Disaster dynamics: Understanding the role of quantity in organizational collapse

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Rudolph, JW; Repenning, NP
• 署名单位: Boston College; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• 刊物名称: ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-8392
• DOI: 10.2307/3094889
• 发表日期: 2002
• 页码: 1-30
• 关键词: HIGH-RELIABILITY; mind

摘要

This article examines the role that the quantity of non-novel events plays in precipitating disaster through the development of a formal (mathematical) system-dynamics model. Building on existing case studies of disaster, we develop a general theory of how an organizational system responds to an on-going stream of non-novel interruptions to existing plans and procedures. We show how an overaccumulation of interruptions can shift an organizational system from a resilient, self-regulating regime, which offsets the effects of this accumulation, to a fragile, self-escalating regime that amplifies them. We offer a new characterization of the conditions under which organizations may be prone to major disasters caused by an accumulation of minor interruptions. Our analysis provides both theoretical insights into the causes of organizational crises and practical suggestions for those charged with preventing them.