Resilience or not resilience? Building a resilient organisation in times of crisis
Jurgita Pauzuoliene, Birute Paulikiene, Ligita Simanskiene, Mariantonietta FiorePurpose
This research aims to examine the interplay of resilience across individual, team, and organisational levels during workplace crises.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research design was employed, using a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was created using statements formulated in scientific literature on the issues of resilience. Resilience criteria are distinguished by analysing three levels: individual, team, and organisational. The research instrument was evaluated by eight experts and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Klaipeda University. Data were collected from 446 service sector employees in Lithuania via an online survey. Participation was voluntary; informed consent was obtained from all respondents, and anonymity was guaranteed as no personally identifiable information was collected.
Findings
The study demonstrates that individual and team resilience significantly impact organisational resilience. While individual resilience is generally viewed positively, weaker areas include emotional responses to crises and problem-solving. Teams show strengths in mutual support and collaboration but exhibit a lack of effective crisis response and problem-solving capabilities. At the organisational level, the speed of process transformation and the adequacy of financial resources during crises are less favourably regarded. The results indicate that both individual and team resilience enable organisations to respond more rapidly and take timely action in times of crisis.
Originality/value
The originality of this study is based on the identified gap in the scientific literature, where resilience is most often analysed at individual, team, or organisational levelsseparate levels – individual, team or organisational – but there is a lack of empirical studies integrating these levels into a unified analytical model. This study expands the existing field of knowledge by systematically examining resilience at three interrelated levels in the service sector, which is characterised by a high level of uncertainty and customer interaction. The novelty of the study is enhanced by the developed integrated measurement tool – a questionnaire, which allows for the simultaneous assessment of individual, team, and organisational resilience and their interactions. Unlike previous studies, this tool allows not only to assess individual components of resilience, but also to analyse their interactive impact on the organisation's ability to respond to crises. The validity of the questionnaire is based on expert assessment and pilot studies, ensuring its methodological reliability and practical applicability.