Learning before and during the COVID-19 outbreak: A comparative analysis of crisis learning in South Korea and the US

Learning is imperative in government responses to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines the South Korean and United States governments’ responses to COVID-19 from a comparative perspective. The analysis focuses on crisis learning conducted before and during the COVID-19 outbreak, us...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: LEE, Seulki, YEO, Jungwon, NA, Chongmin
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3312
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/4569/viewcontent/Learning_before_and_during_the_COVID_19_outbreak_pvoa.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Singapore Management University
Language: English
Description
Summary:Learning is imperative in government responses to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines the South Korean and United States governments’ responses to COVID-19 from a comparative perspective. The analysis focuses on crisis learning conducted before and during the COVID-19 outbreak, using the conceptual categories of intercrisis/intracrisis learning and single-/double-loop learning. The findings suggest that double-loop, intercrisis learning allows for more effective crisis management by (re)developing a common operating framework. The efficacy of learning is enhanced when double-loop learning is followed by single-loop learning that embeds new structures and operational procedures. The findings also suggest that intercrisis learning facilitates intracrisis learning and that political support is critical for inducing crisis learning. The paper concludes with theoretical and practical implications for crisis learning.