Crisis communication and event reputation in Saudi Arabia: the moderating role of the distributed leadership

The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating role of distributed leadership between attributions to events, crises, and event reputation. Using Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), attribution of crisis responsibility, distributed leadership, and event reputation were assessed with questionnaires. Data were collected at a single point in time over two months across multiple sports events, involving 240 managers in Saudi Arabia. The findings showed that distributed leadership and attributions of crisis responsibility were significantly linked with event crises. However, the moderating effect of distributed leadership on the relationship between attributions of crisis responsibility and event reputation was not found. Event organizers should develop proactive crisis management plans that serve as guidelines for attributing responsibility. These plans should be evaluated after each crisis to address weaknesses and to learn from other mega-events hosted by the kingdom. This study is the first to investigate crisis management in the Middle East by testing the moderating role of distributed leadership in Saudi Arabian event settings.