Resilience and Sustainability in Organizations: A Conceptual Exploration

Abstract

In an age where unexpected and disruptive events are becoming more frequent, businesses must be resilient to allow for sustained success. Over the past four years, global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, large-scale warfare in Europe, and ongoing trade conflicts have significantly impacted European and global  businesses, economies, and societies. In addition to long-term disruptions, short-term challenges like natural disasters also pose risks. Scholars suggest that the latter may become more frequent due to rising global temperatures and climate change. This brings sustainability into focus – a concept centered on conducting activities without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In this article, we look into organizational sustainability, an ability of businesses to operate with long-term success while balancing environmental, social, and economic factors.

The aim of the article is to systematically explore and analyze the relationship between organizational resilience and organizational sustainability by reviewing existing literature. The study consists of a systematic review of 22 articles on organizational resilience and organizational sustainability, which resulted from a larger body of literature narrowed down to strictly relevant publications. The findings of this review reveal that the relationship between organizational resilience and organizational sustainability is multifaceted. Several studies indicate that sustainability enhances resilience by providing firms with the resources, knowledge, and adaptive practices needed to withstand crises, whereas others suggest that resilience contributes to sustainability by enabling organizations to maintain operations and achieve long-term goals. Some research highlights a bidirectional influence, where resilience and sustainability mutually reinforce each other, through continuous learning and knowledge-sharing mechanisms, whereas a few studies distinguish them as separate but interrelated components. Additionally, external factors, such as venture capital, knowledge networks, and digitalization are identified as influencing both resilience and sustainability.