Managing Uncertainty in Crisis: Exploring the Impact of Institutionalization on Organizational Sensemaking PDF
Preview Managing Uncertainty in Crisis: Exploring the Impact of Institutionalization on Organizational Sensemaking
Xiaoli Lu Managing Uncertainty in Crisis Exploring the Impact of Institutionalization on Organizational Sensemaking Managing Uncertainty in Crisis “Whydosomecrisismanagersrelyonroutines,whereasothersmakethingshappenonthefly? XiaoliLucombinesclassicinsightsofPhilipSelznickandKarlWeickinahighlyinnovativeway to answer this question. This book bridges the gap between institutional thinking and crisis managementtheorizing.Amajorstepforwardintheworldofcrisismanagementstudies!” —ProfessorArjenBoin,LeidenUniversity,theNetherlands “Inthiscarefullycraftedbook,Prof.XiaoliLuexaminestheinstitutionallevelofsensemakingin crisis situations. Building on the seminal work of Karl Weick and other theorists who focus on sensemaking in individual decision-making processes, Prof. Lu extends this concept to the organizationalleveltoexaminehowlarge,complexorganizationsdevelopdifferentstrategiesof copingwithuncertaintyincrisissituations.Heusestheanalyticaltechniqueofprocesstracingto identifydecisionsmadeinfourlargeU.S.organizationsconfrontinghighuncertaintytoillustrate the critical transition from individual to organizational sensemaking, and the consequences that followwhenthistransitionismissed.Inaworldofincreasinglycomplex,sociotechnicalsystems interactinginriskenvironments,Prof.Lu’sanalysisofhoworganizationsmanageuncertaintyis bothtimelyandprofound.” —ProfessorLouiseK.Comfort,Director,CenterforDisasterManagement, UniversityofPittsburgh,USA “Inhisnewbook,ManagingUncertaintyinCrisis,Prof.XiaoliLuthoughtfullygrappleswitha fundamental problem of crisis response: comprehending rapidly changing conditions amidst confusing,incomplete,oftenconflictingbitsofinformationandmisinformation.Thesehavetobe put together, assessed, and interpreted in order to achieve situational awareness and frame appropriateresponseactions.Howdoorganizationswithdifferentdegreesofinternalandexternal institutionalizationmanagetheprofounduncertaintiesofcrisisconditions?ProfessorLuproposes acontextuallysensitivemodeloforganizationalsensemakingandthenusesthismodeltoanalyze fourcasestudies.Acutelyintegratingtheoryandempiricalevidencefromhisfourcasesstudies, Prof.Lugreatlyenhancesourunderstandingofhoworganizationscopewithuncertaintyandmake senseoftheirchallengesunderthepressuresofcatastrophe.” —Dr.ArnoldM.Howitt,FacultyCo-Director,ProgramonCrisisLeadership, HarvardKennedySchool,USA “The concept of sensemaking has become increasingly important in crisis and disaster management.ManagingUncertaintyinCrisisisanimportantcontributiontosensemakingwhich hasbecomenotonlyatheoryincrisismanagementbutalsoakeyconceptaroundwhichresearch and practice are conducted. This book is an essential reading for those who new to the field of crisis management and sensemaking as well as experienced researchers and practitioners with leadershipresponsibilities.” —ProfessorNaimKapucu,DirectorofSchoolofPublicAdministration, UniversityofCentralFlorida,USA “Thismanuscriptcomparesthedynamicsoforganizationalsensemakinginfourmajorcrisesinthe USA. The analysis results in a generic institutional sensemaking model for analyzing and managinghazards,disasters,andcrisisworldwide.Animportantandinspiringcontributiontothe theoryandpracticeofcrisismanagement.” —ProfessorJoopKoppenjan,ErasmusUniversityRotterdam,theNetherlands “Thisbookhasdoneanexcellentjobinopeningtheblackboxofhoworganizationsmakesense ofthecrisissituationtheyfaceanddevelopstrategiestorespond.Thenuancedanalysisofthefour major crises is fascinating, and the theory of institutional sensemaking built on this analysis is illuminating and pathbreaking. It is a major contribution to the field of crisis management and shouldbereadbyallofuswhowishforapeacefulandsafeworld.” —ProfessorLanXue,DeanofSchoolofPublicPolicyandManagement, TsinghuaUniversity,China Xiaoli Lu Managing Uncertainty in Crisis Exploring the Impact of Institutionalization on Organizational Sensemaking 123 Xiaoli Lu Centerfor Crisis ManagementResearch, SchoolofPublicPolicyandManagement TsinghuaUniversity Beijing China ISSN 2363-6866 ISSN 2363-6874 (electronic) ISBN978-981-10-3989-8 ISBN978-981-10-3990-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-3990-4 Jointlypublished with Social Sciences Academic Press TheprinteditionisnotforsaleintheMainlandofChina.CustomersfromtheMainlandof Chinaplease orderthe print bookfrom:Social Science Academic Pressof China. LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017932626 ©SpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.andSocialSciencesAcademicPress2017 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublishers,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublishers,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthis book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishers nor the authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publishers remains neutral with regard to jurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. CoverDesign:CuicuiWu Editing:MarcelineBlangé Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd. Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:152BeachRoad,#21-01/04GatewayEast,Singapore189721,Singapore To my parents, my wife, and my son Preface I became interested in studying uncertainties in crisis during my master study, because I personally experienced a crisis in China, the Songhua River pollution crisis.In2005,anexplosionofachemicalfactoryinJilinProvincecausedaspillof poisonous materials into the Songhua River, which led to a shutdown of the water pipe system in Harbin city, Heilongjiang Province (where I studied), with a pop- ulationof10million.Thewaterpollutionevolvedintoaninternationalcrisiswhen the Russian city downstream of the river began to protest against this pollution to theirqualityoflife.Theuncertaintiesregardingtheimpactsofthepollutionandthe socialpaniccausedbyuncertaintiesofthecrisisinHarbinshockedmeandinspired me to explore this topic. In 2007, I decided to continue pursuing my research interests at Leiden University. I learned about the reputation of the Crisis Research Center (CRC) which had produced high-quality publications in the field. Then, CRC DirectorDr.ArjenBoinacceptedmeasaPh.D.researcher.Startingfromastudent withbackgroundinengineeringandmanagement,IamgratefultoDr.Boinforhis guidance in the new world of social science research. During the six and a half years’ study, Dr. Boin provided constructive advice and encouragement with consistent patience and encouragement. When Dr. Boin stayed in the USA for the first year of myPh.D. study, Dr. SannekeKuipers and Prof. David Lowery helped me complete the research proposal and grasp the knowledge foundation of crisis management and public administration. This book has been written at offices in four universities and a company; the assistanceandadvicebycolleaguesinthesefiveorganizationshavebeenextremely helpful. At Leiden University’s Institute of Public Administration (formerly Department of Public Administration), I owe so much to Toon, who helped me in adapting to life in the Netherlands. At Louisiana State University’s Stephen Disaster Management Institute, Ping discussed with me about crisis research and introduced new friends to me in Baton Rouge. Special thanks to Warren, a former colleagueatLSU(nowatWVU),whocommentedontwochaptersofthisbook.At Crisisplan,IwouldliketoexpressthankstoWerner.AtTsinghuaUniversity,Iowe thanks to Dean Xue Lan, Associate Dean and Center for Crisis Management vii viii Preface Research director Peng Zhongchao, and other colleagues have been helpful in shaping my perspectives on crisis management, institutionalization, public orga- nizations,andgeneralresearchmethodology.IparticularlymentionFrank,Dimiter, Moosa,Sevgi,Brendan,Anne,Ling,Kaibin,Haibo,Peng,Bing,Xinchuan,Baoxia, Long, and Xuran. Ialsokindlyacknowledgecommentsbyparticipantsofthevariousconferences, workshops, and summer schools that I attended during my Ph.D. research, i.e., NIG, BNU summer School, ISCRAM summer school, LSE-CARR, ICPPM, and GFCSPA.SpecialthankstoTianylforprovidingthefinalproofreadingassistance. I am particularly thankful to friends at the Leiden China Discussion Group, Matthias, Bo, Lijing, Xiang, Chang, Changjuan, and Yiwen, who provided inspi- ration for my own research during the discussions. Emily helped me by offering opportunities to contribute a series of articles about emergency management in China in her Crisis Response Journal and reading two chapters. Thanks to my colleagues of the China Crisis Management Website (www. crisis119.org), Peigen, Yang, Lin, Yihong, Qian, Xi, Xin, Ni, and YinXuan, who share similar interests in crisis management and a willingness to contribute to the website. IamgratefultofriendsinLeidenandBatonRougeformakingmyoverseaslife more colorful. I only mention a few of them, Jiongwei, Xiaolei, Xiaomeng, Hao, Shengfa,Wen,Xiaodong,Zheng,andLuke.IespeciallythankMaryforhelpingme settle down in Baton Rouge and Leiden and providing good dinners for me after discussions with Arjen. I owe thanks to my host family Mr. & Mrs. Joseph who helped me gain a better understanding of Baton Rouge and the southern culture. Finally,manythanksgotomywifeDanforalwaysstandingrightbesidemefor more than thirteen years. This book is dedicated to my parents, who taught me about life and encouraged me always in the six-year-long Ph.D. study. Beijing, China Xiaoli Lu November 2016 Acknowledgements This research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation of China (91224009, 71642005), Beijing Social Science Fund (15JDJGB047), and Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program (20151080360). ix Contents 1 Managing Uncertainty in Crisis Sensemaking: A Core Challenge for Public Leadership.... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 1 1.1 Introduction: Exploring the Black Box of Dealing with Uncertainty in Crises .. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 1 1.2 Uncertainty in Crises as a Challenge to Crisis Managers .... .... 3 1.2.1 Challenges for Crisis Managers. .... .... .... ..... .... 4 1.3 Research Puzzle: Explaining the Variation of Strategies for Coping with Uncertainties in Crises .... .... .... ..... .... 5 1.4 Research Strategy: Towards an Institutional Sensemaking Model.. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 8 1.4.1 Comparative Case Study.. .... .... .... .... ..... .... 10 1.5 Research Aims and Outline . .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 11 1.5.1 Outline .. .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 11 2 Coping with Uncertainty: Towards an Institutional Sensemaking Model. .... .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 13 2.1 Introduction .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 13 2.2 Causes of Diversity in Strategy Selection: Different Types of Uncertainties . .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 14 2.3 Causes of Diversity in Strategy Selection: Psychological Factors. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 18 2.3.1 Coping with Uncertainty: Individual Cognition Matters... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 18 2.3.2 Coping with Uncertainty: Prior Experience Matters .. .... 20 xi
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