Managing emergencies and shaping images: how swift crisis interventions affect public perception of local government reputation

This study examines how crisis response timing (pre-crisis vs. post-crisis), sequence (no prioritization, defensive prioritization, accommodative prioritization), and tempo (fast-paced vs. slow-paced) affect public perception of local government reputation. Through a 2 × 3 × 2 factorial experiment (n = 1520), results reveal that pre-crisis risk communication, accommodative prioritization, and fast-paced responses significantly enhance public perception of local government reputation. Crisis responsibility attribution functions as an indirect mechanism. Integrating temporal dimensions into crisis management frameworks, the research advances theoretical understanding and offers governments actionable strategies for reputation protection through timely interventions