Organizational Resilience: A Dynamic Capability of Complex Systems

Abstract

In recent years, the concept of organizational resilience has largely attracted the interest of academicians and practitioners alike. A fair number of researches have been conducted on developing the concept of organizational resilience. However, there seems to be a lack of consensus over its conceptualization mainly because the concept itself is prodigious and is used in a variety of disciplines. Furthermore, research within the domain of organizational resilience has been outcome oriented; however, questions addressing the drivers of resilience are yet to be answered. On the other hand, research within the domain of dynamic capabilities view have long been criticized as tautological, resistant to operationalization, and lacking the unification of thought. However, there exists a sufficient degree of conceptual similitude between the two concepts, mainly due to their epistemological similarities grounded within the theoretical assumptions of chaotic systems, environmental dynamism, and systems thinking. Incorporating both perspectives in parallel for understanding the theoretical connections can lead to clarifications at an ontological level. Therefore, this paper attempts to propose a holistic model of organizational resilience by incorporating a lens metaphor of dynamic capabilities view. This paper is divided into four sections. The first section of this paper lays down the multidisciplinary discourses within the realm of organizational resilience. The second section highlights the management discourse about the conceptualization of organizational resilience. The third section of this paper uses a lens metaphor of dynamic capabilities view in an attempt to add depth to the concept of organizational resilience. The fourth and the final section attempts to propose the drivers of organizational resilience from a strategic viewpoint.