Relational And Operational Resilience Capacity At Individual Level: A Scale Development Study

Abstract

The concept of resilience, which is often expressed as the flexibility of materials and the ability to return to their former state in science literature; means the ability of individuals, groups and organizations to jump back and adapt in the face of adversities in social sciences. The concept of resilience has begun to be discussed in the organizational context, as uncertainty and competition in business environment have begun to prevail. The concept of resilience is a unique concept in terms of not only returning to the former state by overcoming the crisis but at the same time adopting radical solutions, and becoming better than the former state. Organizational resilience capacity refers to gaining the knowledge, skills, abilities and routines necessary to survive and if necessary, renew and transform in the face of crises and unexpected events. Organizational resilience is studied in two dimensions as operational and relational resilience. Operational resilience is related to the activities and processes in an organization. Relational resilience is related to business relationships both within and outside the organization. Relational and operational resilience capacity is supported at the individual level by the presence of cognitive and behavioral items such as knowledge, skills, abilities and habits which employees possess. In this study, it was aimed to develop a measurement tool to assess relational and operational resilience capacity at the individual level in terms of survival and sustainability dimensions. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted with two different samples. Results indicated that the scale structure consisted of 18 items and 4 factors.