Smaller businesses and the Christchurch earthquakes: A longitudinal study of individual and organizational resilience

Type of content
Journal Article
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
en
Date
2021
Authors
de Vries HP
Hamilton RT
Abstract

This study explores the nature of smaller businesses’ resilience following two major earthquakes that severely disrupted their place of doing business. Data from the owners of ten smaller businesses are qualitative and longitudinal, spanning the period 2011 through 2018, providing first-hand narrative accounts of their responses in the earthquakes’ aftermath. All ten owners showed some individual resilience; six businesses survived through to 2018, of which three have recovered strongly. All three owned their premises; operated business-tobusiness models; and were able to adapt and continue to follow path-extension strategies. All the other businesses had direct business-to-customer models operating from leased premises, typically in major retail malls. Four eventually recognised path-exhaustion at different times and so did not survive through to 2018. We conclude however that post-disaster recovery is best explained in terms of business model resilience. Even the most resilient of individual owners will struggle to survive if their business model is either not resilient or cannot be made so. Individual resilience is necessary but not sufficient.

Description
Citation
de Vries HP, Hamilton RT (2021). Smaller businesses and the christchurch earthquakes: A longitudinal study of individual and organizational resilience. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 56. 102125-102125.
Keywords
natural disaster, earthquake, resilience, business model, small business
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Fields of Research::35 - Commerce, management, tourism and services::3507 - Strategy, management and organisational behaviour::350716 - Small business organisation and management
Fields of Research::35 - Commerce, management, tourism and services::3507 - Strategy, management and organisational behaviour::350703 - Disaster and emergency management
Fields of Research::35 - Commerce, management, tourism and services::3507 - Strategy, management and organisational behaviour::350710 - Organisational behaviour
Rights
CC BY-NC-ND