Towards A Theory of Resilient Ecosystems: A System Approach to Organisational Resilience

走向弹性生态系统理论：组织弹性的系统方法

基本信息

批准号：
ES/W005611/1
负责人：
Jacqueline Jing You
金额：
$ 12.51万
依托单位：
Durham University
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Fellowship
财政年份：
2021
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2021 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FW005611%2F1
关键词：
Towards Theory Resilient Ecosystems System

项目摘要

This Postdoctoral Fellowship will build upon my PhD research which examined antecedents of organisational resilience in twenty-two heterogenous organisations and their business ecosystems. Through a two-staged data collection between 2017 and 2019, the study suggests that there are various equilibriums of resilience existing in organisations, which are formed by complex interactions of attributes of inter-organisational relationships (IORs). These findings are relatively novel in the literature of management and organisation studies because the mainstream view on organisational resilience is rooted in engineering resilience highlighting the stability of a system near a single equilibrium (e.g., bouncing back). More specifically, by analysing one hundred and thirty-seven events, it is suggested that organisational disruption can arise at any hierarchical level within and beyond organisations and associated effects that can move on a continuum (e.g., fast or slow) at a constant or irregular pace in multiple directions, compounded by changes. However, this study also shows fourteen IOR attributes emerging from one hundred and eighteen activity-based inter-organisational collaborations, which are interacted with each other depending on the nature of disruptions and together shaping organisational resilience. This fellowship will therefore examine the possibilities for expanding the work to the general system level and exploring how these relational attributes can interact for building resilient ecosystems, which is an underdeveloped area but important to be understood in order for sustainable development. In the face of pressing problems intertwined with global and grand challenges (e.g., [digital] poverty, social inequality, climate change, infectious disease), the need for such efforts could not be more urgent because no single entity alone (e.g., individual, organisation, or community) can provide solutions to complex and intractable problems. The United Nations (UN), international organisations, and individual countries actively seek ways to deal with the aforementioned challenges and many of these initiatives (e.g., the United Nations Global Compact) involve businesses and aim to facilitate collaborations among businesses and public and civil society actors. Although there is a considerable progress being made, the role of business organisations in society is still ambivalent resulting in that their contributions are often more symbolic than real, sometimes leading to social misery and environmental disasters (Scherer & Voegtlin, 2020). In addition, the rise of the digital economy (e.g., Industry 4.0) not only has transformed the role of traditional lead firms in the global economy but also fundamentally restructured both the demand and the supply side of traditional value chains (Pananond, Gereffi & Pedersen, 2020). Examples of businesses that fail to survive are plentiful contributing to the high rate of unemployment, which, in turn, has intensified the persistent grand challenges faced by humanity. This is a manifestation of a fallacy in the internal decision-making and incentive structures of businesses that undermines resilience in organisations. I will use the fellowship to establish myself within the community of scholars seeking to contribute to this space, especially at the level of inter-organisational relationships as the connection between different units within the ecosystem.With the mentorship of Durham Professor, Dr. Tyrone Pitsis, who is a leading researcher in complex projects designed to address systems level problems, this postdoctoral fellowship would allow me to achieve the following four key objectives: (1) establishing track record and disseminating PhD research findings through high-quality publications; (2) deepening and broadening my networks within academia and beyond; (3) developing and submitting two research grant applications; (4) advancing my experience and skills in research and teaching.

该博士后奖学金将以我的博士研究为基础，该研究研究了 22 个异构组织及其商业生态系统中组织弹性的前因。通过2017年至2019年的两阶段数据收集，研究表明组织中存在多种弹性均衡，这些均衡是由组织间关系（IOR）属性的复杂相互作用形成的。这些发现在管理和组织研究文献中相对新颖，因为关于组织弹性的主流观点植根于工程弹性，强调系统在单一平衡附近的稳定性（例如，反弹）。更具体地说，通过分析一百三十七个事件，表明组织破坏可能在组织内部和外部的任何层级上出现，并且相关影响可以以恒定或不规则的方式连续（例如，快速或缓慢）移动向多个方向迈进，并因变化而变得更加复杂。然而，这项研究还显示了 118 个基于活动的组织间协作中出现的 14 个 IOR 属性，这些属性根据中断的性质相互作用，共同塑造组织的弹性。因此，该研究金将研究将工作扩展到一般系统级别的可能性，并探索这些相关属性如何相互作用以建立有弹性的生态系统，这是一个欠发达的领域，但为了可持续发展，理解这一点很重要。面对与全球和重大挑战交织在一起的紧迫问题（例如，[数字]贫困、社会不平等、气候变化、传染病），这种努力的必要性再迫切不过了，因为没有任何一个实体可以单独行动（例如，个人、组织或社区）可以为复杂且棘手的问题提供解决方案。联合国 (UN)、国际组织和各个国家积极寻求应对上述挑战的方法，其中许多举措（例如联合国全球契约）都涉及企业，旨在促进企业与公众和民间社会之间的合作演员。尽管取得了相当大的进步，但商业组织在社会中的作用仍然是矛盾的，导致它们的贡献往往更具象征意义，而不是实际贡献，有时会导致社会苦难和环境灾难（Scherer＆Voegtlin，2020）。此外，数字经济（例如工业4.0）的兴起不仅改变了传统龙头企业在全球经济中的角色，而且从根本上重组了传统价值链的需求侧和供给侧（Pananond、Gereffi & Pedersen），2020）。企业无法生存的例子比比皆是，导致高失业率，进而加剧了人类面临的持续重大挑战。这是企业内部决策和激励结构中的谬误的表现，削弱了组织的弹性。我将利用这笔奖学金在寻求为这一领域做出贡献的学者群体中建立自己的地位，特别是在组织间关系层面，即生态系统内不同单位之间的联系。在达勒姆教授 Tyrone Pitsis 博士的指导下是旨在解决系统级问题的复杂项目的领先研究员，这项博士后奖学金将使我实现以下四个关键目标：（1）通过高质量出版物建立跟踪记录并传播博士研究成果； (2) 深化和拓宽我在学术界内外的人际网络； (3) 制定并提交两份研究资助申请；（4）提升我在研究和教学方面的经验和技能。