DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN CRISIS COMMUNICATION: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF TRUST AND THE INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to understand the impact of distributed leadership (DL) on crisis communication (CC) and the effectiveness of their relationship in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Pakistan. It also explores how trust mediates the relationship between leadership (TL) and customer communication (CC), and how organizational culture (OC) moderates the relationship between distributed leadership (DL) and customer communication (CC). Data from 260 respondents, drawn from academic and administrative staff at public and private sector HEIs in Pakistan, were collected using a structured questionnaire. Responses were collected using a convenience sampling technique and analyzed empirically. Data were analyzed and arranged in SPSS and Smart PLS 4. Results show that distributed leadership has a positive and significant direct effect on crisis communication. Trust in leadership significantly mediates this relationship by increasing the acceptance and credibility of crisis-related messages. Organizational culture appears to strongly moderate this effect: distributed leadership is more effective in managing crisis communication when the organizational culture is open, collaborative, and supportive. This research provides a new partial framework for understanding the crisis communication process, involving the interaction among distributed leadership, trust in leadership, and organizational culture. To empirically validate this model in Pakistani Higher Education Institutions, it extends crisis leadership and communication research in a developing-country context, which the literature has not yet explored. The framework identifies the relational and contextual aspects of effective crisis communication and offers direction for HEIs to build stronger leadership and organizational culture, in general, and during a crisis.