Integrated Marketing Communications in Risk and Crisis Contexts is part of the Lexington Books Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) series. The authors present a culture centered model for examining risk and crisis communication within the context of IMC to provide a more robust understanding of myriad cultural variables affecting the perception of risk and crisis messages and the means by which these messages are processed by different publics, particularly multicultural and international groups. While the conceptualization of what constitutes IMC has been broad, from the perspective of risk and crisis communication, the focus is quite specific: All communication and messages created and disseminated in a risk or crisis situation must be carefully created and strategically presented if the intended outcomes associated with the publics' responses are to be realized by the sender of the messages.

Integrated Marketing Communications in Risk and Crisis Contexts present a culture centered model for examining risk and crisis communication within the context of IMC to provide a more robust understanding of myriad cultural variables affecting the perception of risk and crisis messages and the means by which these messages are processed by different publics, particularly multicultural and international groups. While the conceptualization of what constitutes IMC has been broad, from the perspective of risk and crisis communication, the focus is quite specific: All communication and messages created and disseminated in a risk or crisis situation must be carefully created and strategically presented if the intended outcomes associated with the publics' responses are to be realized by the sender of the messages.

Risk and Crisis Communication addresses how the interaction between organizations and their stakeholders manifests during a risk or crisis situation. Littlefield and Sellnow contend that when best practices are considered, there are certain tensions to which an organization responds. These tensions are similar to those experienced among individuals when managing their relationships. As such, Littlefield and Sellnow apply an interpersonal theory, known as relational dialectics (RDT), to risk and crisis communication and examine the outcome from the vantage point of the officials and the public. Previous research has focused on top-down, sender-oriented communication to evaluate the effectiveness of particular strategies used by spokespeople to repair public image or relay an apology. In contrast, Littlefield and Sellnow's approach relies on culture-centeredness and suggests how cultural elements may have influenced the kinds of tensions each organization faced. Risk and Crisis Communication exemplifies the use of RDT through seven case studies, each focusing on one of the tensions, making it of interest to both scholars and organizational leaders.