What Is Resilience and How Can It Be Nurtured? A Systematic Review of Empirical Literature on Organizational Resilience

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 Health Economics Research Unit, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya

2 Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

3 School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

4 Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

Abstract

Background
Recent health system shocks such as the Ebola outbreak of 2014–2016 and the global financial crisis of 2008 have generated global health interest in the concept of resilience. The concept is however not new, and has been applied to other sectors for a longer period of time. We conducted a review of empirical literature from both the health and other sectors to synthesize evidence on organizational resilience.

 
Methods
We systematically searched for literature in PubMed, Econlit, EBSCOHOST databases, google, and Google Scholar and manually searched the reference lists of selected papers. We identified 34 papers that met our inclusion criteria. We analysed data from the selected papers by thematic review.

 
Results
Resilience was generally taken to mean a system’s ability to continue to meet its objectives in the face of challenges. The concepts of resilience that were used in the selected papers emphasized not just a system’s capacity to withstand shocks, but also to adapt and transform. The resilience of organizations was influenced by the following factors: Material resources, preparedness and planning, information management, collateral pathways and redundancy, governance processes, leadership practices, organizational culture, human capital, social networks and collaboration.

 
Conclusions
A common theme across the selected papers is the recognition of resilience as an emergent property of complex adaptive systems. Resilience is both a function of planning for and preparing for future crisis (planned resilience), and adapting to chronic stresses and acute shocks (adaptive resilience). Beyond resilience to acute shocks, the resilience of health systems to routine and chronic stress (everyday resilience) is also key. Health system software is as, if not more important, as its hardware in nurturing health system resilience

Keywords

Main Subjects

Full Text

"Watch the Video Summary"

References

  1. Thomas S, Keegan C, Barry S, Layte R, Jowett M, Normand C. A framework for assessing health system resilience in an economic crisis: Ireland as a test case. BMC Health Serv Res. 2013;13:450. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-13-450
  2. Kruk ME, Myers M, Varpilah ST, Dahn BT. What is a resilient health system? Lessons from Ebola. Lancet. 2015;385(9980):1910-1912. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60755-3
  3. Kruk ME, Ling EJ, Bitton A, et al. Building resilient health systems: a proposal for a resilience index. BMJ. 2017;357:j2323. doi:10.1136/bmj.j2323
  4. Haldane V, Ong SE, Chuah FL, Legido-Quigley H. Health systems resilience: meaningful construct or catchphrase? Lancet. 2017;389(10078):1513. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(17)30946-7
  5. Kieny MP, Evans DB, Schmets G, Kadandale S. Health-system resilience: reflections on the Ebola crisis in western Africa. Bull World Health Organ. 2014;92(12):850. doi:10.2471/blt.14.149278
  6. Blanchet K, Nam SL, Ramalingam B, Pozo-Martin F. Governance and Capacity to Manage Resilience of Health Systems: Towards a New Conceptual Framework. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2017;6(8):431-435. doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2017.36
  7. Norris FH, Stevens SP, Pfefferbaum B, Wyche KF, Pfefferbaum RL. Community resilience as a metaphor, theory, set of capacities, and strategy for disaster readiness. Am J Community Psychol. 2008;41(1-2):127-150. doi:10.1007/s10464-007-9156-6
  8. Holling CS. Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annu Rev Ecol Syst. 1973;4:1-23. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000245
  9. Folke C. Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social–ecological systems analyses. Glob Environ Change. 2006;16(3):253-267. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.04.002
  10. Pickett STA, Cadenasso ML, Grove JM. Resilient cities: meaning, models, and metaphor for integrating the ecological, socio-economic, and planning realms. Landsc Urban Plan. 2004;69(4):369-384. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2003.10.035
  11. Pike A, Dawley S, Tomaney J. Resilience, adaptation and adaptability. Cambridge Journal Regions Economy Society. 2010;3(1):59-70. doi:10.1093/cjres/rsq001
  12. Bhamra R, Dani S, Burnard K. Resilience: the concept, a literature review and future directions. Int J Prod Res. 2011;49(18):5375-5393. doi:10.1080/00207543.2011.563826
  13. Vogus TJ, Sutcliffe KM. Organizational resilience: towards a theory and research agenda. Paper presented at: ISIC. IEEE International Conference; 2007. doi:10.1109/ICSMC.2007.4414160
  14. Achour N, Price AD. Resilience strategies of healthcare facilities: present and future. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment. 2010;1(3):264-276. doi:10.1108/17595901011080869
  15. Ager AK, Lembani M, Mohammed A, et al. Health service resilience in Yobe state, Nigeria in the context of the Boko Haram insurgency: a systems dynamics analysis using group model building. Confl Health. 2015;9:30. doi:10.1186/s13031-015-0056-3
  16. Andrew S, Arlikatti S, Siebeneck L, Pongponrat K, Jaikampan K. Sources of organisational resiliency during the Thailand floods of 2011: a test of the bonding and bridging hypotheses. Disasters. 2016;40(1):65-84. doi:10.1111/disa.12136
  17. Beermann M. Linking corporate climate adaptation strategies with resilience thinking. J Clean Prod. 2011;19(8):836-842. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2010.10.017
  18. Booher DE, Innes JE. Governance for Resilience : CALFED as a Complex Adaptive Network for Resource Management. Ecol Soc. 2010;15(3):35.
  19. Burke S, Thomas S, Barry S, Keegan C. A Working Paper from the Resilience project in the Centre for Health Policy and Management , School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin. https://www.tcd.ie/medicine/health_policy_management/assets/pdf/Resilience-working-paper-March-2014.pdf.  2014.
  20. Christopher M, Peck H. Building the Resilient Supply Chain. The International Journal of Logistics Management. 2004;15(2):1-14. doi:10.1108/09574090410700275
  21. Felland LE, Lesser CS, Staiti AB, Katz A, Lichiello P. The resilience of the health care safety net, 1996-2001. Health Serv Res. 2003;38(1 Pt 2):489-502. doi:10.1111/1475-6773.00126
  22. Sawalha IH. Managing adversity: understanding some dimensions of organizational resilience. Management Research Review. 2015;38(4):346-366. doi:10.1108/MRR-01-2014-0010
  23. Hassall ME, Sanderson PM, Cameron IT. Industry Perspectives on Organisational Resilience. RISK conference; Brisbane, Australia; May 2014:28-30.
  24. Herrfahrdt-Paehle E, Pahl-Wostl C. Continuity and Change in Social-ecological Systems: the Role of Institutional Resilience. Ecol Soc. 2012;17(2). doi:10.5751/ES-04565-170208
  25. Heese M, Kallus W, Kolodej C. Assessing Behaviour towards Organizational Resilience in Aviation. 5th REA Symposium managing trade offs; 24th-27th June 2013; Soesterberg, Netherlands; 2014:67-74.
  26. Kachali H, Stevenson JR, Whitman Z, Seville E, Vargo J, Wilson T. Organisational Resilience and Recovery for Canterbury Organisations after the 4 September 2010 Earthquake. Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies. 2012;2012(1):11-19.
  27. Lapao LV, Silva A, Pereira N, Vasconcelos P, Conceicao C. Ebola impact on African health systems entails a quest for more international and local resilience: the case of African Portuguese speaking countries. Pan Afr Med J. 2015;22 Suppl 1:15. doi:10.11694/pamj.supp.2015.22.1.6653
  28. Lembani M, Mohammed A, Abdulwahab A, et al. A Case Study of Technical Assistance to HIV Services in Cote d’Ivoire in the Context of Civil Unrest Following the Disputed Presidential Election of 2010. Cape Town; 2014.
  29. Lembani M, Mohammed A, Abdulwahab A, et al. A Case Study of Maternal Health Service Provision in OR Tambo District, Eastern Cape, in the Context of Chronic Poor Health Performance. Cape Town; 2015.
  30. Mafabi S, Munene JC, Ahiauzu A. Organisational Resilience: Testing the Interaction Effect of Knowledge Management and Creative Climate. Journal of Organizational Psychology. 2013;13(1/2):70-82.
  31. McKenzie A, Abdulwahab A, Sokpo E, et al. Building a Resilient Health System: Lessons from Northern Nigeria. IDS Working Paper; Volume 2015 No. 454.
  32. McManus S, Seville E, Brunsdon D, Vargo J. Resilience Management: A Framework for Assessing and Improving the Resilience of Organisations. Resilient Organisations Research Report. 2007/01; 2007:79-79.
  33. McManus S, Seville E, Vargo J, Brunsdon D. Facilitated Process for Improving Organizational Resilience. Nat Hazards Rev. 2008;9(2):81-90. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2008)9:2(81)
  34. Nilakant V, Walker B, Rochford K, Van Heugten K. Leading in a Post-disaster Setting: Guidance for Human Resource Practitioners. New Zealand Journal Employment of Relations. 2013;38(1):1-13.
  35. Nyikuri M, Tsofa B, Barasa E, Okoth P, Molyneux S. Crises and Resilience at the Frontline-Public Health Facility Managers under Devolution in a Sub-County on the Kenyan Coast. PLoS One. 2015;10(12):e0144768. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0144768
  36. Olsson P, Folke C, Berkes F. Adaptive comanagement for building resilience in social-ecological systems. Environ Manage. 2004;34(1):75-90. doi:10.1007/s00267-003-0101-7
  37. Oluwasoye M, Ugonna N. Environmental risk: exploring organisational resilience and robustness. Int J Sci Eng Res. 2015;6(1):1103-1115.
  38. Andersson R, Rudrajeet P, Torstensson H. Organisational resilience through crisis strategic planning: a study of Swedish textile SMEs in financial crises of 2007-2011. International Journal of Decision Sciences, Risk and Management. 2012;4(3/4):314-341. doi:10.1504/IJDSRM.2012.053372
  39. Pal R, Torstensson H, Mattila H. Antecedents of organizational resilience in economic crises—an empirical study of Swedish textile and clothing SMEs. Int J Prod Econ. 2014;147:410-428. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2013.02.031
  40. Sandanda M. What determines the resilience of retail business in an unstable business environment? Evidence from Harare Province. University of Zimbabwe Business Review. 2014;2(2):97-105.
  41. Sheffi Y, Rice JB Jr. A Supply Chain View of the Resilient Enterprise. MIT Sloan Management Review. 2005;47(1):41-48.
  42. Seville E, Brunsdon D, Dantas A, Le Masurier J, Wilkinson S, Vargo J. Building Organisational Resilience : A New Zealand Approach. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/649. Published2006.
  43. Seville E, Brunsdon D, Dantas A, Le Masurier J, Wilkinson S, Vargo J. Organisational resilience: Researching the reality of New Zealand organisations. J Bus Contin Emer Plan. 2008;2(3):258-266.
  44. Stephenson A, Seville E, Vargo J, Roger D. Benchmark Resilience: A study of the resilience of organizations in the Auckland region. Auckland: Resilient Organizations Research Group (ResOrgs); 2010:1-49.
  45. Walker B, Nilakant V, Baird R. Promoting Organisational Resilience through Sustaining Engagement in a Disruptive Environment: What are the implications for HRM ? Research Forum. 2014:1-20.
  46. Zhong S, Hou XY, Clark M, et al. Disaster resilience in tertiary hospitals: a cross-sectional survey in Shandong Province, China. BMC Health Serv Res. 2014;14:135. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-135
  47. CASP UK. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) Check lists. http://www.casp-uk.net/casp-tools-checklists.  Accessed July 31, 2017. Published 2017.
  48. Hannes K. Critical appraisal of qualitative research. In: Noyes J, Booth A, Hannes K, et al,  eds. Supplementary Guidance for Inclusion of Qualitative Research in Cochrane Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Cochrane Collaboration Qualitative Methods Group; 2011.  http://cqrmg.cochrane.org/supplemental-handbook-guidance.  Accessed  September 1, 2015.
  49. Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol. 2006;3(2):77-101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
  50. Bristow G, Healy A. Building Resilient Regions: Complex Adaptive Systems and the Role of Policy Intervention. Raumforsch Raumordn. 2014;72(2):93-102. doi:10.1007/s13147-014-0280-0
  51. Marion R. The Edge of Organization: Chaos and Complexity Theories of Formal Social Systems. London: Sage Publications; 1999.
  52. Brinkerhoff DW, Bossert TJ. Health governance: principal-agent linkages and health system strengthening. Health Policy Plan. 2014;29(6):685-693. doi:10.1093/heapol/czs132
  53. Macey WH, Schneider B. The meaning of employee engagement. Ind Organ Psychol. 2008;1(1):3-30. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9434.2007.0002.x
  54. Moore ML, Westley F. Surmountable chasms: networks and social innovation for resilient systems. Ecol Soc. 2011;16(1):5.
  55. Begun JW, Zimmerman B, Dooley K. Health Care Organizations as Complex Adaptive Systems. In: Mick SM, Wyttenbach M. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 2003:253-288.
  56. Complex adaptive systems. London: Health Foundation; 2010.
  57. Marion R, Bacon J. Organizational Extinction and Complex Systems. Emergence. 2000;1(4):71-94.
  58. Lindberg C, Nash S, Lindberg C. On the edge: Nursing in the age of complexity. Bordentown: Plexus Press; 2008.
  59. Zimmerman B. The Sage handbook of complexity and management. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage Publishers; 2010.
  60. Marion R, Uhl-Bien M. Leadership in Complex Organizations. The Leadership Quartely. 2001;12(4):389-418. doi:10.1016/S1048-9843(01)00092-3
  61. Ford R. Complex leadership competency in health care: towards framing a theory of practice. Health Serv Manage Res. 2009;22(3):101-114. doi:10.1258/hsmr.2008.008016
  62. Gilson L, Barasa E, Nxumalo N, et al. Everyday resilience in district health systems: emerging insights from the front lines in Kenya and South Africa. BMJ Glob Health. 2017;2:e000224. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2016-000224

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 22 July 2017
  • Revise Date: 18 January 2018
  • Accept Date: 20 January 2018
  • First Publish Date: 01 June 2018

Share

How to cite

Statistics