Installing an Action Space for Resilience in Surprising Situations

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter develops a model of resilient action in situations where established rules or behavioural routines are either not available or are misleading, thus exposing actors to high means-end ambiguity. The model suggests that an ‘action space’ must be created by stabilizing the action system and expanding options for action. It is based on our qualitative research in the Austrian Military (high degree of publicness) on cases of resilient field action, especially as regards ‘bouncing back’ incidents. We contend that different types of drill combined with the acquisition of background knowledge are essential for organizational resilience, the management of unexpected situations and the explanation of success, leading to controlled reproducibility solutions of typical problems. As such, the model intends to explain exploitation types of learning. However, as an antecedent for installing the action space, we explore so-called the ‘exaptation’ of drilled procedures, pertaining to the transfer of procedures to serve novel requirements, thus located in the exploration domain. This phenomenon leads to properties that contribute to recovery from shock in critical situations, through innovation. In short, the chapter provides novel empirical evidence that applying rules does not lead to resilient action in the case of unknown or unexpected situations. Instead, we show robust evidence that a corrective understanding and reflective use of rules and routines is causally related to the ability to deal with surprise and fostering resilience.