Institutionalization of the Outcomes of Purposive and Intuitive Decision – Making in Crisis Situations

Objective The aim of this paper is to determine the role of the mode of crisis situation solving in the process of institutionalization of new practice Achieving this goal required attempting to answer two research questions: 1) How can a crisis situation in an organization lead to change? 2) Does purposive and intuitive decision making differentiate the process of new practice emergence? Methodology Based on the literature review, the considerations of selected authors regarding crisis situations in organizations, the concept of institutionalization and managerial decision-making (purposive and intuitive) were presented. The empirical section presents the results of qualitative research. A comparative case study, illustrating the thesis that intuitive and purposive decision-making stand as important categories that differentiate the outcomes of emergent practice, was carried out. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers in the area of decision-making in problematic situations in the logistics industry (with analysis and sub-summary of the results). Findings The research shows how managers (leaders) respond differently to crisis situations. It was registered that even though decisions can be made in apparently opposite modes, they can initiate the emergence of new practice and its institutionalization. Value Added Elaborating on the notion of institutionalization, the concept of new practice emergence offers a promising approach within crisis management. Recommendations Perceiving crisis management through the processes of decision making and new practice institutionalization offers a new opportunity to understand crisis outcomes.