@article{0f932662187b431289b03b6b09ce40be,
title = "Does exposure to a traumatic event make organizations resilient?",
abstract = "Why do some organizations bounce-back from traumatic events more quickly than others? While the research on organizations offers extensive insights on recovery from economic or technological shocks, there is limited understanding of how organizations recover from life-threatening events such as terrorist attacks. In this study, we build on the research on resilience and argue that organizational recovery from a traumatic event is informed by the perception of threat. Higher perception of threat increases inter-organizational collaboration and the care associated with the deployment of slack as well as to learning. We tested our arguments with a sample of US and non-US firms before and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and found that, due to spatial proximity, US firms{\textquoteright} higher perception of threat led to a larger increase in the frequency of inter-organizational alliances than that of non-US firms. This preference was more frequently directed towards local partners and demonstrated a distinct emphasis on slack and learning. Contrary to conventional wisdom, our findings suggest that organizational resilience in the face of a traumatic event benefits not from immunity but from spatial proximity to the threat. Proximity increases the perception of threat, and with it, the impetus for adaptation.",
keywords = "Adversity, Inter-organizational alliance, Resilience, Steeling effect, Terrorism",
author = "Mithani, {Murad A.} and Shanthi Gopalakrishnan and Santoro, {Michael D.}",
note = "Funding Information: Murad Mithani is Assistant Professor at Rutgers University, Camden. He received his PhD in management from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His research focuses on organizational politics, strategic change and corporate social responsibility, and it has appeared in the Journal of International Business Studies, Leadership Quarterly, Academy of Management Perspectives, Journal of Management, Long Range Planning, and Business and Society. Murad has received several awards including the best dissertation based paper from the OMT division of the Academy of Management, best strategy research paper from the Southern Management Association, best research project from the Smart Lighting Competition, and funding from the National Science Foundation for investigation into the competitive dynamics of the Liquid Crystal Display industry. Funding Information: Michael D. Santoro earned his Ph.D. in Management from Rutgers University and is Professor of Management and holds the William R. Kenan Jr. Professorship in the College of Business and Economics at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA. Dr. Santoro's expertise is in the area of strategic management and he teaches the capstone strategic management course in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Before joining the faculty at Lehigh, Dr. Santoro was a member of the Faculty of Management at Rutgers University where he taught in the Rutgers Business School at both the Newark and New Brunswick campuses. Recognized for his teaching excellence, Santoro has received several “Teacher of the Year” awards at both Lehigh University and Rutgers University, including Lehigh's Christian and Mary Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. Dr. Santoro's principal research interests are in the areas of strategic alliances, strategic change, and the external sourcing of knowledge and technological innovation. Santoro has over fifty publications in edited volumes, proceedings, and leading peer-reviewed, refereed academic journals including Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Research Policy, Journal of Management Studies, Management International Review, California Management Review, Journal of Engineering and Technology Management (JET-M), IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Research-Technology Management, International Journal of Management Reviews, Journal of High Technology Management Research, Journal of Technology Transfer, International Journal of Technology Management, International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, and European Management Journal among others. Santoro served as guest editor for a special issue of the International Journal of Technology Management titled “Organizational Learning from External Sources: New Issues and Performance Implications” and currently serves on the Editorial Review Boards for IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management and the University Industry Innovation Network. Dr. Santoro is active in two divisions of the Academy of Management – Business Policy and Strategy and Technology and Innovation Management. He has presented papers annually at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management and other professional and academic international conferences. Santoro serves as a reviewer for a number of leading academic journals in his field of study and is a past recipient of the prestigious Carl R. and Ingeborg Beidleman Research Award, the James T. Kane Fellowship, the Class of 1961 Professorship, and the Robert and Christine Staub Faculty Excellence Award. Prior to his academic career, Santoro spent twenty-one years with Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) holding a number of middle and senior line and staff management positions. His two most recent positions were those of Regional Vice President of Operations and Client Relations in ADP's Philadelphia Regional Processing Center and Division Director of Strategic/Product Planning and Product Marketing on ADP's corporate headquarters staff. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Elsevier Ltd",
year = "2021",
month = jun,
doi = "10.1016/j.lrp.2020.102031",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "54",
journal = "Long Range Planning",
issn = "0024-6301",
publisher = "Elsevier Limited",
number = "3",
}