Rise from ashes: A dynamic framework of organizational learning and resilience in disaster response

Abstract

Natural disasters are increasingly impacting the lives of organizations. The COVID‐19 pandemic has brought attention to how organizations improve their resilience and learn how to emerge stronger after such events. While there has been little integration between the literature on organizational learning and resilience, this article draws on both streams of literature to develop a conceptual framework that distinguishes three different organizational processes emerging in the aftermath of a disaster (resilience, learning from disasters, and learning through disasters). Each response is characterized by a specific outcome, mechanism, and temporal orientation. Moreover, the proposed framework discusses the dynamic relationships between these responses. While learning from disasters and resilience combine in a cyclical dynamic that leads to an upgrade in existing organizational capabilities, learning through disasters involves a transformative dynamic that leads to expanding organizational capabilities in new domains. This article is of value to both practitioners and scholars. For managers, it derives practical implications for improving the organization's capacity for transformation in the aftermath of a disaster such as COVID‐19. For scholars, it contributes to the debate about the long‐term interrelation between different organizational response to disasters and sheds light on the mechanisms of organizational renewal in the aftermath of a disaster.

Learning from Neighbors: The Spatial Spillover Effect of Crisis Learning on Local Government

“…Research in crisis learning is emerging [47][48][49][50], and relevant prior research has provided an important foundation for this study. Still, there is room for further expansion as follows: First, from a methodological perspective, most of the existing crisis learning research is based on discursive induction and case-based deduction [51,52], with case descriptions, textual analysis, and empirical summaries, thus lacking a concrete understanding of positivism.…”

“…In the case of the political environment in China, the political attributes of high pressure can solidify information restrictions and control constraints in the crisis learning of local government [48,70]. This is reflected in two aspects: First, the steep increase in political pressure limits the processing of information for the crisis learning of local government.…”

Assessing Disaster Management Infrastructure and Strategies in South Eastern Nigeria

“…Therefore, the current situation is disturbing at all levels of government as they work to improve the elasticity of mitigating disasters while struggling with the flaw of their capability [1,2]. However, the government appropriates resources in management, but significant challenges and service gaps still exist, and government measures can be besieged [2,3]. As a result of this, the scale and the extent of disasters are expanding and will almost certainly put the entire world under pressure.…”

“…In furtherance of the above, [1,3] noted that one prospect requesting urgent needs stemmed from disaster. The increasing population transfer into windstorm and flood-prone areas has aggravated the impact of the disaster.…”

“…Studies by [1,2,3] further revealed that other demographic changes that affect disaster management efforts increase the number of persons with disabilities living in communities rather than institutions and those living with chronic diseases such as asthma and obesity. Nonetheless, most human interaction with living creatures, nature and technological tools has led to disasters.…”