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RESEARCH PRODUCT

How do organizational processes recover following a disaster? - A capital resiliency model for disaster preparedness -

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This paper explores how organizational processes are recreated following their destruction in unexpected disasters. It applies the notion of an organization as a capital conversion and capital creation system. It also focuses on systems resilience, the measure of a system's persistence and ability to absorb disturbances while reconstructing relationships between system entities. Based on the analysis of empirical evidence collected from the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster in 2011, we propose a resiliency model incorporating a broader interpretation of the notion of capital. The model consists of five dimensions of capital: economic, social, symbolic, human, and organizational. Once a given capital is destroyed together with its creative organizational processes, communities will attempt to regain resilience by compensating with other dimensions of capital. Analyses demonstrate the importance of recreating organizational capital that coordinates capital conversion and recreation processes to meet the vital need of the residents. Examining this process of capital conversion and creation enables us to extend the notion of resilience.