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Myopia during emergency improvisation: lessons from a catastrophic wildfire

Miguel Pina Cunha (Department of Organization, School of Business and Economics, Universidade Nova de Lisboa Nova, Lisboa, Portugal)
Stewart Clegg (Management Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia) (Department of Organization, School of Business and Economics, Universidade Nova de Lisboa Nova, Lisboa, Portugal)
Arménio Rego (Department of Management, Catolica Porto Business School, Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, Porto, Portugal)
Luca Giustiniano (Department of Business and Management, LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy)
António Cunha Meneses Abrantes (Department of Human Resources Management and Business Law, TBS Business School, Toulouse, France)
Anne S. Miner (Department of Management and Human Resources, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
Ace Volkmann Simpson (Management Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia)

Management Decision

ISSN: 0025-1747

Article publication date: 12 April 2022

Issue publication date: 19 July 2022

363

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a number of processes joined to create the microlevel strategies and procedures that resulted in the most lethal and tragic forest fire in Portugal's history, recalled as the EN236-1 road tragedy in the fire of Pedrógão Grande.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an inductive theory development approach, the authors consider how the urgency and scale of perceived danger coupled with failures of system-wide communication led fire teams to improvise repeatedly.

Findings

The paper shows how structure collapse led teams to use only local information prompting acts of improvisational myopia, in the particular shape of corrosive myopia, and how a form of incidental improvisation led to catastrophic results.

Practical implications

The research offers insights into the dangers of improvisation arising from corrosive myopia, identifying ways to minimize them with the development of improvisation practices that allow for the creation of new patterns of action. The implications for managing surprise through improvisation extend to risk contexts beyond wildfires.

Originality/value

The paper stands out for showing the impact of improvisational myopia, especially in its corrosive form, which stands in stark contrast to the central role of attention to the local context highlighted in previous research on improvisation. At the same time, by exploring the effects of incidental improvisation, it also departs from the agentic conception of improvisation widely discussed in the improvisation literature.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors humbly dedicate this work to the people who lost their lives in the 2017 wildfires in Portugal. The authors acknowledge National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), award no. UID/ECO/00124/2013 and POR Lisboa, award no. LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-007722.

Citation

Cunha, M.P., Clegg, S., Rego, A., Giustiniano, L., Abrantes, A.C.M., Miner, A.S. and Simpson, A.V. (2022), "Myopia during emergency improvisation: lessons from a catastrophic wildfire", Management Decision, Vol. 60 No. 7, pp. 2019-2041. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-03-2021-0378

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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