Table 5. The results of the direct effects of leadership in crisis management: standardized path coefficients. Model A† Model B‡ Independent variable Dependent variable Beta§ SE P Beta§ SE P External trust → Crisis preparedness –0.325 0.461 0.023 –0.297 0.443 0.030 Leadership in dealing with a crisis → Crisis preparedness 0.277 0.246 0.011 0.206 0.244 0.056 Internal trust → Crisis preparedness 0.033 0.421 0.815 0.096 0.398 0.469 Surprise to crisis management actors → Crisis preparedness –0.281 0.530 0.009 Crisis preparedness → Attribution of crisis fault to other parties –0.248 0.027 0.021 –0.284 0.029 0.013 Surprise to crisis management actors → Attribution of crisis fault to other parties –0.101 0.141 0.385 Crisis preparedness → Internal coordination of communications 0.332 0.034 0.022 0.240 0.035 0.104 Internal trust → Internal coordination of communications 0.349 0.107 0.019 0.371 0.103 0.011 Leadership in dealing with a crisis → Internal coordination of communications 0.265 0.074 0.053 0.223 0.073 0.104 External trust → Internal coordination of communications –0.060 0.136 0.733 –0.054 0.130 0.751 Surprise to crisis management actors → Internal coordination of communications –0.227 0.160 0.103 †The baseline model. ‡The model in which crisis surprise is controlled. §Standardized beta coefficient.