Enhancing Situation and Information Management for Crisis Response: Insights from a Scoping Review

Abstract

Purpose: Crisis management teams (CMT) play a central role in managing crises and disasters. With steadily increasing volumes of information, the demands on their work are rising, while recurring deficits are becoming apparent in practice. In particular, information management and decision making are core processes of targeted crisis and disaster management. Method: To identify success factors in information and situation management, a scoping review was conducted in two academic databases, and relevant publications were analyzed based on defined criteria. Results: The analysis reveals three central areas of tension: the relationship between autonomous action and hierarchical decision-making structures, between comprehensive access to information and selective, audience-appropriate distribution, and between standardization and adaptability. These tensions are not opposites, but continua that must be balanced depending on the situation. Conclusion and Outlook: Effective information and situation management operates between these poles and must be adapted to organizational and situational conditions.