INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Thiago Jabor Pinheiro, Rômulo Silveira da Rocha Sampaio and Lucas Guimarães Ribeiro, Mattos Filho
Crises management from a historical perspective Corporate crises can be defined as unexpect- ed events arising from a company’s business activities that pose substantial, or even exis- tential, risks to both the company’s continuity and reputation and the communities it serves. As such, corporate crises are inevitably linked to economic cycles and the development and emergence of new business sectors, activities, and markets. As businesses evolve, so do the crises they may face. During the dawn of the Industrial Age, from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, corporate crises often stemmed from dire labour conditions, the spread of smoke and fog due to rudimentary industrial methods, and infrastructure failures. Innovations in banking and securities in the early 1900s brought crises related to financial miscon- duct and bank runs. The 1950s, for example, saw the first large-scale corporate crises in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and transportation sectors. The early days of globalisation in the 1970s and 1980s introduced crises related to unethical business practices in less developed nations and significant oil spills. In the 1990s and 2000s, crises related to accounting and corporate fraud became more common. More recently, in the 2010s and 2020s, crises have emerged from cybersecurity failures, serious workplace misconduct, and growing concerns about the impact of business activities on the climate. Evolving types of crises and crisis management This is not to say, of course, that crises that hap- pened in the past cannot happen again. Unfor- tunately, recent examples demonstrate that vir- tually all the above-mentioned types of crises
Crisis Points: A Global and Historical Overview of Crisis Management as It Continues to Unfold
Corporate crisis management has evolved sig- nificantly in recent decades, driven by changes in the environmental, social, political, economic, and technological challenges that businesses face on a global scale. Historically, crisis man- agement primarily focused on responding to threats and mitigating their impact, whereas a more modern approach considers a broader spectrum of concerns (including risk assessment and prevention, preparedness and response, recovery and remediation). This evolution has also reshaped the expecta- tions of companies regarding the roles of the outside experts they seek out when a crisis hits. Companies now resort to a growing and diverse range of crisis specialists, including lawyers in different practice areas, technical experts, communications advisers, cybersecurity and IT consultants, private investigators, remediation designers, and several others. All these pro- fessionals must work seamlessly together with the company’s crisis management team to help the company face the complex and constantly evolving issues that often arise during a crisis. The decision by Chamber and Partners to launch a practice guide dedicated to crisis manage- ment is, therefore, both important and timely. This guide brings together contributions from a stellar group of leading professionals from vari- ous backgrounds, fields of expertise, and juris- dictions to offer readers – particularly corporate leaders – a comprehensive resource to help their organisations understand and manage the com- plexities of modern-day crises.
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