Show it with feeling: performed emotions in critical sensemaking

Abstract

This article draws attention to emotion in sensemaking within small entrepreneurial organisations. More specifically, it illustrates how performed emotion is related to enactment of a formative context, sensemaking and agency. The article also enriches the critical sensemaking heuristic by exploring a conversation between a leader and employees concerning adoption of a new online service. The analysis is based on videotaped data gathered from a two-year study of a franchise-based rental and real estate company. The contributions of the article are two-fold: 1) it argues that performed emotions are important because they may have an influence on the sensemaking of others and the possibility of exercising agency; 2) it demonstrates that videotaped material is a fertile source of data for studies on critical sensemaking in small entrepreneurial organisations.