Skip the system?: An analysis of Dutch COVID-19 crisis management

The COVID-19 crisis is a complex cross-sectoral crisis that requires a large number of actors to be involved in crisis management. But amidst a crisis, uncertainty, time pressure and chaos arise. Luckily, few crises occur and therefore the intended crisis management structures are not frequently put to a robust test. But the COVID-19 crisis is different and discrepancies between the intended and actual crisis management structures were uncovered. This research investigates how the discrepancy between intended and actual crisis management can best be explained. A congruence analysis focussing on contingency and institutional theory seeks to explain which of these two theories provides the best explanation by focussing on the degree of centralisation/decentralisation. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis were conducted to collect the data. The analysis shows that contingency theory best provides an explanation for the discrepancy, but institutional explanations better...Show moreThe COVID-19 crisis is a complex cross-sectoral crisis that requires a large number of actors to be involved in crisis management. But amidst a crisis, uncertainty, time pressure and chaos arise. Luckily, few crises occur and therefore the intended crisis management structures are not frequently put to a robust test. But the COVID-19 crisis is different and discrepancies between the intended and actual crisis management structures were uncovered. This research investigates how the discrepancy between intended and actual crisis management can best be explained. A congruence analysis focussing on contingency and institutional theory seeks to explain which of these two theories provides the best explanation by focussing on the degree of centralisation/decentralisation. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis were conducted to collect the data. The analysis shows that contingency theory best provides an explanation for the discrepancy, but institutional explanations better explain discrepancies in crisis management related to the public, such as communicationShow less

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Skip the system? An analysis of Dutch COVID-19 crisis management