TY - JOUR
T1 - From strangers to social collectives? Sensemaking and organizing in response to a pandemic
AU - Georgiou, Andreas
AU - Murillo, D.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors are grateful to the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their guidance and feedback. We also acknowledge the support and the input by the members of the ESADE Institute for Social Innovation and the participants of the AOM Annual Meeting 2021 and the ESA Conference 2021. Finally, we would like to personally thank several individuals whose insights have proven invaluable in the development of the paper: Lucrezia Nava, Ruth Aguilera, Daniel Arenas, Ignasi Marti, Neil Boyd, Mireia Yter and Martin Kornberger.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily exposed the inadequacy of established institutions and markets to handle a multidimensional crisis, but it also revealed the spontaneous emergence of social collectives to mitigate some of its consequences. Building upon more than 600 responses from an open-ended survey and follow-up qualitative interviews, we seek to understand the spontaneous formation of social collectives in neighborhoods during the initial global lockdown. Applying the sensemaking lens, we theorize the process that prevented the collapse of sensemaking; motivated neighbors to comply with the pandemic-related restrictions; and inspired the development of collective initiatives and the sharing of resources, experiences, and a feeling of belonging. In doing so, we identify mechanisms that allow distributed sensemaking and organizing for resilience: widely shared and accepted cues and frames, simultaneous enactment of practices, embeddedness, visibility of actions, and sense of community. Contrary to the literature on local community organizing and entrepreneurship, which emphasizes the importance of shared values and beliefs, we reveal how the abovementioned mechanisms enable social collectives to emerge and build resilience in times of crisis, even in the absence of pre-existing ties and physical and social isolation. Implications for sensemaking, resilience, organization studies, and community psychology are discussed.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily exposed the inadequacy of established institutions and markets to handle a multidimensional crisis, but it also revealed the spontaneous emergence of social collectives to mitigate some of its consequences. Building upon more than 600 responses from an open-ended survey and follow-up qualitative interviews, we seek to understand the spontaneous formation of social collectives in neighborhoods during the initial global lockdown. Applying the sensemaking lens, we theorize the process that prevented the collapse of sensemaking; motivated neighbors to comply with the pandemic-related restrictions; and inspired the development of collective initiatives and the sharing of resources, experiences, and a feeling of belonging. In doing so, we identify mechanisms that allow distributed sensemaking and organizing for resilience: widely shared and accepted cues and frames, simultaneous enactment of practices, embeddedness, visibility of actions, and sense of community. Contrary to the literature on local community organizing and entrepreneurship, which emphasizes the importance of shared values and beliefs, we reveal how the abovementioned mechanisms enable social collectives to emerge and build resilience in times of crisis, even in the absence of pre-existing ties and physical and social isolation. Implications for sensemaking, resilience, organization studies, and community psychology are discussed.
KW - Crisis
KW - Organizing
KW - Resilience
KW - Sense of community
KW - Sensemaking
KW - Social collective
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85160624542&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.emj.2023.05.005
DO - 10.1016/j.emj.2023.05.005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85160624542
SN - 0263-2373
VL - 41
SP - 621
EP - 633
JO - European Management Journal
JF - European Management Journal
IS - 4
ER -