Management strategies in response to an institutional crisis: The case of earthquakes in the Netherlands

Schmidt, Arjen; Boersma, Kees; Groenewegen, Peter

doi:10.1111/padm.12516

Cited by 15 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…When an earthquake of unusual severity in 2012 coincided with the suddenly voiced criticism and new risk assessment by the Dutch Regulatory Agency on Mining, followed by the highly critical report of the Dutch Safety Board, a new advocacy coalition between local residents, environmentalists, and safety experts emerged. The unprecedented public backlash incriminated the organizations involved in Dutch gas exploitation company NAM, eventually forcing a stop to natural gas extraction (Schmidt et al, 2018).…”

Section: Crisis To the Organization: Responsibility And Culpability By Attribution And Implicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational and Institutional Crisis Management

Kuipers¹,

Wolbers²

2021

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics

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Research on organizational crisis emanates from multiple disciplines (public administration, international relations, political science, organization science, communication studies), yet basically argues that three main categories of crises exist: • Crises in organizations: often tangible, immediate threats or incidents that completely upset an organization’s primary process or performance, while both cause and problems are more or less confined to the organization and those affected by its malperformance. • Crisis to the organization: a threat or damage occurs outside of the organization at hand but implicates the organization by attribution of responsibility or culpability (for causing the problems or allowing them to occur). • Crisis about the organization, or institutional crisis: even without a tangible threat or damage, in a short period of time the organization’s perceived performance deficit becomes so deeply problematic that the organization itself is subject to intense scrutiny and criticism. Previously agreed-on values and routines, the structure, and policy philosophy of the organization are no longer seen as adequate or legitimate. The three types of organizational crises tend to have not only different causes but also different implications as to the commensurate crisis response, both functionally and politically. There is no single best response to organizational crises: appropriate responses are both commensurate to the crisis type at hand and to different phases of a crisis. Still, discerning between crisis typologies opens a research agenda to provide a better understanding of the relation between the internal and external dynamics of a crisis.

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Section: Crisis To the Organization: Responsibility And Culpability By Attribution And Implicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational and Institutional Crisis Management

Kuipers¹,

Wolbers²

2021

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics

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“…It took decades before this creeping crisis was finally recognized as a real crisis for those living through it. By then, the crisis had also become an institutional crisis as the trustworthiness of the national government suffered a severe blow (Schmidt et al, 2018).…”

Section: Conclusion: a Crisis That Kept On Creepingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The national government finally realized that prolonged extraction would lead to a deep crisis. The legitimacy of the state was at stake (Schmidt, Boersma, & Groenewegen, 2018).…”

Section: Introduction: Earthquakes In Holland?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Earthquakes in Groningen: Organized Suppression of a Creeping Crisis

Verdoes

Boin

2021

Understanding the Creeping Crisis

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Natural earthquakes do not occur in the northern part of the Netherlands. Yet, small earthquakes have regularly struck the area since the 1980s. For a long time, it was denied that these earthquakes were caused by the extraction of gas in the area and that these earthquakes could cause any damage. When more, and more severe, earthquakes struck the province of Groningen, these claims became unsustainable. In 2012, a relatively strong earthquake hit the area and the earthquakes became a national policy issue that threatened the legitimacy of the state. The crisis lingered on until 2018 when the national government finally realized that prolonged extraction would cause a deep crisis and decided to terminate the extraction of gas well before the depletion of the field. We argue that this visible and enduring crisis was not recognized and sufficiently addressed because of a societal dependency on the extraction of gas. The crisis was actively suppressed by the main actors, which ultimately undermined the legitimacy of the gas production and the state.

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“…What followed was a downward spiral of distrust and outrage by local communities and people afflicted by damage to their properties, not only toward policymakers but also toward the scientific community. The induced earthquakes, which were at first a day-to-day problem, triggered an institutional crisis, leading to a complete breakdown of the perceived legitimacy of the gas production policy sector (Schmidt et al, 2018). Ever since, policy makers have attempted to restore their legitimacy but have failed to cash in on the multiple windows of opportunity to do so.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Groningen Case: When Science Becomes Part of the Problem, Not the Solution

Sintubin

2018

Seismological Research Letters

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Management strategies in response to an institutional crisis: The case of earthquakes in the Netherlands

Cited by 15 publications

References 43 publications

Organizational and Institutional Crisis Management

Organizational and Institutional Crisis Management

Earthquakes in Groningen: Organized Suppression of a Creeping Crisis

The Groningen Case: When Science Becomes Part of the Problem, Not the Solution

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