Proposing a Crisis Portfolio for Telecommunications Companies.

Abstract

The aim of the current paper is to classify crises that threaten the telecommunications sector. The design of the crisis portfolio is based on managers’ assessments. Forty eight middle and senior managers working for the three major telecommunications companies in Greece were asked to rate the 16 crises on three major criteria: predictability, severity of consequences/ impact and probability to occur. Based on the results, a bubble chart was created. The present study engages three classification criteria, namely the predictability of a crisis, the impact/severity of consequences and the probability of a crisis occurring. Based on the above criteria, a new typology of totally four crises groups that has been adapted to the telecommunications industry is introduced and discussed. The concept of a crisis portfolio could strongly assist managers in preparing for and coping with crises because being prepared for one crisis in each cluster may provide valuable information for each of the other crises in the same cluster.