Beyond the red tape: How victims of terrorism perceive and react to organizational responses to their suffering

We use a storyteller perspective to examine how victims of terrorism perceive the way that organizations react and respond to their needs in the aftermath of terrorist attacks. Analysis of the data shows that organizations in Israel are often perceived as ineffective to respond in a humane or compassionate manner to the suffering caused by terrorism. Instead, victims perceive that a more bureaucratic approach is taken. However, to create optimal public value, compassionate responses on the part of organizations in times of trauma, such as terrorist attacks, may be required. We build a theoretical model to show how positive deviance can bring about such responses, as well as positive outcomes for victims. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.