Meta-research on crisis communication: 24 years of research in Public Relations Review (2000–2023)

During the last two decades, crisis communication research has increased significantly, becoming one of the main research topics, with scholars mainly examining how crises can affect the results of an organization and its stakeholders. However, despite the growing literature, knowledge, and theories, a systematic approach to crisis communication research is still limited. Faced with this reality, this study explores the state of crisis communication research through a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of all articles published on this topic in Public Relations Review, the leading journal in the field, between 2000 and 2023 (n = 391 of a total of 1906 articles published in that period). This paper identifies the main authors, the universities to which they belong, the work networks they constitute, their objectives, questions, hypotheses, methodologies, type of research, as well as the theories, results and conclusions that are produced, among other important issues. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of crisis communication research in the field of public relations and related areas are discussed.