When Plans Meet Reality: the Tangle of Improvisation and Planning in Crisis Situations

Planning is crucial in crisis preparedness. Yet well-prepared plans often fail to provide an adequate response due to the unpredictability of crises. Consequently, responses often require improvisation, shaped by contingencies and time constraints. Ho wever, research on risks frequently puts plannin...

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Main Authors: Yassmine Rannene, Nelly Olivier-Maget, Samantha Lim, Isabelle Bouty, Anouck Adrot
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 2025-06-01
Series:Chemical Engineering Transactions
Online Access:https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/15124
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author Yassmine Rannene
Nelly Olivier-Maget
Samantha Lim
Isabelle Bouty
Anouck Adrot
author_facet Yassmine Rannene
Nelly Olivier-Maget
Samantha Lim
Isabelle Bouty
Anouck Adrot
author_sort Yassmine Rannene
collection DOAJ
description Planning is crucial in crisis preparedness. Yet well-prepared plans often fail to provide an adequate response due to the unpredictability of crises. Consequently, responses often require improvisation, shaped by contingencies and time constraints. Ho wever, research on risks frequently puts planning and improvisation at odds. In this paper, we overcome the seemingly contradictory nature of planning and improvisation and explore how they intertwine in complex technological emergencies. Although organizations develop a wide range of plans, complete prediction of crises is out of reach. That's why we propose that improvisation and planning are complementary to strengthen the resilience of organizations in crisis management. To better understand improvisation, researchers have studied it at individual, group and organizational levels, focusing on its characteristics and dimensions. However, gaps remain in our understanding of the full impact of improvisation, how it interacts with existing crisis plans, and how it unfolds during crises. This article aims to fill these gaps by exploring the influence of improvised actions on the execution of existing crisis management plans.
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institution OA Journals
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publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.
record_format Article
series Chemical Engineering Transactions
spelling doaj-art-025c1d1cf82e4e44b1314699db3a3edf2025-08-20T02:37:42ZengAIDIC Servizi S.r.l.Chemical Engineering Transactions2283-92162025-06-01116When Plans Meet Reality: the Tangle of Improvisation and Planning in Crisis SituationsYassmine RanneneNelly Olivier-MagetSamantha LimIsabelle BoutyAnouck AdrotPlanning is crucial in crisis preparedness. Yet well-prepared plans often fail to provide an adequate response due to the unpredictability of crises. Consequently, responses often require improvisation, shaped by contingencies and time constraints. Ho wever, research on risks frequently puts planning and improvisation at odds. In this paper, we overcome the seemingly contradictory nature of planning and improvisation and explore how they intertwine in complex technological emergencies. Although organizations develop a wide range of plans, complete prediction of crises is out of reach. That's why we propose that improvisation and planning are complementary to strengthen the resilience of organizations in crisis management. To better understand improvisation, researchers have studied it at individual, group and organizational levels, focusing on its characteristics and dimensions. However, gaps remain in our understanding of the full impact of improvisation, how it interacts with existing crisis plans, and how it unfolds during crises. This article aims to fill these gaps by exploring the influence of improvised actions on the execution of existing crisis management plans.https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/15124
spellingShingle Yassmine Rannene
Nelly Olivier-Maget
Samantha Lim
Isabelle Bouty
Anouck Adrot
When Plans Meet Reality: the Tangle of Improvisation and Planning in Crisis Situations
Chemical Engineering Transactions
title When Plans Meet Reality: the Tangle of Improvisation and Planning in Crisis Situations
title_full When Plans Meet Reality: the Tangle of Improvisation and Planning in Crisis Situations
title_fullStr When Plans Meet Reality: the Tangle of Improvisation and Planning in Crisis Situations
title_full_unstemmed When Plans Meet Reality: the Tangle of Improvisation and Planning in Crisis Situations
title_short When Plans Meet Reality: the Tangle of Improvisation and Planning in Crisis Situations
title_sort when plans meet reality the tangle of improvisation and planning in crisis situations
url https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/15124
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