Sensemaking and Nudge Management: A Combined Approach to Analyzing the Resilience of Local Authorities in the Face of Crisis[Création de sens et nudge management, une approche combinée pour analyser la résilience des collectivités territoriales face aux crises]

This article examines the resilience capacity of local authorities in the face of crises and the potential consequences of these events, as experienced by public actors, on managerial practices. We draw on Weick's sensemaking theory and insights from behavioral sciences. This dual theoretical foundation allows us, on the one hand, to analyze the solutions implemented by local authorities during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 and 2021 to ensure the continuity of public services, and, on the other hand, to approach public management from a new perspective by mobilizing nudges. Starting from the observation that behavioral economics has rarely been applied in the context of organizational transformations, our reflection focuses on how to rethink management methods using incentive-based tools. Indeed, we examine how, in a context of recurrent crises, nudge management constitutes a method that creates favorable conditions for the resilience of local public organizations. This research is based on six exploratory interviews with territorial executives and an analysis of eighty-two articles from a professional journal collecting testimonies between March 2020 and November 2022, examined through the lens of organizational resilience sources identified by Weick (improvisation and bricolage, virtual role systems, respectful interaction, wisdom). The data analysis suggests that nudges can contribute to activating these resilience sources to overcome a crisis. However, their impact on public agents' behavior is necessarily limited. More than the nudge itself, it is the nudging approach – from the design to the implementation of a combination of nudges – that matters as a process aimed at stimulating initiative and beneficial interactions among public agents. Our research also reveals that the attitude of wisdom, characterized notably by taking a step back, is difficult to capture through verbatim reports. Paradoxically, although elusive, it appears to play a guiding role in shaping actors' behavior during and after the crisis. It encourages the search for a balance between caution and trust, referring to the concept of "nudge plus", a tool that promotes reflection and transparency. The addition of reflexive elements to nudges opens up new perspectives for reconciling the operational efficiency of nudging with the risk of manipulation.