The Risk of Crisis Contagion

In many cases companies view a competitor’s misfortunes as a competitive advantage. However, this reaction may be premature. Through guilt by association, customers may link other companies to a crisis impacting a competitor, causing considerable reputational damage. Therefore, it is of great importance for companies to understand their risk of crisis contagion, and to take action through their communications to protect themselves if necessary. Guilt by association can also adversely impact organizations that share the same country of origin and organizational type as well. As a result, Crisis Contagion can cause harm to for-profit, non-for profit and government organizations.

This webinar describes factors that cause a crisis to spill over from one organization to another (“Crisis Contagion”), and also provides guidance on how organizations can protect themselves from crisis contagion. 

About Daniel Laufer
Daniel Laufer, BS '91, is an Associate Professor of Marketing, and a former Head of School (2014-2017) at Victoria University, one of the leading universities in New Zealand. Dr. Laufer’s area of expertise is Crisis Management, and his articles have appeared in leading academic and managerial journals. He has also served as a guest editor on special issues about Crisis Management at leading academic and managerial journals.