Large‐scale communication and coordination are necessary in various critical situations
such as military operations, healthcare epidemics, disaster management, and major
event management which have complex logistics requirements. This research area has
gained interest in recent years (Ritter et al., 2007), with new challenges continuously
appearing such as the Japan Tsunami. Large‐scale event management involves managing
interdependent tasks among multiple parties for which effective communication is a key
pre‐requisite. Such communication and coordination are required both for planned
events (e.g., international conventions and sporting events such as the Olympics and
World Cup) as well as in response to unplanned events (e.g., disasters such as
hurricanes or the recent Gulf oil spill).