دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی نقش کارشناسان خارجی در شرایط بحرانی کشور هلند - الزویر 2018

ABSTRACT

This explorative study examines the role of external experts in crisis situations and the conditions under which their involvement contributes to adequate crisis management. Existing crisis-management research tends to focus on stakeholder analysis, and the valuable input of experts during crisis preparation. Consequently, the role of external experts during the crisis response phase has been largely overlooked. This is somewhat surprising given the crucial role that is often attributed to external experts. To fill this gap, we have investigated the role of external experts by conducting a research synthesis of 114 post-crisis evaluation reports relating to 60 crises in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2013. The analysis shows that external experts are frequently involved and often play prominent roles in the crisis response. Further, these external experts are often not actively recruited by the (strategic) crisis management response structure. In addition, the contributions and activities of external experts tend not to be well coordinated by the (strategic) crisis management response structure. Based on an in-depth analysis of the evaluation reports, we identify six opportunities and threats related to expert involvement in crisis situations, and ten conditions under which expert involvement contributes to adequate crisis management.

CONCLUSIONS

While the importance of integrating expertise in responding to crises has often been put forward in the literature, studies that empirically focus on the role of experts in the response to crisis have remained scarce (for exceptions see: Rosenthal and ‘t Hart, 1991; Grönvall, 2001; Baekkeskov, 2014, 2016; Mendonça et al. 2008). Strikingly, systematic knowledge on the consequences of consulting external experts during crises seems absent; both in the literature and in crisis management practice. In this study, we examined external experts in crisis situations: how frequent they are involved, what role they play, how their involvement affects the quality of crisis management, and what conditions facilitate adequate collaboration with the (strategic) crisis management response structure. We analyzed data from 114 post-crisis evaluation reports after 60 crises in the Netherlands. This research synthesis allowed us to provide systematic insights over a large number of cases based on a large amount of, well-grounded empirical data. In our research synthesis, we observed that external experts are frequently, and sometimes in large numbers, involved in crisis responses. Their involvement in crisis responses not only stems from a demand for their technical expertise, but can also be a result of a threat to their organizations’ existence and responsibilities. The involvement of external experts during the crisis response phase provides crisis managers with opportunities to integrate knowledge, carry out complex tasks, and increase their legitimacy, albeit with the downside that it can threaten a loss in consensus, control, and public values. From an in-depth analysis of the evaluation reports reviewed, we qualitatively distilled ten conditions under which expert involvement contributes positively to adequate crisis management.