PurposeThis paper investigates the relationships between the core elements of a BCM system and SCRES constituents, i.e. visibility, agility, flexibility, velocity and collaboration. An explorative multiple case studies methodology was adopted, consisting of organizations in the retail, manufacturing and humanitarian sectors that had to withstand the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (January to June 2020).Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts an interpretative approach to understand organizational behavior through observations. The source of data comes from in-depth interviews as well as the scrutiny of available official documents for triangulation. The unit of analysis is the organizations internal supply chain with a specific focus on their BCM system and SCM arrangements.FindingsThis paper shows how core BCM practices have a direct impact on supply chain resilience constituents. Specifically practices such as establishing a crisis management committee and risk assessments boost constituents such as agility and flexibility. This advances the theoretical discussion on supply chain resilience, while providing practical examples for organizations to build a response to pandemic incidents.Originality/valueThis paper validates the contribution of business continuity management to supply chain resilience, a concept that has mainly been linked to practices such as risk management. In this regard, this paper enriches the discussion. Secondly, the analysis explains how specific BCM practices worked during the first wave of the pandemic and how they were implemented, providing a clear path for supply chain resilience.
The management of emergencies affecting interdependent critical infrastructure (CI) systems is a complex issue of increasing concern. The existence of multiple cascading effects, limited situational awareness, and the need for coordination between several actors are factors that justify the conceptualization of CI as a complex adaptive system (CAS). Although the capability concept has been extensively adopted in emergency management (EM) literature, proper classification and modeling of CI systems is lacking. This study aims to adopt a capability-based approach for EM to improve the adaptability to the prevailing and unpredictable circumstances, based on a combination of literature review and field research. It proposes a classification and modeling framework for the analysis of the intra-and interorganizational capabilities using a pilot application involving the Italy-Switzerland cross-border transport infrastructure. This framework is suitable for modeling the EM capabilities under different operational contexts and emergency scenarios. Moreover, it enables the representation and description of a CI system through elementary components that capture the main features of a CAS. The obtained results indicate that the proposed framework can foster public-private collaboration (PPC) in the development of CI protection and resilience (CIP-R) programs.
Accidental and intentional disruptive events affecting Critical Infrastructure (CI) systems dramatically increase on a global scale and put pressure on governments and CI operators to further improve technical and organizational capacities for securing the continuity of service. Experts in the field call for collaborative approaches to manage CI interdependencies and mitigate domino effects, which amplify the impact of disruptions over space, time and social functions. This paper presents an integrated framework for the classification, assessment and selection of Good Practices (GPs) in the Critical Infrastructure Resilience domain—‘CRAFTER’, from the perspective of collaborative Emergency Management (EM) capability building. The GPs mainly come from local and national level actions and programs, emphasizing the importance of fostering collaborative processes among stakeholders. The study identified 53 GPs through a systematic analysis of available scientific literature and research projects in the CI domain, which were used in the development of the CRAFTER framework. The framework was refined and validated through a questionnaire administered to CI experts, as a way to integrate theory-based and practitioner-based knowledge. The GPs were then classified and assessed according to their intended application context, the activities and functionalities covered, and the EM capabilities they support. The CRAFTER framework enables the assessment and benchmarking of GPs showing their strengths and weaknesses when used to build EM capabilities. It also supports practitioners in selecting a smallest effective bundle of GPS under different institutional and operational contexts, making sure that all the EM phases and capabilities are adequately covered.
The fast-growing occurrence of unexpected events affecting Critical Infrastructure (CI) systems in recent years fostered a shift from a protection-focused approach to CI Resilience (CIR). In this context, the increasing number of interdependencies, which generate domino effects and cascading failures, led to the call for establishing collaborative approaches and partnerships at the regional, national or international level. To support and implement CIR strategies, governments and CI operators often rely on Good Practices (GPs), generally defined as methods or techniques that are applied to solve existing problems producing effective results and bringing benefits to the users. Despite the high number of GPs, they are often insufficient to cover the wide spectrum of capabilities required for effective Emergency Management (EM). In this study, the systematic analysis and review of scientific literature and European projects in the CIR domain, led to the identification of 53 GPs that have proven to be effective in managing CIR. To enable comparison among the GPs the study proceeds with the development of a framework for classifying and assessing GPs according to their application context, the activities and functionalities covered, and the EM capabilities they are able to support. From a research perspective, the framework offers a robust background for future assessment and benchmarking of CIR related GPs; it is also useful for practitioners to assess and select the most suitable GPs under different institutional and operational contexts.
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