7. Conclusion
By demonstrating the changes in an organization’s knowledge and the improvement of performance at individual, group and organizational levels, this study suggests that learning triggered by disaster is not exceptional learning. The interruptions generated by the earthquakes audited the knowledge repositories of the organization, revealing its weaknesses and strengths. Knowledge learned through previous emergencies can thus be exploited and used to explore new solutions (Crossan et al., 1999). Routines connect all three levels of learning. Individuals seek knowledge from routines, groups coordinate according to routines and newly acquired knowledge is embedded in the organization’s internal routines. Christianson et al. (2009) pointed out that: “learning through rare events refers to discovering and strengthening a set of organizing routines that facilitate the resumption of activity as the interruption winds down rather than simply learning about the content of the rare events” (p. 850). Therefore one way to “normalize” OL through disasters is to consider the learning in relation to future planning and responses (Richardson and Ardagh, 2013). The knowledge in AIMAG’s repositories will be again audited during subsequent interruptions and again be updated and recorded. However, this study also points out that OL should be instituted and incorporated into AIMAG at a deeper level. The risk management should not be limited to disaster response and recovery. A complete and effective business continuity plan needs to be established to ensure the financial, operational and productive performance. Future research could investigate how public service organizations, such as utilities, learn through disasters and how can they effectively implement the lessons acquired. The features of AIMAG’s services, its ownership structure and its history with local authorities facilitated the coordination and the communication with the local municipalities in the aftermath of the earthquakes. Natural hazards are localized to geographical regions, which require the collaboration with the stakeholders at multiple levels of government. Future research could focus on the interaction between an organization and its key stakeholders to further the understanding of community resilience. Though this is a single case study, it provides rich and in-depth findings on how and what a multi-utility learned through the interruptions triggered by the earthquakes. They contribute to “normalizing” the OL triggered by disasters. The timeframe of learning is extended, by considering how the learning that occurred through the disasters relates to an organization’s past and future. Our study also suggests that the learning happens at all levels inside an organization and routines play a critical linking role. Case studies are great teaching tools and yield out fruitful managerial implications. This study reveals the importance of growing the capability that allows organizations to learn through interruptions and the necessity of building up resilient routines that contribute to form learning capabilities.
