Construction of Collective Crisis Management Skills in Ordinary Operations: An Organizational and Processual Approach

ABSTRACT This article explores the links between the management of an organization's ordinary activities and the management of crisis situations. It starts from the observation that crises, whether brutal, prolonged, or insidious, do not arise in an organizational vacuum: they mobilize the same actors, structures, and practices as day‐to‐day operations. The study adopts both a processual and organizational approach, considering that the ability to cope with a crisis is built and maintained in ordinary operations. Through a thematic analysis anchored in real‐world cases, the article identifies five key variables linking the ordinary to the crisis: Organizational slack, the social dynamics of collective action (cooperation and trust), relational power relations, reflexivity, and abductive reasoning. We show that these collective skills, developed on a day‐to‐day basis, are essential for developing effective crisis management capabilities. The article concludes that crisis preparedness does not rely solely on specific plans or exercises, but on investment in ordinary practices, which shape the capacity for collective action in critical situations.