Survey assessment of organizational resiliency potential of a group of Seveso organizations in Turkey

Abstract

Organizational resilience is vital for long-term value creation in organizations, as they continuously face many obstacles due to fast evolving, complex, and uncertain environments. Resilience is also important for managing hazmat and oil spill risks, given the expected increase in frequency and magnitude of natural disasters due to climatic extremes. Organizations with higher resiliency potential are more likely to manage these challenges effectively. Recently developing literature indicates that development of dynamic capabilities, which are different from ordinary capabilities, leads to greater organizational resiliency potential. This study assesses organizational resiliency potential of a group of Seveso organizations in Turkey via a 5-point Likert-type-scale survey designed toward measuring four important dimensions of dynamic capabilities including anticipation capabilities, adaptive culture, networking capabilities, and organizational learning. Cluster analysis of survey results revealed that there are significant differences in organizational resiliency potential among organizations, as evidenced by the distance plot. While participating organizations have scored relatively high resiliency potentials, there are areas that need improvement including increasing anticipation and networking capabilities and strengthening employee engagement to further enhance resilience of organizations. In the second phase of the study, the effect of three factors on organizational resiliency potential that includes socioeconomic level and earthquake risk of the region that the organization is located, and Seveso Directive status of the organization were assessed. While organizational resiliency potential scores among groups of organizations that fall under different categories for these three factors did not show any statistically significant difference, follow-up focused interview revealed that respondents believed there may be differences in resiliency potential. Both survey and follow-up focused interview assessments showed the complexity and multiple aspects involved in developing adequate organizational resiliency potential. Organizational resiliency potential research is still in its infancy and both theoretical and technical sides of the equation requires further development.