 ). Conducting an examination into specific tourism-generating destinations, such as Bali, has been suggested as a way to provide more comprehensive insights into tourism CM strategies.

The structure of this paper is as follows. The next section will present a literature review, followed by the methodology. The results are then presented and discussed. Conclusions and recommendations are offered at the end of this paper, including future research directions.

Literature review

Nature of crisis.

To manage a crisis, it is crucial to understand its nature and impact to an organization. Pearson and Clair (1998 : 60) defined a crisis as “a low-probability, high-impact event that threatens the viability of the organization and is characterized by ambiguity of cause, effect, and means of resolution, as well as by a belief that decisions must be made swiftly.”

General CM theories assume that a situation progresses through a series of stages wherein appropriate and timely action can prevent a crisis. A number of frameworks (for example, Faulkner, 2001 ; Fink, 1986 ; Mitroff, 2004 ; Pearson and Mitroff, 1993 ; Wang and Ritchie, 2010 ) have been defined to analyze the phases of a crisis. Developed from Fink (1986) CM framework, Faulkner’s model provides a more detailed and suitable framework for investigating how companies—particularly hotels and resorts—manage crises ( Campiranon and Scott, 2014 ; Henderson and Ng, 2004 ; Racherla and Hu, 2009 ). Moreover, Faulkner’s model has not yet been empirically examined at each crisis stage, meaning that this knowledge gap must be filled ( Gani and Singh, 2019 ). This study therefore adopted Faulkner’s approach ( 2001 ), who listed the following six crises phases:

In the pre-event stage, all efforts must be directed at prevent the crisis from occurring. Risk management and planning are needed in this stage to mitigate the impact of the potential crisis. At this time, some protocols, coordination, and disaster team appointment should be established, and communication is essential for keeping everyone well informed.

In this stage, it is apparent that a crisis is imminent. Prevention is no longer possible, and mobilization and contingency plans are instead needed. Moreover, at this point, leaders should begin reviewing and revising their marketing.

In the emergency stage, several impacts occur due to the crisis. Swift action is essential in this stage to protect the people, property, and establishments.

Intermediate

Immediate actions are needed in this stage to return to normality. The main focus is to plan a recovery step. Address the short-term and intermediate needs of employees. Clear media communication is also crucial in this stage.

Long-term (recovery)

This stage is a continuation of step 4; nevertheless, it requires swift action to implement the plan formulated in the intermediate stage. Leaders begin to conduct self-assessment, analysis, and healing. The main point is to engage in reconstruction and reassessment, correct any environmental problems, and reinvestigate (and debrief) strategies. The practice example is the rebuilding and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and environmental areas.

In this stage, all efforts are directed to return to the former routine, as well as to review the decisions made and enforced by the team. Procedural improvement is also required.

Figure 1 (below) summarizes the tourism disaster management framework adopted from Faulkner (2001) study. This framework consists of six phases of the disaster process, element of responses, and the principal ingredients, which are the outlining prerequisites of effective disaster management strategies. Such strategies should be based on potential disaster assessments, which allow for the existence of various scenarios in response to a variety of potential challenges.

Tourism disaster management framework (modified from Faulkner, 2001 ).

Crisis management in the hospitality industry

Crisis Management has its roots in strategic planning to respond to unexpected events. The challenge for every organization typically concerns how to recognize early “warning signals” and take appropriate action ( Pearson and Clair, 1998 ). Crisis Management is intended to prevent crises, or, if a crisis should occur, then it is vital to know how to effectively manage it ( Mcauley et al., 2007 ; Racherla and Hu, 2009 ).

Nowadays, CM is a popular topic within the tourism and hospitality sectors, especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ( Lai and Wong, 2020 ; Yu et al., 2020 ). The pandemic has not only jeopardized the global economy, but also the livelihoods of many tourism industries. In November 2020, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) published a report on the economic and employment impact of tourism for 185 countries and 25 regions ( WTTC, 2020 ). The report found that the tourism industry had lost almost US$4.5 trillion in 2020, while GDP contribution plummeted dramatically by 49.1% as compared to 2019. This evidences how vital it is to formulate and adopt CM strategies so as to mitigate the detrimental impacts of crises.

Previous research on hospitality CM has largely focused on how particular crises were handled rather than the protection of a company’s resilience ( Jamal and Budke, 2020 ; Ritchie and Jiang, 2019 ). Sawalha et al. (2013) argued that, despite the broadness of CM literature, there is lack of effective frameworks that can be adopted as guides with which to prepare for future crises within the hospitality industry. A continuing study has found that some Jordanian executives prepared for a crisis, but neglected to form a business continuity plan ( Sawalha et al., 2015 ). Moreover, a study by Ghaderi et al. (2014) also revealed that the majority of tourism companies in Malaysia are primarily concerned with their business continuity, but have yet to reach a common agreement on CM due to a lack of formal guidance.

Recent CM studies during the current pandemic have also provided managerial implications for hospitality executives. For instance, A COVID-19 management framework has been proposed to address the strategies with which to respond to and manage such a crisis in China ( Hao et al., 2020 ). Another study by Le and Phi (2021) also refined the pandemic CM model based on global hotels’ strategic responses in each of COVID-19’s crisis phases. However, as the model has not yet been either tested or validated, further studies are required so as to develop a more efficient CM framework.

Accordingly, this study develops the tourism disaster management framework to explain CMPs at each crisis phase of the current global pandemic, using a case study of a newly-opened hotel in Bali to do so. We also seek to highlight the key ingredients of leadership strategies, such as knowing how to operate their business with minimum bodily contact, how to protect the business’ resilience and employees, and how to effectively operate the business with minimum cash flow and disrupted supply chains. Moreover, we attempt to comprehensively understand what kind of leadership strategies they employed in order to bring the hotel to the forefront of the hospitality industry during a crisis.

Contingency theory

The contingency theory is a type of behavior-based theory developed during the 1960s, which denotes that there is no single “best way” to organize or lead a company. Certain organizational or leadership styles which have proved to be effective in one organization may well fail in another ( Fiedler, 1964 ). The optimal organization style is contingent upon various internal and external drivers or barriers. In other words, contingent leaders must show flexibility when deciding and adapting to several strategies which are suitable in particular periods. This theory also implies that leaders are not required to be effective in all situations, and that there are certain issues which may best be resolved by other candidates ( Fiedler, 1978 ; Gilmour and Sheehan, 1976 ).

Despite major advances in CM literature in recent years, each new crisis is unique ( Bundy et al., 2017 ; Henderson et al., 2008 ; Mitroff, 2004 ). Crises are high in uncertainty and may necessitate different approaches from those used previously ( Eriksson and McConnell, 2011 ; Stam et al., 2018 ; Wang et al., 2017 ). We hold that the theoretical lens of the contingent theory continued to be well-suited to CM. When companies are faced with a crisis, the contingency theory can provide clear guidance with which to effectively manage and respond ( Mcauley et al., 2007 ; Nyenswah et al., 2016 ) by carefully considering the contingent factors ( Ping et al., 2011 ; Prewitt et al., 2011 ).

Methodology

We adopted a qualitative approach for this case study as it can be used to understand a condition, experience, or event from a personal standpoint ( Patton, 2015 ). Generally speaking, crisis research tends to more frequently adopt the qualitative approach, especially in case studies ( Bundy et al., 2017 ; Ritchie and Jiang, 2019 ) which successfully capture leadership experiences, and investigate the strategies employed in a particular crisis ( Jamal and Budke, 2020 ; Lai and Wong, 2020 ; Maphanga and Henama, 2019 ).

To select informants, we used a purposive sampling strategy to identify individuals who could provide the information needed to comprehend the central phenomenon ( Creswell and Plano Clark, 2018 ). We deliberately selected the informants from a newly-opened hotel in Bali, who were identified as senior leaders, being experts in their fields, and also as having critical roles in managing such crises.

First, we gathered a list of five-star newly-opened hotels that remained open during the pandemic. We then reviewed information from the hotel website as well as several open publications concerning Bali hotels, tourism, and leisure. Then, we selected one large hotel that met our criteria and accepted our research request. Despite being classified as a new pipeline hotel which recently opened in 2019, it is notable that, unlike the hotels that were forced to close, this hotel was fully operational with hundreds of open rooms and over 500 employees on its payroll. We believe that research into a company resilient enough to protect its business and employees during a crisis ( Gaudig et al., 2020 ) will yield new insights into CM knowledge during health crises.

The hotel’s crisis management team (CMT) consisted of executives and marketing leaders, and were chosen as interviewees. We also added the owner representative as an additional informant in order to obtain the perspectives of the company’s proprietor. Eight of the nine people that we approached agreed to be interviewed for the study. These participants held the roles of General Manager, Hotel Manager, Executive Assistant Manager, Owner Representatives, Human Resources Director, Finance, Revenue, and Marketing.

We conducted semi-structured face-to-face in-depth interviews. This afforded informants the freedom to express their thoughts and maximize the quality of the data collected ( Campiranon and Scott, 2014 ; Sawalha et al., 2013 ). In the process of analysis and data presentation, each participant was assigned a code from I-01 to I-08. Open-ended questions were used in order to allow for greater levels of flexibility and follow-up questions regarding CM ( Leung and Lam, 2004 ). All research ethics guidelines, as defined by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), were strictly adhered to for this research. Respondents were specifically asked if they wanted to participate in the study and were reassured that their anonymity would be protected ( Pavlatos et al., 2020 ). The interview process was conducted in August 2020, with follow-up questions asked during the first quarter of 2021.

The interviews were audio-recorded, with the most salient points being transcribed into text. A thematic approach based on pre-existing themes or categories was adopted for data analysis ( Tuckett, 2005 ). First, all of the interview transcripts were fully read, with both relevant and interesting sections highlighted, and notes were made in the transcript comments ( Creswell and Plano Clark, 2018 ). Once done, we conducted formal coding, upon which some codes began to merge together and show a hierarchical relationship. In a deductive manner, both coding and theme analysis were directed by existing theory considered in the research ( Nowell et al., 2017 ). The interviewees were asked about the hotel’s situation using Faulkner’s disaster management framework, followed by questions about their CM practices at each phase, their leadership and their way to organize the hotel based on contingency theory perspective.

The findings were linked to existing CM theories in that they explained the situation at each crisis phase, captured the CM practices undertaken by the hotel leaders, and highlighted the principle ingredients. The blue arrow indicates that, once the hotel has reached resolution, it may still return to the pre-crisis or even emergency phase. The framework is depicted by the following figure:

The first observation made during the data collection process was the pandemic’s impact on the hotel’s operation, which had only been open for a year. Furthermore, in order to explore the CMPs, one general question was asked so as to gain information on how the leaders responded to a crisis: “Can you explain what you did first after you heard the news of the coronavirus outbreak?” Since the interviewees came from a diverse range backgrounds and departments, they were probed to explain CMPs based on their own perspectives and roles as key leaders.

Pre-event phase

The pre-event phase marks a point when action can be taken to prevent or mitigate a potential crisis. Regarding the question asked to interviewees, six out of eight interviewees mentioned that assigning a dedicated team (the aforementioned CMT) was the first step they took to managing the crisis. Before the extensive spread of the pandemic, the hotel leaders were also already prepared with crisis communication training from their corporate office.

This workgroup consisted of senior executives, as articulated by one interviewee, “When COVID-19 happened, we immediately formed a senior management workgroup for this […] we needed our marketing head all the time because communication is important. Standard verbiage and standard communication to our staff and stakeholders are important because they were already in a panic” (I-07).

The CMT is a selected group of experienced and knowledgeable people with the capacity to effectively delegate information and tasks. One of the interviewees highlighted communication as one of main ingredients of managing a crisis at the pre-stage, “You need to have not only strong people, but people who know what information can be communicated to others or keep the information secret so that people will not panic” (I-05). Another interviewee then added, “After discussion with the executive’s member, we came up with some solutions, which we communicated first to the owners and corporate, and they, in turn, provide us with a feedback” (I-02).

Prodromal phase

A pandemic is an unpredictable and inevitable situation. As viruses can be spread person-to-person, strict health, safety, and hygiene protocols must be monitored in accordance with the World Health Organization and government direction. Due to COVID-19’s international spread, prevention was no longer possible. Based on the interview results, the CMT encouraged both employees and guests to follow health, hygiene, and wellness regulations. Contingency plans had to be prepared, and the leaders applied an open leadership style in order to adapt with the situation.

Seven out eight interviewees had concerns about health, hygiene, and wellness protocols. As expressed by one interviewee, “So, the very first thing that we did is to hold series of our awareness on personal health, safety, and hygiene to all our employees. We also started to implement thermal body checks and strict monitoring on employees’ health and well-being, which requires a certification from the government” (I-01).

The hotel management continued to engage with guests through a video wellness program, as one interviewee noted, “We launched a program called mindfulness. We wanted to share that, despite our condition today, across the globe, we are human beings. We have to be mindful. That is, the kind of message that we want to spread to our guests as well as people outside Bali that choose Bali as a destination ” (I-04).

Immediate action had to be taken in terms of reservations, as mentioned by one of interviewee, “From the reservation and revenue side, we updated the content on our website, online travel agent, and confirmation letter […] hmm about the COVID-19 protocols as our reactive and preventive action” (I-03). Another interviewee added, “In this case, micromanagement is the important thing that we need. We, as leaders, should lend a hand to every single thing in the operation” (I-05).

On the other hand, a contingency plan helps leaders make optimal decisions in terms of preparing for several possible scenarios and alternatives to future challenges. Seven out of eight interviewees mentioned that it was vital to have a contingency plan of necessary action at the prodromal phase. As one interviewee revealed, “When the hotel started to receive many cancellations and decreases in bookings picked up, we always had a plan, A, B, and C. A is how to react. B is what is to be done next. C is worst scenario […] everything is related when we have contingency plan” (I-07).

Emergency phase

The pre-event and prodromal periods, foregoing the emergency, were particularly brief. External forces may also be a major influence on the efficacy of any plans. Thus, at the emergency phase, and following the government’s recommendations, the hotel ceased operations for 2 months. Before management decided to close the hotel, several analyses and to-do lists were conducted so as to prepare a future action plan. As one interviewee expressed, “We started to work with the director of finance to look at the cost management with the assumption that it is better to keep open the hotel or closed the hotel” (I-08).

Five of eight interviewees expressed the importance of cost management. Cost is an enormous concern to all companies facing a crisis. One of the interviewees clearly stated that, “First, it is about maintaining our cash flow […] cut our daily workers, outsourcing because we still have employees who can do multitasking jobs to minimize additional expenses, give discounts to travel agents, as well as asking discounts from our suppliers and saving expenses” (I-02).

Fortunately, continuous trust and financial support from the owner company gave the leadership sufficient confidence with which to make decisions. As one of the interviewees noted, “The owner is fully supportive about the decision made by executives in the hotel; they will not let everyone lose the job, thus we have to protect their business by doing our best to protect our hotel operation. They will support us financially, but the hotel has to pay interests to owner, which means we have to survive first” (I-06).

All of the interviewees mentioned that they applied an open leadership style to handle every situation, especially in the emergency phase. The key to leading is transparency. The leaders involved others in their work and decision-making, and provided clear information and understanding to the stakeholders. As one interviewee pointed out, “Because we were transparent with them, they trusted us to manage the situation, and I believe there is no pressure from them” (I-02).

Transparency relates to how leaders communicate to stakeholders. Open communication builds trust and reduces hesitancy. One interviewee expressed their concern thusly, “I just do open communication and be straightforward, keep communicating and not worry about making strong decisions as long as we understand the impact” (I-08). He went on to say, “I am not a kind of visionary, but I am just trying to understand the situation. I hear noises; I hear voices, see what has happened. You cannot see what the future will be. What you can force is what is happening to the business pattern, so you can feel it . ”

Most importantly, every decision was collectively agreed upon. Six out of eight interviewees mentioned this collective decision-making. One of them stated that, “So, the leadership in this is to make sure that we make a decision, you stand by your decision, and you advise people. At the end of the day, it is not a decision by the hotel, by me, the executives, and owners, but it is our decision” (I-08).

Intermediate phase

This phase marks when normal business operations can begin to be restored. No one can categorically state when the pandemic will end, meaning that the hotel would completely lose its place in the market completely if the management were to close for a lengthy time period. Therefore, all of the interviewees mentioned that they chose to reopen the hotel as the pick-up of the local market started to increase. One interviewee revealed, “At this point, applying strict health and hygiene protocols, especially preparing all of the employees with trainings and health certification is mandatory” (I-01).

Another interviewee mentioned that boosting the pricing and marketing strategy to the local market was the best choice at this stage. This included (1) promotion without price reduction, (2) promotion that includes food and beverage credits, and (3) marketing strategy innovations, such as wellness programs, and advertising to promote Bali as a destination and the luxury of Indonesian culture through video storytelling (I-03).

According to six of the eight interviewees, success in the CMP at this phase was contingent on effective teamwork, supportive ownership, and a sense of camaraderie. As one interviewee expressed, “Second is commitment to protecting the business and our job. We have to love the hotel, love what we do, and believe that what we currently do is the best. This built us stronger and more trusting” (I-02). The interviewee then added. “Based on our Smith Travel Research (STR) benchmarking data for 2020 and first quarter 2021, we are ahead of our competitors in Bali in terms of revenue, and average rate. With our teamwork collaboration, we are leading the market and surviving. STR is a global company who provides data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for hospitality sectors” (I-02).

Protecting the employees means to also protect the business. The success in managing the crisis was mentioned by one of the interviewees, “We are proud that the hotel can survive until now without a cut in the salary, benefit, and payment, while we can see other hotels, even many other companies cut their employees through involuntary separation, pending the payments to suppliers, and ending in bankruptcy. We still survive using cash flow without asking money from the owner. This is a great achievement as a newbie hotel (I-06).” Another interviewee added, “Despite the closure, we are the only hotel in Bali that is still fully paying our employees—in line with the company’s vision that employees are one of the greatest assets that we have” (I-01).

Recovery phase

After reopening the hotel, the leaders gradually prepared the staff on how best to open hotel services, including restaurants, the gallery, and certain guest activities. To do so, the leaders were able to create teams that value each other while respecting every individual talent and skill within it. Moreover, it would be important to avoid the mindset that employees had at the beginning of the crisis.

Since the hotel had opened only a year prior to the pandemic, they encountered few difficulties at this stage. As one of interviewees mentioned, “Basically, what we are doing now is similar to what we were doing last year to open the hotel. Therefore, we still have the pre-opening team here with us. They know what should be done to prepare for the opening, which is why they need not be in a rush and are calm” (I-08). Another four interviewees expressed how fortunate they were to still have staff involved with the pre-opening team.

Past experiences were also cited as enabling leaders to suitably identify the situation and take proper action. Seven out of eight interviewees had past experiences relating to crisis management. Interestingly, two interviewees expressed “Several actually, one was working in a country that had an Ebola outbreak, another country had a terrorist bomb attack quite near my work place and several other crises” (I-07). “I was ready in keeping the right team, who experienced handling a crisis well. We can share our experiences. Past experience helps me know how to identify [a situation] and where it will go” (I-08).

One of the interviewees also expressed, “We are not in the first, second, or recovery stage of the crisis anymore. A lot of the staff I think should be given brainwashing, giving information that need to be understood. So, we can bring it forward but the brainwashing should be in a nice way and based on reality, stop the lies. We should gather and give the real information so people will understand.” (I-08).

Resolution phase

Although the pandemic has not yet ended, a company can still reach the resolution phase as their business positively increases. Seven out of eight interviewees mentioned a satisfactory increase in their hotel’s business, despite the fact that they were currently relying on the local market and facing difficulties in forecasting business. One interviewee revealed, “After facing the hard situation like closing the hotel operation and strong losses of revenue, at this time we have a positive response from the local market. Nobody knows the future situation as the pandemic hasn’t ended yet, but we are trying hard to lead the market as we have strong team, beyond professional” (I-08).

Hotel operations may not necessarily return exactly to normal upon recovery. Some routines may have changed, and leaders must be better prepared to respond to impending crises by gaining knowledge from previous experiences ( Ritchie and Jiang, 2019 ). Six out of eight interviewees mentioned lifetime learning. One interviewee stated, “I am learning from this and continuously striving to be better. I analyze my day every evening, it’s my process of growth, and I consistently seek feedback” (I-07). Another interviewee added, “We’ve learnt how to operate the hotel, we’ve been able to reopen the outlet without extra costs, we’ve been able to open all hotel facilities without extra cost, so we’ve learnt a lot and still need improvement” ( I-08).

Although vaccines have been developed, we may well see further outbreaks or new variants in future. Consequently, it more critical than ever to have a crisis preparedness and business resilience strategy in place to deal with the “new normal” conditions. One interviewee mentioned, “As an international chain hotel, we are prepared with the crisis management guidance from our corporation. Also, they created health and safety standards as well, namely a white gloves policy” (I-02). Another interviewee expressed a similar opinion, “Not just crisis preparedness, we also have business continuity management guidance and we are well trained since the pre-opening of the hotel. Aside from our past experiences, formal guidance like this is very important for our resolution to be prepared for the future as everything can happen suddenly” (I-04).

The government’s regulations are another major factor that can impact the hotel’s crisis situation. One interviewee expressed, “Today we have passed a difficult time of crisis. Local market response is very positive. But still, the pandemic hasn’t ended yet, and future business is still darkly forecast. Small government intervention will terribly affect business, for example, regulation of a mandatory PCR test or temporary local travel ban” (I-02).

It is worth remembering that the hotel could still return to the emergency phase. However, since the leaders and their teams are already prepared in terms of both past experiences and formal guidance, returning to pre-stage would be an unlikely scenario. One interviewee expressed, “A business continuity plan is a must. We can just handle the crisis well; but without thinking of the business resilience, if we are facing difficult times again, we will lose the business. Like last week’s situation: because of the local travel ban, we had so many cancellations. But we already prepared everything with scenarios, it will be back to normal soon and nothing will happen to our business resilience” (I-08).

Our findings suggest that the first response to the crisis should be the creation of a dedicated CMT, which corresponds to the study of Mikuš ov á and Horv á thov á (2019) . This team is also an integral part of the executive committee that overlooks day to day safety concerns within the property and assist the General Manager in dealing with plausible emergency and crisis situations. In addition, the interview results revealed that solid communication is the first necessary attribute that the leaders preserved during the crisis. Stakeholders will likely be exposed to confusing information or feel anxious about the action that should be taken. However, as long as the leaders communicate the right hierarchy of information, stakeholders will be able to understand and support every decision made—even in unanticipated situations. This is similar to Nyenswah et al.’s ( 2016 ) findings, which stated that active communication to the stakeholders was a highly important task for leaders during Liberia’s Ebola crisis.

Second, this paper emphasized that health and safety protocols are essential practices that should be implemented in any health crisis which corresponds to a study by Pavlatos et al. (2020) . Moreover, we discovered that creating mindfulness brand videos and a variety of wellness activities are effective ways for hotels to gain the trust of their guests. Some guests would prefer to stay at a hotel that promotes strict health protocols on social media or other channels ( Liu et al., 2015 ; Pan and Meng, 2016 ). Hence, this study recommends precautionary hygiene standards as one of the best practices for gaining a competitive advantage. Although vaccination delivery has begun around the world, customers' confidence to travel remains low. In consequences, the only way for hoteliers to differentiate themselves in this highly competitive market is to shift their focus to regular sanitization. Although it is critical to establish credibility and trust with the guests, it is also critical to focus on employees training on new hygiene measures.

We then identified contingency plans as being widely considered an essential action in CM, which corresponds to the study of Rindrasih (2015) , Spector (2019) , and Wang et al. (2017) . As with contingency planning, the ambiguity, communications, and interactions between employees require several assessments at every phase, and the details of the plan should be updated depending on the slightest change. This paper suggests that, although there are various possible futures that leaders could consider, they ought to especially focus on determining what scenarios would be helpful to revisit. Uncertainty causes many people to hesitate, so it would be highly beneficial for them to see a focused management team that communicates correctly to stakeholders and formulates collective decisions.

According to the interview findings, the leaders’ open leadership style is a major constituent influencing the success of managing the COVID-19 crisis. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first study to have revealed this result. Open leaders involved others in their work and clearly communicated their responsibilities, empowerment, expectations, as well as difficulties, to the stakeholders. Accordingly, this approach can facilitate effective team work, trustworthiness, and help to avoid conflict as every decision—regardless of the situation’s difficulty—is made collectively.

This paper, in line with other studies, has perceived that a good organizational culture can bolster ownership and a sense of belonging to the company, which thereby creates a positive working atmosphere during a crisis ( Ali and Al-Aali, 2016 ; Bhaduri, 2019 ; Wang et al., 2018 ). An agile leader would exert more effort into benefiting both the company and its stakeholders—a finding in line with Cha and Rew (2018) . When team members realize that they are unique and valuable in the eyes of the management, their sense of camaraderie increases and they tend to work beyond expectations in order to protect their company’s resilience.

Some studies also suggest that past experience is a key factor that support the decision-making of leaders during a crisis ( Bundy et al., 2017 ; Ritchie and Jiang, 2019 ; Wang et al., 2017 ). The interview results indicate that all of the hotel’s leaders are experienced in handling crises. Therefore, this paper also suggests that past experiences might also be considered essential factors for facilitating leaders’ decision-making. Lastly, our findings found that an organization that has CM and business continuity plan in place tend to recover from major incidents more quickly than those that do not, which accords with Maphanga and Henama (2019) , Niininen and Gatsou (2008) , and Sawalha et al. (2015) . With business continuity plan, leaders will be able to act by minimizing damages when an emergency occurs. The major goal of the emergency and CMPs procedure guideline within the Business Continuity Plan is aimed at the preservation of life, protection of property and reputation as well as ensuring continuity of business operations.

The COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent economic downturn have become forerunners of any company’s future challenges. As a result of the pandemic, travel patterns have changed and tourists are less likely to spend their vacations in traditional tourism destinations, including Bali hotels. Therefore, this study has integrated the tourism disaster management framework concept to enhance the effectiveness of CM in the hospitality industry. We also used contingency theory as a theoretical guide with which to highlight the key points of a leader’s strategy in managing such a crisis: communication, contingency plan, open leadership style, organizational culture, and business continuity. This study contributes to existing CM knowledge by developing the COVID-19 CM model within the context of a newly-opened hotel—which is something of a rarity. It also serves as a springboard for future discussion and research in this field.

A newly opened hotel has several advantages that will entice guests to visit the property over an older hotel, despite its financial distress during the crisis ( Bruza et al., 2019 ). Agile leaders who can perceive, and capitalize upon, this opportunity will likely use their knowledge and skill to lead the team and bring the hotel to the forefront of the tourism market, despite the ongoing pandemic. Doing so is an effective way to maintain business resilience and protect all staff’s employment during a difficult situation. Since each crisis has its own characteristics, we have discovered that an open leadership style is applicable for a health crisis because it strengthens transparent communication, which can facilitate a smooth and swift exchange of information, as well as heightened decision-making.

This paper also has practical and managerial implications. The experience of this hotel will provide solutions—albeit limited—to hotel practitioners and those involved with the tourism industry abroad who are also suffering from (pandemic-related) crises. They can also choose the CM practices that are best suited to their organization. Companies that keep expending efforts to fully pay their employees during a crisis stand to strengthen their business and consumer engagements. Transparency fosters trust, which likely aligns the interests of all stakeholders involved, such as the owner, the corporation, employees, guests, and society as a whole. Furthermore, our findings would be beneficial not only to the hospitality industry, but also to tourism businesses all over the world.

Although this research has managerial and tourism-related implications, it still has several limitations. First, despite our efforts to be as inclusive as possible, we acknowledge that it is difficult to comprehensively describe all possible CMPs within a single study. Therefore, while we have been constrained by a limited object, we would recommend future research to explore another possible destination in which CM can be enhanced in a larger scale and sample. We also suggest comparing the CMPs of a newly opened hotel to an existing one of a similar size and with a comparable number of employees. Second, although purposive sampling is useful when the researchers have limited resources and time due to a pandemic, such a random approach may disprove claims of researcher bias in participant selection. To overcome this limitation, we would suggest that future studies use another method, such as snowball sampling, for the data collection.

Crisis management practices during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Framework of Actions.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks to Universitas Pendidikan Nasional for facilitated this research.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding: The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Data availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

Made Gaby Permatasari https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2640-9918

• Ali AJ, Al-Aali A. (2016) Human capital and crisis management . Journal of Transnational Management 21 ( 4 ): 200–216. Taylor & Francis. DOI: 10.1080/15475778.2016.1226660. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bhaduri RM. (2019) Leveraging culture and leadership in crisis management . European Journal of Training and Development 43 ( 5–6 ): 554–569. DOI: 10.1108/EJTD-10-2018-0109. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bruza D, Miloloza I, Santo T. (2019) Pre-opening hotel management - phases and procedures . Interdisciplinary Management Research Xv (Imr) 15 ( May ): 33–49. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bundy J, Pfarrer MD, Short CE, et al. (2017) Crises and crisis management: integration, interpretation, and research development . Journal of Management 43 ( 6 ): 1661–1692. DOI: 10.1177/0149206316680030. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Campiranon K, Scott N. (2014) Critical success factors for crisis recovery management: a case study of phuket hotels . Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing 31 ( 3 ): 313–326. DOI: 10.1080/10548408.2013.877414. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Cha W, Rew D. (2018) CEO characteristics and corporate philanthropy in times of organizational crisis . The Journal of Gene Medicine 44 ( 1 ): 44–55. DOI: 10.1177/0306307018788805. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chang CL, McAleer M, Ramos V. (2020) A charter for sustainable tourism after COVID-19 . Sustainability (Switzerland) 12 ( 9 ): 10–13. DOI: 10.3390/su12093671. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Creswell JW, Plano Clark VL. (2018) Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research . 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc. [ Google Scholar ]
• Eriksson K, McConnell A. (2011) Contingency planning for crisis management: Recipe for success or political fantasy? Policy and Society 30 ( 2 ): 89–99. Policy and Society Associates Ltd Partnership. DOI: 10.1016/j.polsoc.2011.03.004. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Faulkner B. (2001) Towards a framework for tourism disaster management . Tourism Management 22 ( 2 ): 135–147. DOI: 10.1016/S0261-5177(00)00048-0. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Fiedler FE. (1964) A contingency model of leadership effectiveness . Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 1 ( C ): 149–190. DOI: 10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60051-9. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Fiedler FE. (1978) The contingency model and the dynamics of the leadership process . Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 11 : 59–112. [ Google Scholar ]
• Fink S. (1986) Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable . New York: AMACOM. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gani A, Singh R. (2019) Managing disaster and crisis in tourism: a critique of research and a fresh research agenda . African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure 8 ( 4 ): 1–25. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gaudig A, Hinderer S, Kuckertz A, et al. (2020) Startups in times of crisis – a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic . Journal of Business Venturing Insights 13 ( January ): 1–13. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2020.e00169. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ghaderi Z, Mat Som AP, Wang J. (2014) Organizational learning in tourism crisis management: an experience from Malaysia . Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing 31 ( 5 ): 627–648. DOI: 10.1080/10548408.2014.883951. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gilmour C, Sheehan G. (1976) The effect of crises on organizational planning . The Journal of Gene Medicine 4 ( 2 ): 50–58. DOI: 10.1177/030630707600400207. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hao F, Xiao Q, Chon K. (2020) COVID-19 and China’s hotel industry: impacts, a disaster management framework, and post-pandemic agenda . International Journal of Hospitality Management 90 : 102636. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102636. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Henderson JC, Ng A. (2004) Responding to crisis: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and hotels in Singapore . International Journal of Tourism Research 6 ( 6 ): 411–419. DOI: 10.1002/jtr.505. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Henderson JC, Jian Hao C, Wei Lin L, et al. (2008) Organisational crises in the hotel sector: a prespective from Singapore . ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism 7 ( 1 ): 57–66. [ Google Scholar ]
• Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, et al. (2020) Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China . The Lancet 395 ( 10223 ): 497–506. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hung KKC, Mark CKM, Yeung MPS, et al. (2018) The role of the hotel industry in the response to emerging epidemics: A case study of SARS in 2003 and H1N1 swine flu in 2009 in Hong Kong . Globalization and Health 14 ( 1 ): 1–7. DOI: 10.1186/s12992-018-0438-6. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Israeli AA, Mohsin A, Kumar B. (2011) Hospitality crisis management practices: the case of Indian luxury hotels . International Journal of Hospitality Management 30 ( 2 ): 367–374. Elsevier Ltd. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2010.06.009. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Jamal T, Budke C. (2020) Tourism in a world with pandemics: local-global responsibility and action . Journal of Tourism Futures 6 ( 2 ): 181–188. DOI: 10.1108/JTF-02-2020-0014. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kim SS, Chun H, Lee H. (2005) The effects of SARS on the Korean hotel industry and measures to overcome the crisis: a case study of six Korean five-star hotels . Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research 10 ( 4 ): 369–377. DOI: 10.1080/10941660500363694. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lai IKW, Wong JWC. (2020) Comparing crisis management practices in the hotel industry between initial and pandemic stages of COVID-19 . International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 32 ( 10 ): 3135–3156. DOI: 10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-0325. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Le D, Phi G. (2021) Strategic responses of the hotel sector to COVID-19: toward a refined pandemic crisis management framework . International Journal of Hospitality Management 94 : 102808. Elsevier Ltd. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102808. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Leung P, Lam T. (2004) Crisis management during the SARS threat a case study of the Metropole hotel in Hong Kong . Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism 3 ( 1 ): 47–57. DOI: 10.1300/J171v03n01_05. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Liu B, Pennington-Gray L, Klemmer L. (2015) Using social media in hotel crisis management: the case of bed bugs . Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology 6 ( 2 ): 102–112. DOI: 10.1108/JHTT-08-2014-0036. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mansour HE. (2013) A crisis management in the tourism and hospitality industry: a review of the theoretical and empirical literature and suggestions for future work a crisis management in the tourism and hospitality industry: a review of the theoretical and empirical lite . In: International Students Conference in Tourism Research (ISCONTOUR 2013) . Norderstedt: Books on Demand. [ Google Scholar ]
• Maphanga PM, Henama US. (2019) The tourism impact of ebola in Africa: lessons on crisis management . African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure 8 ( 3 ): 1–13. [ Google Scholar ]
• Mcauley J, Duberley J, Johnson P. (2007) Organization Theory Challenges and Perspectives . Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. [ Google Scholar ]
• Mikušová M, Horváthová P. (2019) Prepared for a crisis? Basic elements of crisis management in an organisation . Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja 32 ( 1 ): 1844–1868. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/1331677X.2019.1640625. 1 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mitroff II. (2004) Think like a sociopath, act like a saint . Journal of Business Strategy 25 ( 5 ): 42–53. DOI: 10.1108/02756660410558933. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Niininen O, Gatsou M. (2008) Crisis management– a case study from the Greek passenger shipping industry . Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 23 ( 2–4 ): 191–202. DOI: 10.1300/J073v23n02. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Nowell LS, Norris JM, White DE, et al. (2017) Thematic analysis: striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria . International Journal of Qualitative Methods 16 : 1–13. DOI: 10.1177/1609406917733847. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Nyenswah T, Engineer CY, Peters DH, et al. (2016) Leadership in times of crisis: the example of Ebola Virus disease in Liberia leadership in times of crisis . Health Systems and Reform 2 ( 3 ): 194–207. DOI: 10.1080/23288604.2016.1222793. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pan PL, Meng J. (2016) Media frames across stages of health crisis: a crisis management approach to news coverage of Flu pandemic . Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 24 ( 2 ): 95–106. DOI: 10.1111/1468-5973.12105. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Patton MQ. (2015) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods . 4th editiion. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc. [ Google Scholar ]
• Pavlatos O, Kostakis H, Digkas D. (2020) Crisis management in the Greek hotel industry in response to COVID-19 pandemic . Anatolia 32 ( 1 ): 80–92. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/13032917.2020.1850485. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pearson CM, Clair JA. (1998) Reframing crisis management . Academy of Management Review 23 ( 1 ): 59–76. DOI: 10.5465/AMR.1998.192960. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pearson CM, Mitroff II. (1993) From crisis prone to crisis prepared: a framework for crisis management . Academy of Management Perspectives 7 ( 1 ): 48–59. DOI: 10.5465/ame.1993.9409142058. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ping JW, Cui T, Pan SL. (2011) Strategies of crisis management from contingent perspective . In: PACIS 2011-15th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems: Quality Research in Pacific, Brisbane, Queensland, 7-11 July 2011, 2011. [ Google Scholar ]
• Prewitt J, Weil R, McClure A. (2011) Crisis leadership-an organizational opportunity . Australian Journal of Business and Management Research 1 ( 6 ): 60–74. Available at http://www.ajbmr.com/articlepdf/AJBMR_16_04.pdf . [ Google Scholar ]
• Racherla P, Hu C. (2009) A framework for crisis management in the hospitality and tourism industry . Cornell Hospitality Quarterly 50 ( 4 ): 561–577. DOI: 10.1177/1938965509341633. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Rindrasih E. (2015) Tourism and disaster: the review of Government policy toward the impact of natural disaster on tourism industry performance . ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism 14 ( 1 ): 24–34. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ritchie BW, Jiang Y. (2019) A review of research on tourism risk, crisis and disaster management: launching the annals of tourism research curated collection on tourism risk, crisis and disaster management . Annals of Tourism Research 79 : 102812. Elsevier. DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2019.102812. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sawalha IHS, Jraisat LE, Al-Qudah KAM. (2013) Crisis and disaster management in Jordanian hotels: practices and cultural considerations . Disaster Prevention and Management 22 ( 3 ): 210–228. DOI: 10.1108/DPM-09-2012-0101. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sawalha IHS, Anchor JR, Meaton J. (2015) Continuity culture: a key factor for building resilience and sound recovery capabilities . International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 6 ( 4 ): 428–437. Beijing Normal University Press. DOI: 10.1007/s13753-015-0070-5. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Spector B. (2019) There is no such thing as a crisis: a critique of and alterative to the dominant crisis management model . Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 27 ( 3 ): 274–279. DOI: 10.1111/1468-5973.12268. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Stam D, van Knippenberg D, Wisse B, et al. (2018) Motivation in words: promotion- and prevention-oriented leader communication in times of crisis . Journal of Management 44 ( 7 ): 2859–2887. DOI: 10.1177/0149206316654543. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Tuckett AG. (2005) Applying thematic analysis theory to practice: a researcher’s experience . Contemporary Nurse 19 : 75–87. DOI: 10.5172/conu.19.1-2.75. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang J, Ritchie BW. (2010) A theoretical model for strategic crisis planning: factors influencing crisis planning in the hotel industry . International Journal of Tourism Policy 3 ( 4 ): 297–317. DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2010.040390. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang J, Wang S, Wang Y, et al. (2018) Extending the theory of planned behavior to understand consumers’ intentions to visit green hotels in the Chinese context . International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 30 ( 8 ): 2810–2825. DOI: 10.1108/IJCHM-04-2017-0223. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang Y, Laufer D. (2020) How does crisis management in China differ from the West?: a review of the literature and directions for future research . Journal of International Management 26 ( 1 ): 100708. Elsevier. DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2019.100708. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang Y, Laufer D, Spector B, et al. (2017) A theoretical model for strategic crisis planning: factors influencing crisis planning in the hotel industry . Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 26 ( 1 ): 95–106. Elsevier. DOI: 10.1080/1331677X.2013.11517630. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• WTTC (2020) Economic Impact Reports . Available at https://wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact (accessed 20 March 2021). [ Google Scholar ]
• Yonasari N. (2020) Bali Hotel Market . Available at https://www.colliers.com/en-id/research/colliers-quarterly-property-market-report-q1-2020-bali-hotel . [ Google Scholar ]
• Yonasari N. (2021) Another Turbulent Period for Tourism . Available at https://www.colliers.com/en-id/research/colliers-quarterly-property-market-report-q4-2019-bali-hotel . [ Google Scholar ]
• Yu M, Cheng M, Yu Z, et al. (2020) Current issues in tourism communication related health crisis on social media: a case of COVID-19 outbreak . Current Issues in Tourism 24 : 1–7. Taylor & Francis. DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2020.1752632. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]