Public Relations Review 39 (2013) 238–240 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Public Relations Review Research in Brief Predictors of organizations’ crisis communication approaches: Full versus limited disclosure Sora Kim a,∗ , Emma K. Wertz b,1 a Department of Public Relations, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, 3061 Weimer Hall, , Gainesville, FL 32611-8400, United States b Department of Communication, Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Road, MD 2207, Kennesaw, GA 30144, United States a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 6 August 2012 Received in revised form 11 February 2013 Accepted 1 March 2013 Keywords: Crisis communication Public relations strategy Legal strategy Crisis information disclosure a b s t r a c t This study investigates predictors of the public relations (full disclosure) versus legal (limited disclosure) approaches that may be used by organizations during a preventable crisis. Both tangible and intangible aspects of an organization were explored. The results reveal that degree of crisis preparation, public relations influences, and the perception of crisis as an opportunity were significant predictors that determine full versus limited disclosure selection. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction While crisis management is often considered an important public relations function, we are still learning about how and why particular crisis communication strategies are selected. Although previous studies have identified crisis response strategies adopted by organizations in crises (e.g., Coombs, 1995), there has been little focus on specific information disclosure strategies. For example, public relations strategies tend to support full disclosure of information, while legal perspectives are more likely to endorse limited disclosure (e.g., Fitzpatrick & Rubin, 1995). However, what makes organizations choose a certain disclosure approach over another is not clearly understood. This study attempts to fill this void by investigating the use of these opposing approaches during a preventable crisis, including factors that may predict decisions related to information disclosure. Both tangible (e.g., crisis communication plan) and intangible (e.g., perception of crisis) aspects of an organization are explored. Identifying predictors that determine the selection of either full or limited disclosure is imperative to better understanding disclosure-related actions that are taken. 2. Hypotheses and research question H1. Both tangible and intangible factors of (a) organization type and size, (b) crisis preparation, (c) communication cul- ture, (d) public relations department’s influence, (e) perception of crisis as an opportunity, and (f) public relations decision autonomy will be significant predictors in the organizational adoption of PR versus legal strategies in crisis communication. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 312 352 392 9961. E-mail addresses: sorakim@jou.ufl.edu (S. Kim), ewertz@kennesaw.edu (E.K. Wertz). 1 Tel.: +1 770 423 6436. 0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2013.03.004