The discourse of organizational resilience before and after the global pandemic

Abstract

Background: Over the past decade, there has been a surge in public and academic discussions about organizational resilience, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It is essential to understand the changes in the discourse of organizational resilience before and after the pandemic. This study aims to understand how the concept of organizational resilience evolved before and after the pandemic. Methods: This study is qualitative in nature, employing discourse analysis techniques on scholarly documents on organizational resilience. Our analysis considers the global context of organizational resilience discussions and highlights the most frequently discussed industries, such as tourism and hospitality, manufacturing, and healthcare. The documents were searched on Scopus academic databases with the key search term of organizational AND resilience. Results: Our findings indicate that themes related to “response to external threats” and “supply chain vulnerabilities and disruptions” have gained significant attention post-pandemic. Meanwhile, discussions around “preparedness and organizational reliability” and “coping with occupational and job demands” have remained consistent before and after the pandemic. Conclusions: This study contributes to the academic understanding and practical application of organizational resilience evolution by discourse before and after the pandemic. It highlights the significance of being prepared for external threats and managing supply chain disruptions while recognizing the importance of preparedness and organizational reliability.