Resilience Through Crisis Management Transitions: A process organization study of support information systems in public service, the case of social media analytics
Original version
Herrera, L. C. (2025). Resilience Through Crisis Management Transitions: A process organization study of support information systems in public service, the case of social media analytics [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Agder.Abstract
Despite the increased spread of mis-and disinformation, segmentation and polarization, social media is part of our day-to-day life and makes a compelling and cost-effective source of data that when processed continues to provide insights into what communities are thinking, doing, and feeling. Since its inception, social media has been not only a source of entertainment but also a rich (mostly) human sensor-based source of information and a vehicle for mass communication for those affected by or looking for information about crises during times of uncertainty. The massive amounts of data generated in social media channels enable analytics through processes of extraction, classification, analysis, and reporting. Then, big data is processed to provide insights about features of users, discover trending topics of conversation, and monitor the evolution of events through the content generated by users and housed in social media channels. The usefulness of analytics urges the design and development of methods and tools to turn data into actionable insights. However, social media is constantly changing and thus organizations that rely on this type of support information systems (SIS) are called to continuously revise their processes and strategies.
The cyclical nature of crises and the need for continuity in organizations exacerbates the importance of robust processes that rely on SIS, especially in the provision of public services at different levels, namely local, regional, national, and international. Public service organizations (PSOs), organizations that are public in nature with a duty to provide services to the communities they serve during crisis and non-crisis times, have their own mandates, objectives, and services. Crisis management is an important aspect of continuity but not necessarily the focus or raison d'être of PSOs. Information systems play a role in supporting the continuity of service provision under unstable circumstances far removed from day-to-day activities. In the case of social media analytics, the support activities are evidenced throughout the crisis life-cycle in the ability of the organization to obtain situational awareness, maintain two-way communications, support early warning of events and addressing mis- and dis-information.
This dissertation explores the reasoning behind the not-uniform adoption of social media analytics in the public sector contrasted with the importance of SIS for continuity. To do so, a process organization studies approach is adopted, assuming a dynamic, relational, and non-dualistic ontology to analyze experiences of use of social media analytics in PSOs placed in different geographical contexts.
The diversification of contexts is justified by the uniformity of social media channels in that functionalities and features are available for users around the world regardless of location or context of use; however, experiences of use are different and not-uniform. PSOs’ experiences of use are contrasted with views from designers and developers of analytics technologies that rely on publicly available information. Through abductive reasoning, an overview of processes of use of social media as SIS are extracted and analyzed to answer the following research question and sub-questions:
How can processes leveraging social media analytics and listening contribute to the continuity of services as public service organizations navigate crisis management and strive for resilience?
SRQ1. What is the status-quo of the use of social media in support information systems for crisis management?
SRQ2. How do public organizations exhibit unstable equilibrium while transitioning to, from and within crisis response?
SRQ3. What are the attributes, principles and signals that can enable continuity exemplified through the use of support information systems while transitioning between stages of steady state operations and crisis response in public service organizations?
To answer these questions, this study generated data through literature reviews, the collections of experiences described above, and participatory workshops. Through the back-and-forth dance between data and theory proper of abductive reasoning, six publications document both findings and the evolution of the research process. The conceptual foundation of this thesis is based on a multidisciplinary view of social media in crisis management and its contribution to resilience. The analysis led to the understanding of the environment, ecosystem, configurations, and principles in which processes relying on social media analytics are performed under crisis management conditions. The empirical analysis was accompanied by unstable and punctuated equilibrium theories to frame the subsequent findings, namely, a framework of continuity through transitions between non-crisis and crisis states, and the proposition of signals of transition, that respond to attributes of continuity and attitudes of learning which define resilience in SIS processes in PSOs.
The signals, attributes, and attitudes revealed in this dissertation contribute to the understanding of factors that determine resilience in processes of use of SIS.
While the articles make their own contributions, as a whole and through the displayed creativity in the research design, this dissertation provides:
• A transitions approach to crisis management with emphasis on the crisis state and multiple hazards.
• It highlights learning and mindfulness as the key factors of resilient processes which combined with the signals and the attributes and explains the differences in experiences of use.
• Finally, this dissertation formulates evidence-based principles for the continuous use of support analytics systems to sustain service provision in the public sector.
In this way, future processes relying on SIS in PSOs can be contrasted against these results to better understand transitions, continuity, crisis management cycles and resilience in pursuit of public services. Other types of SIS such as generative AI, chatbots or sensors can take a transitions approach to promote a more holistic understanding of continuity and resilience.
Has parts
Paper I: Herrera, L. C. (2021). Configuring Social Media Listening Practices in Crisis Management. Proceedings of the 18th ISCRAM conference (pp. 640-654). Published version. Full-text is not available in AURA as a separate file.Paper II: Herrera, L. C., Majchrzak, T. A., & Thapa, D. (2021). Ecosystem of social media listening practices for crisis management. In Conference on e-Business, e-Services and e-Society (pp. 710-722). Springer International Publishing. Accepted version. Full-text is available in AURA as a separate file: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3107134.
Paper III: Herrera, L. C., Majchrzak, T. A., & Thapa, D. (2021). Principles for the Arrangement of Social Media Listening Practices in Crisis Management. In International Conference on Intelligent Technologies and Applications (pp. 273-286). Springer International Publishing. Accepted version. Full-text is not available in AURA as a separate file.
Paper IV: Herrera, L. C., & Gjøsæter, T. (2022). Community Segmentation and Inclusive Social Media Listening. Proceedings of the 19th ISCRAM conference (pp. 1012-1023). Published version. Full-text is available in AURA as a separate file: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3061081.
Paper V: Herrera, L. C., & Gjøsæter, T., Majchrzak, T. A., & Thapa, D. (2024). Signals of Transition in Support Systems: A Study of the use of Social Media Analytics in Crisis Management ACM Transactions on Social Computing. Submitted version. Full-text is not available in AURA as a separate file.
Paper VI: Herrera, L. C., Shahbazi, M., Majchrzak, T. A., Gjøsæter, T., & Bunker, D. (2023). Attributes of Continuity in Support Information Systems: A Study of Social Media Listening Experiences. AMCIS 2023 Proceedings. Published version. Full-text is not available in AURA as a separate file.