Organizational Resilience: What it is and what it isn’t? A Conceptual Review

Abstract

Organizational Resilience (OR) as a construct and as a socioeconomic challenge is gaining uprising attention. Yet, a better understanding of the term in terms of what it is and what it isn't is still far behind. The present study is aimed at revisiting the definitions of OR for elucidating the scope of it. A systematic review of selected journal articles of 30 years (1990-2020) indexed in SSCI was performed. Both identifying and distinguishing facets of definitions were reviewed qualitatively and presented. Findings indicate that OR is a multidimensional construct that possesses several features that distinguish it from other similar constructs. The study concluded that the OR is about an organizational philosophy comprised of diverse competencies to manage challenging environmental events in a continuous and progressive way. Implications suggest that any conceptualization of OR should primarily centre on the long-term continuous process of meeting the challenging environmental occurrences rather than a set of discrete capabilities to respond to a devastating event.

Key Factors of Organizational Resilience in Prisons and Police Forces in French-Speaking Switzerland during COVID-19

“…The concept of OR is based on a common perception of the meaning of resilience, illustrated by its Latin etymology resiliere, 'to bounce back' [9]. This is close to the definition given by the physical sciences [5]: 'a physical system's capacity to return to its original form after a disturbance' [10] (p. 491).…”

“…Other studies consider organizational resilience above all as a learning process [16], mainly as a leadership issue [20], or even an issue that could primarily be solved by social interventions through human resources management practices [4,7]. All these perspectives, which are complementary rather than contradictory, nevertheless highlight the need for organizations to go outside their usual operational framework [9]. OR encompasses diverse phenomena; many dimensions are associated with it and no clear definition has yet been established.…”

“…OR encompasses diverse phenomena; many dimensions are associated with it and no clear definition has yet been established. Thus, the concept remains difficult to operationalize and measure [8,9,15,19]. The most widespread conceptualizations of OR fall within the perspectives of resilience engineering (RE) and the more recent ecological resilience (ER) [9,11].…”

“…Thus, the concept remains difficult to operationalize and measure [8,9,15,19]. The most widespread conceptualizations of OR fall within the perspectives of resilience engineering (RE) and the more recent ecological resilience (ER) [9,11].…”

“…Contrastingly, ER applies the notion of OR to complex social systems whose adaptive dimension is recognized. In addition to the capacity to bounce back from adversity [21], ER includes the ability to adapt to the crisis and continue to 'thrive' during it [9][10][11]. From this perspective, when faced with shocks, the most important factor is the ability to '[adapt and transform] through the emergence of new structures such as policies, processes, and organizational culture that enable organizations to continue to perform their functions' [10] (p. 491).…”