Checks and balances: a business-oriented lens on disaster management and warnings

Small businesses are critical to community recovery from disasters. However, factors that affect outcomes (such as planning, information needs, and responses to warnings) are understudied. To address the research record's focus on policy that favours disaster mitigation rather than response, this project applied a two-phased, mixed-method approach. The first study comprised interviews with businesses to elucidate disaster planning approaches, knowledge and information needs, and current warning system adequacy. It revealed opportunities to build knowledge and add business-specific content to agency-issued warnings. The second study used an online survey to examine how disaster knowledge, planning, and experience are related to existing bushfire warnings and those modified with business-relevant content. The findings show that planning is associated with experience and knowledge but not with business-related protective action intentions. Modified messages were perceived as more effective and resulted in greater action intentions among those with bushfire experience. In sum, the paper highlights implications for small business-oriented disaster risk communication.