Exploring the Determinants of Organizational Resilience in Islamic Banks

Abstract

Resilience has been viewed as the critical component behind Islamic banking organizations' ability to respond and compete during crisis. However, there seems to be scarcity of empirical attempts to explore the determinants of stronger resilience in Islamic banking organizations. This article is an attempt to develop a managerial framework of Islamic banking organizations that identifies these determinants of improved resilience. Two case studies were conducted in two Islamic banks in Palestine. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews, observations, and archival documents, followed by the use of the Resilience Benchmark Tool (RBT). Cross-case analysis of the results shows that organizational resilience in banking organizations is characterized by two dimensional determinants for improving organizational resilience; planning and adaptive capacity along with a set of ten resilience enhancing factors. The article demonstrates important dynamics of how resilient capabilities can be incorporated into the managerial models of banking organizations during turmoil.