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. 2005 Jan 29;25(1):3–11. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2004.12.001

Table 1.

Seven types of crisis faced by restaurants

Major factors Specific environment Type of crisis Example
External factors Physical environment Natural disaster Earthquake damages a restaurant property; virus/bacteria contamination preventing patrons from visiting the restaurant
Technological failure Failure of food processing system causing widespread food contamination.
Human or social environment Confrontation Labor strike disrupts normal operations; special-interest group boycotts restaurant
Malevolence Terrorists attack; food is poisoned through product tampering


Internal factors Management failure Skewed values Restaurant sells junk food that is harmful to public health (ranking short-term profits over concern for the well being of consumers)
Deception Restaurant knowingly serves spoiled or contaminated food
Misconduct Corporate CEO charged with bribery to obtain a licence