Compound crisis communication and household preparedness: Examining the effects of evidence type and crisis message fatigue

Abstract

While existing crisis management research primarily approaches crisis communication from a single-event perspective, this study provides initial evidence for communication about compound crises. To this purpose, we conducted a nationally representative survey experiment among U.S. residents (N = 670) to examine the effects of communication about compound crisis events on message fatigue and household preparedness. The study did not find support for the negative effects of communication about compound crises on message-induced crisis fatigue and household preparedness intention. An additional analysis revealed that effects of the messages about compound crisis events are contingent upon the participants' level of past crisis experience, past crisis preparedness, accumulated fatigue from previous crises, and the type of evidence presented. Our findings revealed that individuals with higher past crisis experience exhibited higher crisis message fatigue and greater household preparedness intention. However, caution is warranted when interpreting these findings. The respondents' perceived distinction between compound and single crisis preparedness lacked conceptual clarity, possibly due to the ongoing influence of the COVID-19 pandemic.