Organizations in disaster-prone areas generally have formalized plans that will help them recover after environmental disasters. However, these formal mechanisms are usually adapted “on the fly” because disasters don't unfold according to plans. This paper examines how a cross-sector network of community organizations used both formal structures (planned/bureaucratic relationships within and among organizations) and informal structures (emergent/social networks) that interacted to support organized response work in response to both anticipated and chaotic events during and following Hurricane Harvey. Results showed that formal reporting relationships that included preestablished network relationships predicted organizing structures on the days when volatility was highest, while emergent networks were crucial in guiding recovery actions during periods of crisis. The findings extend phase models of crisis with a more granular and longitudinal analysis of these organizing processes, advancing organizational theory that often frames bureaucratic structures and social networks as dichotomous rather than as symbiotic.
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