Table 2.

Crisis types and crisis response strategies (Coombs, 2007).

Crisis type	Description of crisis type	Recommended crisis response strategy
Victim of crisis	Crises driven by external forces beyond organizational control or intent, and weak responsibility is attributed to the organization	Denial (e.g., attacking the accuser, denial, and scapegoating)
Accidental crisis	Crises that the organization has little intention and/or ability to prevent, in which a certain but low responsibility is attributed to the organization	Diminish (e.g., excuse and justification)
Preventable crisis	Crises that can be highly attributed to an organization's action or inaction	Rebuild (e.g., apology and compensation)