Smaller businesses and the Christchurch earthquakes: A longitudinal study of individual and organizational resilience. (1st April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: de Vries, H.P.; Hamilton, R.T.
• Is Part Of: International journal of disaster risk reduction. Volume 56(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-04-01
• Subjects: Natural disaster -- Earthquake -- Resilience -- Business model -- Small business; Emergency management -- Periodicals; Risk management -- Periodicals; Disaster relief -- Periodicals; Hazard mitigation -- Periodicals; 363.34
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102125
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2212-4209

Abstract

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-to-business 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.