From Sociability to Associability: Understanding Affective Tensions in Stakeholder–Organization Relationships During COVID ‐19

ABSTRACT This paper conceptualizes stakeholder associability as a distinct form of episodic, affect‐driven tension in organizational life that disrupts stakeholder–organization relationships and undermines trust. While such tensions are widely observed in practice, they remain undertheorized in management and organization studies. Drawing on a micro‐ethnographic study of a COVID‐19 drive‐in testing center in the UK, complemented by social media commentary, the analysis identifies three antecedents of associability: (i) altered relational contexts, (ii) limited organizational agility and responsiveness, and (iii) managerialist decision‐making logics that deprioritize emotional attunement. Integrating affective atmosphere theory and Simmel's sociology of sociability, the study advances scholarship on stakeholder engagement, affect, and crisis management by theorizing associability as a situational, relational breakdown that emerges from the interplay of affective and structural dynamics. For managers, the findings emphasize the need to embed emotional intelligence and real‐time responsiveness into stakeholder strategies, shifting from retrospective damage control to proactive trust‐building. For policymakers, the study highlights the importance of human‐centered crisis management frameworks that prioritize empathy, transparency, and frontline sensitivity alongside operational efficiency. Together, these insights position stakeholder associability as a critical yet overlooked lens for understanding organizational legitimacy in times of uncertainty and lay a foundation for future research on affective dynamics in organizational life.