Measuring organisational resilience: small firms dealing with gas investment cycles
Jerad Ford A , Martie-Louise Verreynne A and John Steen AThe University of Queensland Business School.
The APPEA Journal 56(2) 570-570 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ15076
Published: 2016
Abstract
The capital construction phase of the CSG–LNG projects in Queensland has required significant investment in employment, and provided opportunities for local contractors with spillover effects for the regional economy. As these projects transition into the operational phase they will sustain a different supply chain profile, which has implications for the local economy.
The authors’ primary question is, how do local business adapt to these changes?
Initial results indicate that some businesses adapt better than others. The authors call these small to medium sized (SME) businesses resilient organisations.
Building on data from a survey of SMEs in the gasfields, the authors show how resilient firms are able to learn, adapt, innovate and renew in response to these environmental changes.
The findings suggest ways to support SMEs to adapt to the changes brought about by this economically important industry. The findings from this study also have wider implications for other regions in Australia and around the world that may encounter significant oil and gas investments in the future.
Dr Jerad A. Ford is the Ernst and Young/Australian Institute for Business and Economics (AIBE) Research Fellow at The University of Queensland Business School. His research interests are innovation and business performance, with projects ranging from the study of organisational resilience to the use of open innovation to drive performance. He also presently holds a grant from the Project Management Institute to study decision-making under uncertainty in mega-projects. Jerad comes to academia after 10 years of managerial experience in contract research and development, where he worked in industries like oil and gas, renewable energy and defence. |
Martie-Louise Verreynne is an Associate Professor in Innovation at the University of Queensland Business School. She researches in the areas of small firm innovation and resilience, with a focus on how these firms leverage capabilities and networks to gain a competitive edge. A current ARC Discovery grant looks at technologies of open innovation. Martie-Louise has published widely in leading journals, including Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Journal of Cleaner Production, several Entrepreneurship and Strategy journals as well as the three main small business journals. She presently serves as Assistant Editor to the Journal of Small Business Management. |
John Steen is Associate Professor in Strategy at the University of Queensland Business School and Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Business and Economics. He is presently leading major international research studies on the subject of innovation and productivity in the resources sector and in developing economies. This includes the transition to new digital business models and performance in megacapital (more than $1 billion) projects, particularly in the oil and gas sector. Present partners in these projects include University College London, Cambridge University, Government of Vietnam, Queensland Government, UQ Sustainable Minerals Institute, APPEA and EY. John has given talks on strategy and innovation to businesses and governments in Australia, Asia and Europe. He is presently megaprojects department editor for the Project Management Journal—the research journal of the Project Management Institute. |
