Developing a process perspective on organizational crisis leadership

The doctoral project "Stratgeic Crisis Leadership" concerns leadership in crises that have the potential to threaten organizational survival, strategy or values to an extensive degree. One part of the project investigates leadership competencies that may improve crisis leadership during the initial phase of crisis management and is based on a top management leadership intervention. Another part of the project investigates the leadership of multiteam structures in a real-crisis management context.

The first research phase will comprise of a review of literature within the cross-discipline field of crisis management training, aiming to conceptualize the phenomenon. Further, an empirical research phase will take place, in which subjects in the strate gic management teams and other stakeholders will be interviewed and the material subdued to a qualitative analysis. A training program will thereafter be designed/outlined (in collaboration with the corporations -action research) and tested, and subjects will be given a survey-questionnaire pre- and post training. Results of the interviews and survey will be analyzed and implications for future training of strategic crisis management teams will be addressed.