Date of Award
Summer 8-23-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Business
Organizational Unit
Daniels College of Business
First Advisor
Melissa A. Akaka
Second Advisor
David Corsun
Third Advisor
Lisa Victoravich
Fourth Advisor
Darin Stewart
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
COVID-19, Environmental jolt, Sensemaking, Stakeholders, Global tourism firms, Low-wage essential workers
Abstract
Environmental jolts are sudden, large-scale disruptions that challenge organizational and societal stability and demand new ways of understanding adaptation across individuals and firms. This two-paper dissertation explores the human and organizational dimensions of such jolts through the empirical context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Paper 1 examines how global tourism firms navigated the crisis, introducing the constructs of global stakeholder interconnectedness and stakeholder prioritization fluidity to refine stakeholder theory. The findings show how international exposure shaped communication strategies under duress. Paper 2 turns to the lived experiences of low-wage essential workers, extending sensemaking theory through the concept of constrained sensemaking, highlighting how ambiguity is compounded by institutional neglect and structural marginalization. Together, the studies emphasize that crisis adaptation is not merely a technical or strategic task, but a deeply human process influenced by cognitive, emotional, and contextual factors. Rather than treating the pandemic as an isolated event, this dissertation positions it as a case of broader systemic disruption, offering theoretical insights with relevance for future global crises. The research contributes to more grounded, multi-level, and humane approaches to theory-building in organizational studies and international business.
Copyright Date
8-2025
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Kimberly Kay Hyett Nehls
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
146 pgs
File Size
1.6 MB
Recommended Citation
Nehls, Kimberly Kay Hyett, "The COVID-19 Pandemic As an Environmental Jolt and Its Impact on Firms and Essential Workers" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2643.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2643
Included in
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