Responsible Communication with Employees to Mitigate the Negative Effects of Crises: A study of Italian Companies

Can responsible communication with employees mitigate the negative effects of a crisis? In the pre-crisis stage, employee communication can contribute to the internal commitment building, while in the crisis stage, it can reinforce the commitment by means of accommodative crisis communication strategies. Employee commitment is at the basis of positive employee communicative actions as advocacy and positive referrals that finally protect the company's reputation. A survey of Italian companies examined internal crisis communication strategies during the 2009 global economic crisis. The main results show that companies have used defensive internal communication strategies that may undermine their intangible assets.