More than an individual capacity: Hope as a collective accomplishment

Abstract

Contemporary organisations increasingly operate under conditions of prolonged structural crisis (Wenzel et al., 2021). These circumstances challenge established ways of operating and create uncertainty about what the future may hold (Wenzel et al., 2025). In this context, hope has gained prominence as a research topic in organisational studies, particularly due to its relationship with the capacity to act in crisis situations (Lindebaum, 2025). This discussion is dominated by psychological perspectives, specifically by Snyder’s (2002) conceptualisation (Sawyer and Clair, 2022). Snyder (2002) defines hope as the perceived ability to (1) envisage a desired future, (2) chart a course to achieve it, and (3) maintain faith that, in time, it will be achieved. This conceptualisation limits its explanatory power by understanding hope as an individual capacity that can be learnt and trained. This formulation assumes a relatively predictable future and a stable relationship between effort, expectation and outcome. However, in scenarios of uncertainty and prolonged crisis, this foundation breaks down, as the future is not guaranteed in such scenarios.

We therefore propose that hope cannot be understood solely as an individual capacity, since in contexts of ongoing crisis this understanding proves insufficient and fails to account for the connections, sources of support and practices that enable people to continue taking action in conditions of persistent uncertainty.

In response to this, we propose understanding hope not as an individual capacity, but as a collective and precarious achievement that is continually re-enacted through situated practices.