IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/padxxx/v43y2023i2p150-162.html

Collective sensemaking within institutions: Control of the COVID‐19 epidemic in Vietnam

Author

Listed:
  • Chuong H. Pham
  • Thang V. Nguyen
  • Thang N. Bach
  • Canh Q. Le
  • Hung V. Nguyen

Abstract

How people make initial and collective sense under crises remains unanswered. This paper addresses this question using the control of COVID‐19 in Vietnam as a case study. Our results suggest that sensemaking under crises is influenced by an institutional propensity for prevention that has developed gradually over time. Local governments play a vital role in fostering collective sensemaking which enables concerted actions in epidemic control. However, biases are inherent in sensemaking, including a delay in access to vaccine and a violation of privacy. For policy makers, this study suggests that developing specific prevention policies and programs, building large‐scale coordination capacity, and promoting local initiatives are necessary for coping with epidemics. For theory development, the study explores how institutions condition sensemaking and specifies several mechanisms in which local authorities could facilitate collective sensemaking in crises.

Suggested Citation

  • Chuong H. Pham & Thang V. Nguyen & Thang N. Bach & Canh Q. Le & Hung V. Nguyen, 2023. "Collective sensemaking within institutions: Control of the COVID‐19 epidemic in Vietnam," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(2), pages 150-162, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:padxxx:v:43:y:2023:i:2:p:150-162
    DOI: 10.1002/pad.1996
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1996
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/pad.1996?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nguyen, Thang V. & Le, Ngoc T.B. & Bryant, Scott E., 2013. "Sub-national institutions, firm strategies, and firm performance: A multilevel study of private manufacturing firms in Vietnam," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 68-76.
    2. Christopher Weible & Tanya Heikkila & Peter deLeon & Paul Sabatier, 2012. "Understanding and influencing the policy process," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 45(1), pages 1-21, March.
    3. Monika Persson, 2013. "Local Sensemaking of Policy Paradoxes – Implementing Local Crime Prevention in Sweden," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-20, March.
    4. Thang V. Nguyen & Hung V. Nguyen & Cuong Vu & Canh Q. Le, 2018. "Sense making of policy processes in the transition economy of Vietnam," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(4), pages 154-165, October.
    5. Sally Maitlis & Scott Sonenshein, 2010. "Sensemaking in Crisis and Change: Inspiration and Insights From Weick (1988)," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 551-580, May.
    6. Karl E. Weick, 1988. "Enacted Sensemaking In Crisis Situations[1]," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 305-317, July.
    7. Dubois, Anna & Gadde, Lars-Erik, 2002. "Systematic combining: an abductive approach to case research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 55(7), pages 553-560, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guiette, Alain & Vandenbempt, Koen, 2017. "Change managerialism and micro-processes of sensemaking during change implementation," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 65-81.
    2. Sarkar, Soumodip & Osiyevskyy, Oleksiy, 2018. "Organizational change and rigidity during crisis: A review of the paradox," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 47-58.
    3. David Wasieleski & Nuno Guimarães da Costa & Olga Ivanova Ruffo, 2024. "Change Readiness in Organizations: An Affective Cognitive Process for Convergent Sensemaking," Post-Print hal-04830218, HAL.
    4. Gary Eckstein & Anup Shrestha & Fiona Russo, 2025. "Thirty-five years of sensemaking in the business & management research: a bibliometric analysis, review and discussion," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 75(4), pages 3191-3217, December.
    5. Masachs Boungou, 2024. "How life-shock experiences drive immigrant entrepreneurs," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Hui Jing & Rui Yang, 2025. "Crisis Leadership, Organizational Sensemaking, and Organizational Resilience: The Moderating Effect of Environmental Turbulence," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, November.
    7. Genevieve Musca & Linda Rouleau & Caroline Facq-Mellet & Frédérique Sitri & Sarah de Vogüé, 2018. "From boat to bags: The role of material chronotopes in adaptive sensemaking," Post-Print hal-01928127, HAL.
    8. Nora Meziani & Laure Cabantous, 2020. "Acting Intuition into Sense: How Film Crews Make Sense with Embodied Ways of Knowing," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(7), pages 1384-1419, November.
    9. Cristofaro, Matteo, 2022. "Organizational sensemaking: A systematic review and a co-evolutionary model," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 393-405.
    10. Ronit Yitshaki & Fredric Kropp & Benson Honig, 2022. "The Role of Compassion in Shaping Social Entrepreneurs’ Prosocial Opportunity Recognition," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 617-647, August.
    11. Svensson, Martin & Hällgren, Markus, 2018. "Sensemaking in sensory deprived settings: The role of non-verbal auditory cues for emergency assessment," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 306-318.
    12. Samdanis, Marios & Lee, Soo Hee, 2019. "Uncertainty, strategic sensemaking and organisational failure in the art market: What went wrong with LVMH's investment in Phillips auctioneers?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 475-488.
    13. Mary Ann Glynn & Lee Watkiss, 2020. "Of Organizing and Sensemaking: From Action to Meaning and Back Again in a Half‐Century of Weick’s Theorizing," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(7), pages 1331-1354, November.
    14. Elena Tavella, 2023. "‘And what did you do about my emotions during Covid‐19?’ Making sense of negative emotions at work through institutional logics and Critical Systems Heuristics," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(6), pages 836-852, November.
    15. Jane F. Maley, 2024. "Operationalising employee capabilities post pandemic crisis: a sustainable HR approach," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(12), pages 3575-3596, December.
    16. Irina Soloveva & Irina Mostovshchikova & Darya Baeva & Andrew Alola, 2022. "A Schematic Model for Implementing Industries High Risk Projects through the Agent of Human Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-23, September.
    17. Simona Caramia & Pasquale Ruggiero & Riccardo Mussari, 2025. "Auditors’ Sensemaking During Crises: The Case of the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Italian Local Public Administrations," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 61(1), pages 218-238, March.
    18. Kalkman, Jori Pascal, 2020. "Sensemaking in crisis situations: Drawing insights from epic war novels," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 698-707.
    19. Inseong Jeong & Yaping Gong, 2025. "Time to get your hands dirty: Bricolage or pro-organizational unethical response to entrepreneurial adversity," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 1373-1410, September.
    20. Genevieve Musca & Linda Rouleau & Caroline Mellet & Frédérique Sitri & Sarah de Vogüé, 2018. "From boat to bags: The role of material chronotopes in adaptive sensemaking," Post-Print hal-01975340, HAL.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:padxxx:v:43:y:2023:i:2:p:150-162. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0271-2075 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.