Sensegiving in multicultural contexts: the role of cultural chameleonizing in the implementation of Mauritius's light rail transit system

Recently, scholars have begun studying positive examples of public governance (Douglas et al., 2021). By disclosing mechanisms that create public value (Moore, 1995, 2013), insights that transcend negativity in public administration studies can be of theoretical and practical relevance. Such insights can inform diverse public sector organizations delivering public services (Compton et al., 2022). Effective stakeholder involvement throughout the service delivery chain is usually considered an important factor in achieving positive outcomes for the public (Hartley and Fletcher, 2008). However, stakeholder involvement can be challenging as interests diverge enormously (Hartley and Fletcher, 2008). Moreover, the “public” throughout public value creation cannot be considered as one single actor when, in reality, it represents many different opinions (Moore, 2014). As underlined by Calhoun (1997: 84), we operate in a “sphere of publics” in the plural sense of the word.
In postcolonial country settings, the conceptualization of the “public” is even more complex. Many of these countries are characterized by multi-ethnic societies. European and North American societies are also becoming increasingly diverse due to worldwide immigration flows (Berry and Sam, 2014). This circumstance deserves attention when introducing public projects that aim to address, for example, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely SDG 11 on creating sustainable cities and communities. By equally addressing all involved cultural groups, project developers are better positioned to gain acceptance from relevant stakeholders (Dines et al., 2021).
Therefore, SDGs’ successful co-achievement across the globe requires a constructive handling of multicultural configurations (Kaasila-Pakanen, 2015). Sensegiving – the influencing of people’s sensemaking in uncertain situations toward a preferred outcome (Maitlis and Christianson, 2014) – has been identified as a crucial communication strategy for achieving development goals (Hong et al., 2023; Kroeger et al., 2022). However, studies on sensegiving tactics, which can be applied by public managers striving for positive public outcomes (Ohemeng and Kamga, 2020; Robert and Ola, 2021), have usually implied a culturally neutral audience. Literature on multicultural communication, nevertheless, highlights that such settings require special attention (Brett et al., 2009; Day, 2007). Understanding how sensegiving succeeds in multicultural contexts is still underdeveloped. Thus, we study sensegiving in a multicultural context in the core societal makeup of an African case study as a positive feature in handling a public project initially met with contentious views.
We address this theoretical gap by studying the applied stakeholder management process used for implementation of Mauritius’s recent Metro Express Project (MEP). The MEP is a pertinent case study not only due to its success in accelerating the use of greener public transport on the island but also because of the successful sensegiving approach by Metro Express Limited’s (MEL) staff members in a country where “cultural diversity is part of [its] self-image” (Ng Tseung-Wong, 2018: 176). By abductively theorizing from this case based on a combination of different qualitative data (Eisenhardt, 1989; Gioia, Corley, and Hamilton, 2013; Yin, 2017), we identify the role of cultural chameleonizing as a crucial strategy for dealing with multiculturalism when tackling SDGs through sensegiving practices. Our study provides insights on sensegiving in multicultural contexts, which are valuable for research focusing on mechanisms that can lead to positive public outcomes (see also Barboza-Wilkes and Le, Chapter 20 in this volume for a discussion of cultural competency in public service design and delivery).

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