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Emergence and institutionalization of interorganizational coordination structures in crises

Frykmer, Tove LU and Becker, Per LU orcid (2024) In Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 32(1).
Abstract
Crises often reveal a mismatch between organizational and problem structures, demanding interorganizational coordination or new organizational solutions. Much is known about functions and roles of such organizational solutions, but less about the processes underlying them. This study investigates the processes behind the emergence and institutionalization of organizational solutions to meet new coordination needs in crises, using the Swedish County Administrative Boards' coordination offices for Covid-19 and Ukraine as a case. Based on 94 interviews across political-administrative levels, this study reveals that the coordination office emerged as an interorganizational coordination structure during Covid-19 but is now institutionalized and... (More)
Crises often reveal a mismatch between organizational and problem structures, demanding interorganizational coordination or new organizational solutions. Much is known about functions and roles of such organizational solutions, but less about the processes underlying them. This study investigates the processes behind the emergence and institutionalization of organizational solutions to meet new coordination needs in crises, using the Swedish County Administrative Boards' coordination offices for Covid-19 and Ukraine as a case. Based on 94 interviews across political-administrative levels, this study reveals that the coordination office emerged as an interorganizational coordination structure during Covid-19 but is now institutionalized and central to the crisis management system. The institutionalization began during the 2018 wildfires, demonstrating the importance of a decisive event in initiating and shaping organizational adaptation to crises. Thereafter, practices were institutionalized through increasing returns connected to incentives, commitments to norms and identities and objectification of shared ideas and routines. The findings motivate consideration of criteria for evaluating new coordination structures that may become permanent. Contingently evolving practices, often taken for granted and embedded in professional norms and identities, calls for explicit consideration of alternative practices. Last, this study illustrates the importance of appreciating the past when understanding present and future coordination structures. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
coordination structures, crisis management, institutionalisation
in
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management
volume
32
issue
1
article number
e12510
pages
9 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85173832193
  • scopus:85173832193
ISSN
1468-5973
DOI
10.1111/1468-5973.12510
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
610c5099-d208-45a8-abe5-77e937adee38
date added to LUP
2023-10-12 10:35:34
date last changed
2024-01-09 16:15:03
@article{610c5099-d208-45a8-abe5-77e937adee38,
  abstract     = {{Crises often reveal a mismatch between organizational and problem structures, demanding interorganizational coordination or new organizational solutions. Much is known about functions and roles of such organizational solutions, but less about the processes underlying them. This study investigates the processes behind the emergence and institutionalization of organizational solutions to meet new coordination needs in crises, using the Swedish County Administrative Boards' coordination offices for Covid-19 and Ukraine as a case. Based on 94 interviews across political-administrative levels, this study reveals that the coordination office emerged as an interorganizational coordination structure during Covid-19 but is now institutionalized and central to the crisis management system. The institutionalization began during the 2018 wildfires, demonstrating the importance of a decisive event in initiating and shaping organizational adaptation to crises. Thereafter, practices were institutionalized through increasing returns connected to incentives, commitments to norms and identities and objectification of shared ideas and routines. The findings motivate consideration of criteria for evaluating new coordination structures that may become permanent. Contingently evolving practices, often taken for granted and embedded in professional norms and identities, calls for explicit consideration of alternative practices. Last, this study illustrates the importance of appreciating the past when understanding present and future coordination structures.}},
  author       = {{Frykmer, Tove and Becker, Per}},
  issn         = {{1468-5973}},
  keywords     = {{coordination structures; crisis management; institutionalisation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management}},
  title        = {{Emergence and institutionalization of interorganizational coordination structures in crises}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12510}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/1468-5973.12510}},
  volume       = {{32}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}