Organizational resilience: unveiling the role of strategic internal crisis management on employee sensemaking and sensegiving

Abstract

PurposeCommunication with employees during times of crisis has become a crucial aspect of crisis management for building organizational resilience knowledge. Thus, explaining how internal crisis management promotes positive employee behaviour has become imperative. This study aims to investigate the relationship between internal crisis communication, job engagement, Organizational Citizenship Behaviour towards the Environment, Communicative behaviour for sensemaking and sensegiving and organizational resilience.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted with 483 full-time employees in Pakistan. The structural equation modelling technique was employed to assess the study's hypotheses.FindingsThe findings of this study demonstrate that internal crisis communication can boost employee job engagement, organizational citizenship behaviour towards environment, sensemaking and sensegiving, which will also have a downstream effect on organizational resilience.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study indicated that effective internal communication can aid managers in making well-informed decisions, coordinating response efforts and disseminating vital information to relevant stakeholders. As a result, this study contributes to the literature on internal crisis management by incorporating employee behavioural intention towards the environment. It provides managers and practitioners with knowledge on managing employees during a crisis.Originality/valueSurprisingly, the conservation of resource theory (COR) does not explain communicative conduct (sensegiving) and environmental (e.g. organizational citizenship behaviour towards environment) components. This research combines the tenets of COR theory that have yet to be researched with the employees' environmental responses element. The mechanisms of cognition and communication were also ignored in earlier studies. This study sheds light on the process through which higher levels of job engagement, organizational citizenship behaviour towards environment and the capacity for comprehension (e.g. sensemaking) and meaning-transmission (e.g. sensegiving) ultimately help organizations navigate the crisis successfully.

Unpacking the behavioural outcomes of internal crisis communication: Underlining nexus of employee task performance, crisis responsibility and work well‐being to improve organizational reputation

“…Results from earlier studies demonstrate a strong and consistent association between organizational crisis and power economic performance (Adamu et al, 2016; Mazzei & Ravazanni, 2015). Plausibly, Mazzei et al (2022) hypothesize that the higher the risk of economic damage, the fewer organizations choose an ICC accommodative approach to maintain organizational performance.…”

“…Results from earlier studies demonstrate a strong and consistent association between organizational crisis and power economic performance (Adamu et al, 2016;Mazzei & Ravazanni, 2015).…”

“…Effective ICC encompasses the timely and transparent delivery of clear and consistent information to employees to promote trust and understanding. It involves encouraging open dialogue showing empathy and being prepared with comprehensive plans while also continuously evaluating and refining strategies for ongoing enhancement (Adamu et al, 2023a(Adamu et al, , 2023b.…”

“…However, it is important to note that employees are not passive receivers of information; they are also active information seekers (Kim, 2018; Ravazzani, 2016). In fact, an employee can serve the organization by communicating positively about the organization to protect its reputation (Adamu et al, 2016; Heide & Simonsson, 2015; Johansen et al, 2012).…”

“…Embracing effective ICC to mitigate this apprehension has become necessary. In addition, the lion's share of ICC literature has predominantly examined employee organizational relationships (Adamu et al, 2023a; Heide & Simonsson, 2014; Johansen et al, 2012; Mohamad, Adamu, & Akanmu, 2022; Ravazzani, 2016). There is a paucity of studies examining ICC as a driver of perceived organizational reputation.…”