Are you talkin' to me?: the role of culture in crisis management sensemaking

Abstract

PurposeThis paper considers the role of culture in crisis management narratives. The importance of sensemaking and sense-giving to crisis management is expanded by exploring how understanding organization culture may affect the plausibility of sense-giving narratives in crises.Design/methodology/approachThe crisis management, sensemaking, sense-giving and organizational culture literature studies are briefly reviewed. The paper then explores how plausibility may be dependent on organizational culture and how different cultures may create different dependencies. Propositions are developed and the potential organizational interventions based on these propositions in the action research tradition are offered, as they are potential practical and research implications.FindingsOrganizational cultures as shared sensemaking mechanisms provide leaders with the framework for constructing crisis management messages. A plausible message must resonate within the shared cultural experiences of members to shape and direct behaviors during a crisis while maintaining necessary flexibility to evolve as the crisis progresses.Research limitations/implicationsPotential avenues of future research include empirically testing the effects of cultural alignment on crisis management messaging employing action research or other methods, how strength of culture affects the process and the malleability of plausibility.Practical implicationsPractical implications include an organization's understanding of how culture affects not only the messages sent but also how employees might receive the sense-giving narratives. The paper also highlights the importance of flexibility in sense-giving narratives to allow evolution of the message as the crisis changes. Additional practical implications are provided.Originality/valueThis manuscript considers the role of culture in crisis management sense-giving narratives, a topic that has received little research attention. The manuscript argues that aligning the narrative within the organization's shared cultural understanding will increase employee acceptance and adherence to the message. The paper further discusses the importance of flexibility in the sense-giving narratives as the crisis changes.

COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of cross-cultural differences on crisis management: A conceptual model of transcultural crisis management

“…However, they do not report any study focused on the effect of cross-cultural differences on crisis management. Sherman and Roberto (2020) point to the need for giving plausible narratives for sense-giving. They emphasize the need for these narratives to be aligned to the organizational culture as culture helps establish a system of collective sense-making, whereby members refer to both shared and personal experiences to make sense.…”

“…Therefore, leaders have to carefully frame their decisions to communicate the messages for appropriate responses (Sherman and Roberto, 2020). They, however, are not the only ones framing the situation.…”

“…Their expectation of prioritization and consultation for decision-making varies from one culture to another (House et al, 2004). Leaders, therefore, have to ensure that their messages are plausible-they resonate with the shared cultural experiences of members to shape and direct behaviors during a crisis while maintaining the necessary flexibility to evolve as the crisis progresses (Sherman and Roberto, 2020). For instance, in collectivist societies, people would expect leaders to prioritize group well-being over individual freedom, whereas, in individualistic cultures, personal well-being would take precedence.…”

Crisis mapping in the “senses” arena narratives

“…Its encouraging structure and direction are more highly rated in a crisis than sense-giving assisting those impacted by the crisis (Gilstrap et al, 2016). Sherman and Roberto (2020) demonstrated that crisis sense-giving messages fitting with the organisational culture are more plausible and successful at assisting sense-making.…”

“…Also, it could be regarded as an aspect of sense-giving since crises often inevitably lead to sense-breaking in order to encourage eventual sense-giving (Sherman & Roberto, 2020). Some incidents represent "sense-breaking" episodes (Pratt, 2000) such as events that disrupt the existing knowledge, leading to the reconsideration of existing ways of thought and behaving (Maitlis & Lawrence, 2007).…”