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Extending the Present Understanding of Organizational Sensemaking: Three Stages and Three Contexts

¹ Kyungpook National University
² Askew School of Public Administration and Policy

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rbrower{at}fsu.edu.

	Abstract

Despite a growing literature on the topic, our understanding of organizational sensemaking remains somewhat fragmented, and discussions have not yet fully integrated related ideas into a conceptual framework that includes the contextual terrain in which these activities occur. This article offers such a model. We begin with a story from a Korean fire inspector, delineating the process of his sensemaking into three stages: noticing, interpretation, and action. We demonstrate how sensemaking can be understood in three separate contexts—the ecological, institutional, and social relational. We show how each context provides a setting for a unique account of the three stages of sensemaking. We derive four theoretical propositions and conclude with implications and discuss prospects for this promising research area.

First published on February 21, 2008, doi:10.1177/0095399707313446

Administration & Society 2008;40:223.

A more recent version of this article appeared on May 1, 2008


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