Organizational Antecedents for Learning Behavioral Patterns to Tame the Unexpected

Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to research on sensemaking as an antecedent of individual and organizational learning, by revealing key behavioral patterns and organizational conditions that teach and enable members of an organization to engage in successful sensemaking in crises and unexpected situations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts an interpretive research approach along the lines of Van Maanen (1979). Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Findings – The paper reveals that organizational members can learn to cope with crises and surprising situations by stabilizing the action system and expanding option space through sensemaking. These individual and group level behavioral patterns are made possible by specific organizational conditions, i.e. training, incentives, background knowledge, restricted context, autonomous action, and communication style for preserving identity. Practical implications – Behavioral patterns of organizational members are not learnt independent from organizational conditions. Originality/value – The research is set in a military context and shows how specific organizational conditions lead to individual and group level behavioral patterns that enable members of an organization to cope with crises and surprising situations.