From Reactive Control to Co-Creative Engagement: Enhancing Crisis Management in the Age of AI and Misinformation

Citation details: Tan, K., Swiatek, L., & Chaidaroon, S. (2026). From reactive control to co-creative engagement: Enhancing crisis management in the age of AI and misinformation. Proceedings of the 38th Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Melbourne, 923-933. Abstract: This paper challenges traditional top-down approaches to crisis management, with a particular focus on crisis communication, by examining how AI platforms, such as CONSOLE-D, can enhance organisational learning and message consistency during high-stakes incidents. Through the case of the 2025 Air India Flight 171 crash, we explore how machine learning reduces human bias in the critical ‘golden hours’ of a crisis. By analysing corporate responses through the CONSOLE framework, we propose a shift from reactive control to co-creative engagement. A novel framework is offered to capture this shift. This research contributes to the leadership and strategy in management literature by demonstrating how AI-enabled systems can refine messaging under pressure and support adaptive governance in an age of misinformation and hypervisibility.