It is time that matters in crisis communication: The role of temporal distance and crisis threat appraisal

• Temporal crisis distance refers to perception of when negative crisis influences are realized. • Temporal crisis distance plays a role in determining situational demands, which in turn influences crisis responses. • In a health crisis, it is important to create environments where an organization interacts with publics, which likely help it to obtain publics’ support. • Crisis management efforts need to be aligned with the level of temporal crisis distance and situational demands. • Public relations practitioners need to put effective efforts to deal with intensified unfavorable crisis emotions among publics. The present study advances scholarly understanding of publics’ crisis responses by examining a potential role of temporal crisis distance and crisis threat appraisal from the perspective of publics. It explored whether and how temporal distance from the influence of crises (proximal future vs. distant future) might predict threat appraisal components (i.e., situational demands and required resources) and publics’ crisis responses (i.e., crisis emotions and supportive behavioral intentions). This study tested the mediation model to explicate how temporal crisis distance affected crisis responses through crisis threat appraisal. The results revealed that temporal crisis distance significantly predicted publics’ perception of situational demands, which in turn influenced crisis responses. Theoretical and practical implications for crisis communication are discussed.