Responding to exogenous shocks in higher education: Lessons from managing the Covid-19 risks in three cities

• In Event: Organizations, Occupations, and Work Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 10: Organizational Change and Survival

Abstract

This qualitative comparative case study examines the pandemic response of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Hong Kong, Johannesburg, and New York, illustrating how they made sense of, prepared for, and acted upon Covid-19 risks. Drawing on the sensemaking framework and paradox theory, I analyze documents (n=386) and semi-structured interviews (n=46) across 17 HEIs to introduce the RA4 Decision-Making Framework (RA4DMF). RA4DMF represents a context-specific repertoire of approaches to exogenous shocks – risk avoidance, risk aversion, risk acceptance, and risk adeptness, linked to the nature of response structures (ad hoc vs. standing) and shifting perceptions of safety dilemmas. The study argues for non-linear understandings of crisis risk management in higher education and distills lessons with potential relevance for future exogenous shocks.

Author

• Abbas Abbasov, University of Texas at El Paso