From sensemaking to sensegiving: A discourse analysis of the scholarly communications community's public response to the global pandemic

Abstract

AbstractThis study examines the scholarly communications community's public response to the global pandemic. A discourse analysis was conducted of press releases, blogs, and website updates across non‐profits, commercial publishers, government agencies, technology companies, and universities to identify (1) the range of support activities immediately undertaken following the proclamation of the pandemic; (2) the language and style of public discourse used, demonstrating how different organizations characterized their responses and roles during the crisis; and (3) specific patterns that emerged among this community related to the process of organizational sensemaking. The findings show that the global community appeared highly adaptive and conceptually aligned in its initial response. Different actors within the community presented distinct identities relative to leadership, advocacy, service, or constituent orientation. More importantly, a majority of organizations demonstrated the use of sensegiving strategies to influence the future state of scholarly publishing, particularly with respect to the expressed desire for greater global collaboration, transparency, quality assurance, and openness. These findings may have implications regarding the future enactment of open and collaborative research publishing, which is especially significant at this stage of the global open science movement's development.