Collective Sensemaking Process Research Articles

Communication and Strategy Work: How corporate magazines shape strategy

While research has become increasingly receptive to the construction of strategy in dedicated forms of strategy communication – such as managerial speeches or strategic plans – little work has looked at how strategy is constructed in more broadly focused communicative media, such as corporate magazines. By analysing over 500 magazine issues from six different firms, this article reveals three fundamental mechanisms by which corporate magazines shape strategy: (i) familiarization – or shaping strategy by connecting it to the everyday; (ii) confirmation – or shaping strategy by aligning it with standing norms and expectations; and (iii) regeneration – or shaping strategy by advancing it through ongoing cycles of creation and destruction. In doing so, this article makes three specific contributions. First, by highlighting how corporate magazines construct strategy through a reconciliation of different narrations, narrators and narrative contexts, it extends earlier research’s emphasis on senior leadership with insights into the more collective sensemaking processes underlying strategy development. Second, by unveiling how corporate magazines often draw on affective expressions that humanize strategy within organizational life, it enriches our predominantly rational take on strategy-making with a more pronounced understanding of the role of emotions. Finally, by showing how corporate magazines progressively tie an organization’s strategy to ongoing developments and occurrences, it expands earlier work’s emphasis on grand and singular strategy communication with a reappreciation of the small and iterative – demonstrating how firms’ successful conception of tomorrow is often based on their developing understanding of today.

Principals’ Use of Leadership Metaphors in Three Urban Junior High Schools in Taiwan

Principals utilize leadership metaphors to guide teachers in implementing educational, curriculum, and institutional/structural change. This study explores how principals employ metaphors to drive school change and presents a two-year qualitative case study of three urban junior high schools in Taiwan. During the first year, the researcher observed and participated in school meetings, collecting documents and data from the perspectives of principals, teachers, and parents. In the subsequent year, in-depth interviews were conducted with three principals. The findings demonstrate that principals who incorporate metaphors into their collective sense-making processes in leadership can facilitate social change and foster innovation in education.

Collaborative construction of meaning: facilitating sensemaking moments through aesthetic knowledge generation

ABSTRACT In times of accelerating digital transformation processes, it is of crucial importance to convey the meaningfulness of digital work processes to stakeholders. In the current research, the authors provide means for exploring immersive digital interaction for collaborative meaning construction. Thereby, Knowledge Management (KM) activities comprise instantiating and guiding individual and collective sensemaking processes, focusing on the effects of aesthetics and embodiment, i.e. human senses, and the human body. When performing actions in digital sensemaking stakeholders attribute meaning to work tasks through embodied agency and aesthetic performative awareness. The contribution demonstrates how active and traceable knowledge generation can be induced. Knowledge generation needs to be accompanied by an aesthetic coding scheme targeting shared perception and knowledge elicitation.

Prospective Sensemaking in the Front End of Innovation of AI Projects

Overview: Using artificial intelligence (AI) to help develop new complex systems poses challenges for less tech-savvy organizations and may prolong the front end of innovation phase. Complications arise from diverging understandings of AI functionality and requirements among involved actors and the difficulties of determining the usefulness of AI in such a complex setting. This article explores a cross-industry project that entailed developing a functional prototype of an AI tool for planning (complex) energy systems in new city districts, engaging both system (domain) actors and AI developers. By analyzing prospective collective sensemaking processes in two episodes from the project, we discovered misaligned sensemaking processes between system actors and AI developers. During the project these actors alternated between “seeking” and “disengaging” sensemaking behavior. We highlight how various prototypes supported alignment in sensemaking processes concerning AI and progress in the project. Practitioners can use the managerial implications to better understand sensemaking dynamics in AI projects and implement suitable measures, like education or support at various stages of the project duration, to mitigate the problems that can arise due to misaligned sensemaking processes.

Better safe than sorry: Exploring the collective sensemaking process in pregnancy virtual communities through thematic analysis.

Physical symptoms induced by pregnancy are often perceived as a normal part of the physiological process and therefore not commonly discussed in clinical settings during prenatal care. This study aimed to explore how pregnant individuals adapt to physical symptoms related to their pregnancy, using the perspective of collective sensemaking. A retrospective study design with an inductive thematic analysis approach of qualitative data extracted from web-based forum posts was conducted. Among 574 initial posts and 2801 comments, three themes were identified: (i) awareness of changing pregnancy body, (ii) uncertainty about physical symptoms, and (iii) coping with discomforts associated with pregnancy. A shared identity as a group of individuals dealing with similar challenges enables pregnant individuals to develop a better comprehension of their experiences. Healthcare professionals should recognize the importance of individual and collective sensemaking in pregnancy forums and strive to provide a supportive and empathetic environment for pregnant individuals to share their experiences and seek guidance.

Employee acceptance of disruptive service innovations at the frontline: The role of collective sensemaking processes

Acceptance of service innovation by frontline employees is a challenging issue, especially if such innovations have the potential to disrupt existing value creation models and individual competencies. Disruptive service innovations are often (1) characterized by a high degree of innovativeness related to significant changes in technology and in the market and (2) may be introduced by technology manufacturers as new service market entrants that cause a competitive threat to the existing service provision. We argue that such innovations challenge frontline employees' focus on routines and standardized service operating procedures. The perceived threat and resulting high levels of uncertainty may inhibit innovation acceptance. Our study follows a collective sensemaking perspective, paying special attention to investigating the moderating role of (1) the exchange of operational information within a workgroup and (2) a firm's entrepreneurial orientation. Whereas the former may increase frontline employees' preference for incremental improvements, the latter may help to increase the acceptance level of potentially more disruptive innovations. We test our theoretically derived hypotheses with an experimental vignette study of 671 frontline employees in the field of audiology, a health care market particularly affected by both more radical and market entrant innovations. Results show that a high degree of innovativeness has a negative effect on innovation acceptance. Frontline employees accept radical innovations less readily than incremental innovations. A competitive threat from new technology manufacturers in the supply chain does not lead to a lower innovation acceptance level. The moderation results indicate significant effects of both information exchange and entrepreneurial orientation. Intensive information exchange within the workgroup strengthens the negative relationship between the degree of innovativeness and innovation acceptance. In contrast, a high degree of entrepreneurial orientation weakens the negative relationship between a competitive threat and innovation acceptance.

What is the Metaverse and who seeks to define it? Mapping the site of social construction

The Metaverse has become a buzz-phrase among tech businesses. Facebook’s rebranding to Meta is symptomatic of this. Many firms and other actors are trying to shape visions of the Metaverse, leading to confusion about the term’s meaning. We use social construction of technology (SCOT) theory to disentangle the conflicting notions proposing that what the Metaverse is and will become relies on the collective sensemaking processes. We point out similarities and differences between various concepts presented in the public media and link them to individual actors’ monetary, political, or social motives. We describe the tensions that occur because of the conflicting interests. As the Metaverse is an emerging phenomenon, opportunities exist to reorient it toward humanist values rather than singular interests. However, the complexity of the social processes that shape the Metaverse requires a considerate approach rather than premature conclusions about the Metaverse’s characteristics. The analysis presents the Metaverse as a new, continually evolving sociotechnical phenomenon, and calls for research that explores it as a dynamic, moving target.

Strategic leadership for a Zimbabwean University in turbulent times: Literature analysis

The role of strategic leadership in ensuring organisational survival and success has attracted much attention among researchers worldwide. However, more research needs to be conducted on the practice of university strategic leadership in Zimbabwe, especially in times of environmental turbulence. This conceptual paper examines extant literature on strategic leadership to propose a situated strategic leadership framework for research and practice in universities in Zimbabwe. A background literature review on models and frameworks of strategic leadership was conducted in several peer-reviewed journals to identify the dimensions and significance of the higher education institutions (HEIs) in Zimbabwe. The findings show that university strategic leadership requires individual and organisational capabilities, collective sense-making processes, and inclusive envisioning of the future in turbulent times. Three competencies of leading self as a university strategic leader involve strategic thinking, building personal social capital, and ethical competence. Additionally, five organisational-level capabilities include (1) setting and pursuing direction, (2) leading to drive strategy and results, (3) agility in leading strategic change, (4) building and using human capital, (5) and promoting an entrepreneurial and resilient culture. Based on the above components, an integrative framework of strategic leadership is proposed, which hinges on a holistic and systemic balance of the needs of multiple stakeholders, collective sense-making and inclusive envisioning of the future of a university. The paper concludes that university strategic leadership in turbulent times is complex and multi-dimensional and integrates individual and organisational capabilities and processes to reshape Direction, Alignment and Commitment (DAC).

The influence of collective and individual sensemaking on how facilitators and teachers implement a professional development program

ABSTRACT This study takes a sociocultural approach in examining how mathematics professional development facilitators and teachers enacted a professional development program in a statewide network of trainings. Facilitators (N = 11) and teachers (N = 62) were surveyed before and after implementation to capture how facilitators understood and then implemented the program with teachers, and how teachers interpreted and then enacted the program with students. Differences in uptake (intended use) and implementation (actual use) were investigated in two separate analyses that looked for differences (1) across levels of iteration (i.e., from original program to facilitators to teachers) and (2) between groups of teachers who participated in the trainings. Results showed substantial variation across levels and between groups such that, although less true of some groups than others, intention to use the program was higher than actual use. Insights are offered into how collective and individual sensemaking processes influence program implementation.

Chinese environmental activism and the environmental politics of rumors

Rumors are an important yet poorly understood dynamic in environmental politics, particularly regarding their role in environmental activism. Drawing on theories of rumors, environmental information governance, and environmental activism, we analyzed the eco-politics of rumors in a Chinese village that experienced rumor-fueled protests against the construction and operation of a limestone quarry. We make three arguments regarding the condition, control, and content of rumors. First, poor environmental information governance, driven by a development-first and prejudice-rich official narrative and the strategic behaviors of blame and accountability avoidance, provides an important condition for rumor formulation and circulation. Second, the generation and circulation of rumors can be understood as a collective sense-making process driven by the informal communication between external and internal sources of information. The ephemeral nature of communication and group sanctions on government supporters make it difficult for authorities to control rumors. Third, by conceptualizing rumors as information warfare against official narratives, we show that rumors can foster a sense of collective urgency, reframe a land-right protest into an environmental protest that is politically more likely to succeed, and undermine public trust in local authorities. The findings suggest that rumors are an important part of environmental politics in China because of their role in environmental activism.

Cluster Analysis in Online Learning Communities: A Text Mining Approach

This paper presents a theory-informed blueprint for mining unstructured text data using mixed- and multi-methods to improve understanding of collaboration in asynchronous online discussions (AOD). Grounded in a community of inquiry theoretical framework to systematically combine established research techniques, we investigated how AOD topics and individual reflections on those topics affect the formation of clusters or groups in a community. The data for the investigation came from 54 participants and 470 messages. Data analysis combined the analytical efficiency and scalability of topic modeling, social network analysis, and cluster analysis with qualitative content analysis. The cluster analysis found three clusters and that members of the intermediate cluster (i.e., middle of three clusters) played a pivotal role in this community by expressing uncertainty statements, which facilitated a collective sense-making process to resolve misunderstandings. Furthermore, we found that participants’ selected discussion topics and how they discussed those topics influenced cluster formations. Theoretical, practical, and methodological implications are discussed in depth.

Systems Sensing and Systemic Constellation for Organizational Transformation

This paper examines how a systems sensing—or felt-sense—approach and orientation to inquiry and systemic constellation practice might help social change organizations cultivate capacities to better navigate complexity, both in their outer-facing work and internal dynamics as teams and as individuals. We present a pilot study of systemic constellation practice, sharing the experience of participants during and after the practice, as well as our own reflexive process. Currently an undertheorized and underutilized approach within systems thinking work, systems sensing and systemic constellation, can reveal less visible but nevertheless foundational dynamics at play in an organizational body, and can help create more awareness through widening ways of knowing in the organizational playground. We explore how the facilitated collective sense-making process of systemic constellation engages subtle ways of knowing specifically energetic, relational, and embodied knowing, building on what Heron and Reason (2008) have called an “extended epistemology.” As we suggest, these more subtle ways of knowing warrant further study, particularly as they may contribute to action research methods and foster a more participatory culture of transformation at both an organizational and societal level.

Sensemaking and the Chemtrail Conspiracy on the Internet: Insights from Believers and Ex-believers

How do people come to believe conspiracy theories, and what role does the internet play in this process as a socio-technical system? We explore these questions by examining online participants in the "chemtrails" conspiracy, the idea that visible condensation trails behind airliners are deliberately sprayed for nefarious purposes. We apply Weick's theory of sensemaking to examine the role of people's frames (beliefs and worldviews), as well as the socio-technical contexts (social interactions and technological affordances) for processing informational cues about the conspiracy. Through an analysis of in-depth interviews with thirteen believers and seven ex-believers, we find that many people become curious about chemtrails after consuming rich online media, and they later find welcoming online communities to support shared beliefs and worldviews. We discuss how the socio-technical context of the internet may inadvertently trap people in a perpetual state of ambiguity that becomes reinforced through a collective sensemaking process. In addition, we show how the conspiracy offers a way for believers to express their dissatisfaction with authority, enjoy a sense of community, and find some entertainment along the way. Finally, we discuss how people's frames and the various socio-technical contexts of the internet are important in the sensemaking of debunking evidence, and how such factors may function in the rejection of conspiratorial beliefs.

The role of collective sensemaking and science curriculum development within a research–practice partnership

AbstractThis study examines how researchers can better understand the instructional and practical realities of teachers through collective sensemaking. Traditional approaches to curriculum design engage learning models without accounting for the needed flexibility of teachers. This approach has resulted in tension and gatekeeping—inhibiting the implementation of curriculum. Teachers are often considered relatively autonomous; however, this study sheds light on the constrained autonomy teachers experience resulting from internal and external pressures. This study examines the collective sensemaking process of researchers while developing a high school genetics curriculum. By examining the collective sensemaking of the areas of tension that arose during the curriculum design process, the problem space of researchers expanded and became more aligned with the problem space of teachers. Collective sensemaking encouraged the humanizing of teachers by centering their content, contextual, and social needs. In addition, this study suggests that gatekeeping can result from many factors; but through collective sensemaking, researchers can intentionally design to resolve said factors.

Slackwire While Cleaning the Dirt: How Emotional Caregivers “Make Sense” in Emotional Dirty Work

Though we have witnessed a growing interest in emotional dirty work, little is known about how occupational agents work and construe meaning out of emotional labor mandated by their occupation. The purpose of this study is to examine how the emotional caregivers as the agents of cleaning emotional dirt experience ambivalence related to occupation and make a sense out of it. Undertaking a qualitative inquiry through twenty-one in-depth interviews of counselors, we find that the agents’ ambivalence towards the occupation is managed through both individual and collective sensemaking processes which are performed at the personal, occupational-group, and social level respectively. This work as the first of its kind converges the literature on ambivalence, sensemaking and emotional dirt. Additionally, we demonstrate through our study that emotional dirty occupations represent a unique interface between the occupational agents’ emotional dirt and emotional labor.

Organizational sensemaking: A systematic review and a co-evolutionary model

Over the last 30 years, a massive body of literature has been generated for explaining how individuals and groups make/give sense to their experiences in organizations. Reviews on sensemaking have been produced, but they did not update the original Weickian sensemaking model – strongly based on the Darwinian principles – according to the occurred developments. To fill this gap, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of 402 contributions on organizational sensemaking has been conducted; sample articles have been interpreted according to a renewed evolutionary lens: co-evolution. This study offers an updated and holistic revisitation of the original sensemaking model and proposes a co-evolutionary framework of organizational sensemaking. In particular, it identifies four new and two evolved properties that compose the sensemaking phenomena, emotional schemata as the new unit of analysis for sensemaking studies, and specifies the individual and collective sensemaking processes.

Introduction to 2020-4


 
 
 This issue of Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies collects six research articles from the Nordic countries. The first article, Reconceptualizing Job Control in Participatory Interventions – Collective Sensemaking as a Missing Link, authored by Esben Langager Olsen, Christian Dyrlund Wåhlin-Jacobsen, and Johan Simonsen Abildgaard, investigates the connection between participatory organizational-level interventions (POLIs) and job control. The literature on this topic leaves many uncertainties on the effectiveness of POLIs in increasing job control. Through a qualitative study of a POLI in a Danish pharmaceutical company, the authors focus on the collective sensemaking processes in relation to the POLI and demonstrate the intricate contingencies that appear as participants are engaged in sensemaking processes in arranged action-planning workshops. It is concluded that studying the link between POLIs and job control as a sensemaking process has advantages in highlighting the stable aspects of the job and the dynamic properties of the situations involved in enacting job control (...)
 
 

Avenger in distress: a semiotic study of Lisbeth Salander, rape-revenge and ideology

ABSTRACT Culturally constructed ideals and stereotypes are part of collective sense-making processes. One such stereotype is Nils Christie's ideal victim. The present study discusses how the ideal victim shares key features with another cultural stereotype: the damsel in distress. Moreover, the study addresses attempts at subverting such stereotypes, which can be found in the women avengers of rape-revenge narratives. Studies of rape-revenge narratives have elucidated how such stories (re)imagine rape victimhood and survival in Western and Nordic culture, in ways that question the ideal victim qua damsel and her underlying patriarchal ideologies from a feminist perspective. However, such critique has led to the creation of other stereotypes and ideologically complex and even problematic portrayals of rape and victimization. Through a semiotic analysis of portrayals of a popular rape-revenge protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, the present study discusses how different ideologies surface, converse, and collide in fictional narratives of rape, survival, victimhood, revenge, and retribution. The study finds that while embodying resistance to the damsel, Lisbeth Salander also embodies aspects of the patriarchal ideologies that keep the damsel in place, thus creating an ideologically complex image. This creates a space for questioning the cultural understanding of rape, victimhood, and resistance.

Decolonial leadership for cultural resistance and social change: Challenging the social order through the struggle of identity

The current article focuses on subaltern social groups’ efforts that emphasize the struggle of identity with purposes of cultural resistance and social change. Through a critical approach that incorporates the reality of “coloniality” as the context within leadership emerges, the article draws from the experience of a Native American organization in a middle-size city of the United States that uses identity as a resource to challenge the dominant Eurocentric social order. The construct of “decolonial leadership” is proposed to illuminate the emancipatory process of this organization that aims to decolonize society debunking myths and narratives imposed with the dominant social order and taking control of reality from their cultural perspectives and leadership approaches. A process of decolonial leadership creates spaces from which developing collective actions and sense-making processes that eventually contribute to building symbolic power to change the dominant social order. Using a sociological and anthropological lens that challenges leader-centered perspectives and focuses on the collective dimensions of leadership, the study contributes insights to both the social change and the indigenous leadership literature.

Sensemaking of a sustainability transition by higher education institution leaders

The understanding of meaning-creation processes according to sensemaking theory and its role in conceptualising sustainability in higher education institutions is limited. The idea of sustainability obliges organisations and people to rethink worldviews and justify actions. This may ultimately introduce organisational change, often associated with a redistribution of power. Its extent depends on, among other factors, the prevailing definition of sustainability within the organisation. Through a process of sensemaking and sensegiving, academic leaders impose their own understanding of science, the university and sustainability upon others, while conceptualising sustainability to maintain or increase power. A principal medium for the reproduction and maintenance of power in organisations are discourses. Based on qualitative field research at a large German university, we examined how academic leaders make sense of and give sense to ambiguous fields of meaning in conceptualising a sustainable university. We identified three aggregated dimensions that form the change context of the transition: (1) discourse strategies applied to make and give sense, (2) triggers of resistance and (3) determinants of a collective sensemaking process. We reflected our findings on the existing literature on organisational change management for sustainability in higher education and present first considerations for a systematic meaning-creation process that guides the definition of a commonly shared vision for a sustainable university.