The effect of different crisis communication channels

This study examines the effect of consumer-to-consumer crisis communication on consumers' safety perception and willingness to travel by comparing consumer-to-consumer communication with business-to-consumer crisis communication in a natural disaster context. The results reveal that consumer-to-consumer crisis communication effectively increases consumers' safety perception and willingness to travel by the equal degree as business-to-consumer communication does for groups with a high perceived risk. The findings also indicate that consumer-to-consumer crisis communication strongly affects consumers' decision-making process in a situation with a low perceived risk. This study extends knowledge of the classic crisis communication theory to a new era and practically contributes to organizations by shedding light on the effect of consumer-to-consumer crisis communication. •C-to-C crisis messages were perceived sufficiently credible.•C-to-C messages increased readers' perceived safety and willingness to travel.•The effects of C-to-C and B-to-C communication depended on perceived risk.•A mediation model was supported when a high level of risk was perceived.