Unpacking the imprint of a crisis: Performing arts organizations faced with COVID-19

Décrypter l’empreinte d’une crise: les organisations du spectacle vivant face à la Covid-19

Stéphanie Havet-Laurent (), Caroline Hussler (), Camille de Bovis () and Caroline Demeyère ()
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Stéphanie Havet-Laurent: MAGELLAN - Laboratoire de Recherche Magellan - UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Lyon, INSEEC Grande École
Caroline Hussler: RECITS - Recherches et Etudes sur le Changement Industriel, Technologique et Sociétal - UTBM - Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard, MAGELLAN - Laboratoire de Recherche Magellan - UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Lyon, UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon
Camille de Bovis: MAGELLAN - Laboratoire de Recherche Magellan - UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Lyon, UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon
Caroline Demeyère: UCLouvain - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain, IACCHOS - Institute of Analysis of Change in Contemporary and Historical Societies - UCLouvain - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain School of Management - UCLouvain - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain, CBS - Copenhagen Business School [Copenhagen], Chaire ESS URCA, URCA - Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne

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Abstract: The lasting effects of COVID-19 on organizations have recently been documented. However, the underlying modalities of such effects remain under-explored. This article uses imprinting theory to analyze the imprint left by the COVID-19 crisis on organizations and to answer the following question: How has the COVID-19 crisis imprinted organizations? To answer this question, we study two performing arts organizations—a chamber music ensemble and a national opera company—using a combination of semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and secondary data analysis. We reveal two distinct forms of imprint—sedimented and essentialized—emerging through three modalities of imprinting (COVID-19 as repertoire, echo, and impulse) through which the crisis affected the organizations. We contribute to the literature on imprinting theory in three ways: We document the imprint of a crisis, conceptualize a new logic of re-imprinting—by subtraction—and specify how the cognitive and structural imprints interact. Finally, we discuss the managerial implications when dealing with crises.

Keywords: organizational imprint; performing arts; COVID-19 crisis; organizational behavior; empreinte organisationnelle; spectacle vivant; crise; covid 19; comportement organisationnel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Published in Revue internationale de psychosociologie et de gestion des comportements organisationnels, inPress

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05474364

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