Keywords

network resilience, interorganizational networks, network governance, emergency management

Abstract

As disasters become more complex, their impacts often cascade across interdependent systems, creating failures that extend beyond any single organization or sector. Because such crises cut across organizational and sectoral boundaries, effective response depends not only on the capacity of individual organizations but also on the resilience of interorganizational networks. Yet despite the growing importance of networked coordination in disaster response, the concept of network resilience remains underdeveloped in the literature, with limited consensus on its definition, measurement, and determinants. This dissertation addresses that gap by systematically examining what network resilience is, how it can be conceptualized and assessed, and how it operates in practice across contrasting crisis contexts. Essay 1 uses a systematic literature review following the PRISMA 2020 protocol to examine how network resilience has been defined and measured across prior studies. The review finds that the concept remains fragmented and inconsistently operationalized, limiting theoretical accumulation and empirical comparability. In response, the essay defines network resilience as the capacity of interorganizational networks to anticipate disruptions, absorb shocks while maintaining core functions, and adapt to changing conditions over time. It also identifies four major determinants of network resilience: network structure, network process, network environment, and network leadership, and develops a conceptual framework with propositions for future research. Building on this framework, Essay 2 examines the 2024 Baltimore Key Bridge collapse through qualitative content analysis, social network analysis, and semi-structured expert surveys. The findings show that network resilience was strengthened by rapid interorganizational coordination, evolving structural arrangements, and adaptive leadership that enabled the response network to restore critical infrastructure functions ahead of projected timelines. Essay 3 analyzes the 2025 Los Angeles wildfire response using qualitative content analysis, social network analysis, and semi-structured expert surveys. The results reveal a more fragile pattern of network resilience, in which fragmented governance structures, uneven coordination processes, environmental constraints, and leadership ambiguity limited the network's ability to sustain coordinated action under crisis conditions. The dissertation demonstrates that network resilience is not a static attribute or the product of any single factor, but a multidimensional and relational capacity that emerges through the interaction of structure, process, environment, and leadership. By integrating systematic review with empirical case analysis, this study advances theory on network resilience in interorganizational settings and offers practical insights for strengthening coordination and adaptive capacity in disaster response.

Completion Date

2026

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Kapucu, Naim

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

School of Public Administration

Format

PDF

Document Type

Dissertation

Identifier

DP0053214

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