Managing crowds in emergencies: psychology for business continuity

Business continuity managers operate with theories of crowd behaviour ¿ whether they realise it or not! These theories have practical implications for the management of emergencies in any business environment. Some of these effects may be good, others less so. This paper describes some of the latest ideas in the field of mass emergency psychology, and how they can inform best practice in business continuity. These ideas have been informed by recent research carried out in the Department of Psychology at the University of Sussex, in collaboration with colleagues from the Universities of St Andrews and Nottingham. This work also builds upon and integrates existing trends in the wider fields of disaster research and social psychology. It is based on a presentation given by the author at the Canary Wharf Group annual estate-wide business continuity exercise 2008 (`Tiger 2¿). The research referred to was made possible by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council.