Mission impossible? Routinizing the anticipation of emergent collaboration in disaster management networks: A study of emergence in the COVID-19 pandemic

When disasters occur, new or informal groups often emerge to assist with the response or have resources that can aid professional disaster managers involved in the crisis. Historically, incorporating these groups into the formal disaster response system under conditions of urgency and uncertainty has been difficult. This mixed-methods, three-article dissertation explores two cases of interorganizational collaboration in which public administrators working to manage the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated and integrated emergent actor participation in the response. The findings of the study point to the potential for disaster managers to routinize the anticipation of emergence by considering those organizations that may be best positioned to facilitate different emergent actors, ways of engaging them before crises occur, and mechanisms that might break down barriers to formal/informal responder collaboration during an acute response. The results of this study have implications for public administration, interorganizational collaboration, and disaster management.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Public Administration/Public Affairs

Department dc:contributor.department

Government and International Affairs

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• McKeague, Lauren Kelly

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Lemaire, Robin Hargroder

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Roberts, Patrick S.
• Cowell, Margaret M.
• Hult, Karen M.
• Smith, Stephanie Lynette

• disaster management
• emergence
• COVID-19
• collaboration
• emergent multiorganizational collaboration

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:35554

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/111607