Crisis Preparation Communication in Universities : A case study of Jönköping University

With an increase in schools and universities being targets for malevolent attacks in many countries, the need for crisis preparation is high. To prepare their stakeholders, these institutions need to know how they can effectively communicate with them. This qualitative exploratory study investigates crisis communication at Swedish universities during the pre-crisis phase, and how universities can prepare their stakeholders, the students. The authors adopted a primarily deductive approach, through the use of a case study. Four group interviews of students were conducted to address the research question: How do students at Jönköping University want to be prepared for a potential malevolent crisis? The results of the research showed that students had not received malevolent crisis preparation information beforehand but desired it, and thought it was the university's responsibility to prepare them. Students preferred two-way communication and combining communication channels. A majority desired these channels to have mandatory participation. Finally, the authors believe to have found a potential link between excessive crisis preparation and fear built into the mutual relationship between crisis and threats. It is recommended that this link receives attention in future research as well as how the perception of a crisis is dependent on the student’s culture