The Resilient Organization

TLDR

Resilience has become a key focus for academics and practitioners as a potential solution to crises, promising organizations that absorb shocks and recover quickly, yet empirical studies of resilient organizations remain scarce. The article investigates whether organizational characteristics and processes are related to resilience. The study examines this relationship in two crisis‑affected organizations—CAISO and NASA—using insights from high‑reliability theory and crisis research.

Abstract

Both academics and practitioners have recently discovered resilience as a core topic of interest. Resilience is widely viewed as a potential solution to the challenges posed by crises and disasters. The promise of resilience is an organization or society that absorbs shocks and 'bounces back' after a disturbance. While the idea of resilience is increasingly popular, empirical research on resilient organizations is actually quite rare. This article explores whether a relation exists between organizational characteristics, processes and resilience. Building on the insights of high reliability theory and crisis research, it probes this relation in two organizations that experienced deep crises: the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA).