Be prepared! Local politicians’ proclivity for local government adaptive capacity building in response to COVID-19 : the role of risk perceptions

Although it is argued that organizational leaders’ perceptions of external shocks determine organizations’ willingness to prepare for future shocks, insights on the sensemaking processes leading local politicians to invest in adaptive capacity building after a crisis are scarce. Therefore, this study examines how politicians’ COVID-19 risk perceptions relate to their proclivity to invest in organizational adaptive capacity building. Results, based on data from 710 local Flemish politicians, confirm that perceived severity of COVID-19 relates to politicians’ willingness to invest in adaptive capacity building, while sociodemographic and event-related variables as well as socio-political attitudes are relevant predictors of politicians’ risk perceptions.