Clarifying the attributes of organizational crises

A clear understanding of the attributes of a crisis is crucial for its pred iction, management, and control. However. crises are described by a wide ar ray BE attributes that are often contradictory and/or imprecise. In this ar ticle we describe three subsets of crises: technological disasters. crises of decline, and developmental crises. We reduce imprecisions by differentia ting between those attributes that describe all crises from those that are specific to a subset. We provide a rationale: as to how computing attribute s co-exist. Implications for the study and management of crises are discuss ed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc.