2020-12-032013-01-012056-51271012-8255WOS;000325909900008http://hdl.handle.net/10784/24462Purpose - This study aims to examine the influence of managerial perceptions on the strategic responses adopted by four Colombian organizations when facing a political crisis. Design/methodology/approach - To address this research, face-to-face interviews were conducted with Colombian managers, consultants, journalists, government officials, and industry experts, and triangulated with documents and archival data. Findings - The findings show that the response adopted by each organization was significantly influenced by their manager's perception of the crisis and, consequently, was prone to producing a particular performance outcome. Practical implications - The authors' findings constitute a strong warning call to managers and management teams about the possibility of falling into the ``mirror trap'', through which their organizations will adopt strategic responses influenced by their own perceptions of crises. Originality/value - These findings suggest that managers can affect performance through their individual assessment of a crisis as a threat, an opportunity, or neither one nor the other.enghttps://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/issn/2056-5127info:eu-repo/semantics/articleCrisisStrategic responsesOrganizational responsesManagerial perceptionsPerformanceColombiaPerceptionPerformance management2020-12-03De Villa, Maria AndreaRajwani, Tazeeb10.1108/ARLA-05-2013-0044