Identifying Crisis Characteristics: Cross‐Case Relevant Crisis Character Variables for Public Administrations

In the crisis management literature, only few approaches exist that focus on cross‐case relevant crisis character variables for public administrations. In order to overcome this shortage, this paper identifies and operationalizes cross‐case relevant crisis character variables derived from crisis management literature. A quantitative analysis (clustering) of past crises in Switzerland makes the relevance of the identified variables for the characterization of crises plausible. With the determination of a range of cross‐case relevant crisis character variables and the analysis of a number of crises by quantitative methods, we chose rather unfamiliar approaches in crisis management research. Therefore, the presented research aims to stimulate a discussion among crisis management scholars about both relevant variables and suitable methods for the identification of crisis characteristics.