Creeping crises and public administration: a time for adaptive governance strategies and cross-sectoral collaboration?

Abstract

Public management scholars have long explored how public administrations respond to sudden crises. However, studies of sudden crises rarely contribute to creeping crisis management. Using data from 186 German health authorities, this study explores how four governance strategies affect public administrations’ success in adapting to creeping crises. While dynamic governance strategies entailing digitalization and agility are strongly related to adaptability, public administrations that want to successfully adapt to changing environments also need to demonstrate static resilience and consider collaboration-oriented governance strategies that can indirectly increase organizational success.