Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T16:11:52.516Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Aftershock: Business relocation decisions in the wake of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Stephen Bowden
Stephen Bowden*
Affiliation:
Department of Strategy & Human Resource Management, Waikato Management School, Waikato University, Hamilton, New Zealand
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper examines four businesses that were located in Christchurch's CBD prior to the earthquake on February 22, 2011. Immediately following the quake Christchurch's CBD was cordoned off and for many Christchurch businesses it was necessary to find new premises in an environment of extreme uncertainty and very limited information. The four businesses used in this study were all required to relocate, however the specifics of their situations differed. All four businesses examined were larger professional services firms (lawyers, accountants, architects or engineers) who had a national presence. Given the limited number of suitable and available properties speed was of the essence in relocating. Through the four cases we explore how rapidly each firm initiated and completed the relocation process and the factors influencing their speed. We examine the means by which new premises were secured and the plans in regard to immediate and longer term business location. Finally, we explore the impact of relocation and the earthquake more broadly for these firms. The results obtained highlight the differences between the firms based on both initial conditions and the way each firm managed the process.

Keywords

managing disasterenvironmental joltsbusiness relocation
Type
Managing for the Human Spirit – ANZAM Members Reflect on the Christchurch earthquake and Queensland floods
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 17 , Issue 6: 25th ANZAM Anniversary Edition Remembering 2011: Managing for the Human Spirit , November 2011 , pp. 857 - 863
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 99–120.Google Scholar
Bradley, S., Aldrich, H., Shepherd, D., & Wiklund, J. (2011). Resources, environmental change and survival: Asymmetric paths of young independent and subsidiary organisations. Strategic Management Journal, 32, 486–509.Google Scholar
Gersick, C. (1991). Revolutionary change theories: A multilevel exploration of the punctuated equilibrium paradigm. Academy of Management Review, 16(1), 10–36.Google Scholar
Goll, I., & Rasheed, A. (2011). The effects of 9/11/2001 on business strategy variability in the US air carrier industry. Management Decision, 49(6), 948–961.Google Scholar
Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91, 481–510.Google Scholar
Haveman, H. (1992). Between a rock and a hard place: Organisational change and performance under conditions of fundamental environmental transformation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(1), 48–75.Google Scholar
Hrebiniak, L., & Joyce, W. (1985). Organisational adaptation: Strategic choice and environmental determinism. Administrative Science Quarterly, 30(3), 336–349.Google Scholar
Leonard-Barton, D. (1992). Core capabilities and core rigidities: A paradox in managing new product development. Strategic Management Journal, 13, 111–125.Google Scholar
Meyer, A. (1982). Adapting to environmental jolts. Administrative Science Quarterly, 27(4), 515–537.Google Scholar
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organisational advantage. Academy ofManagement Review, 23, 242–266.Google Scholar
Nelson, R., & Winter, S. (1982). An evolutionary theory of economic change. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Romanelli, E. (1989). Environments and strategies of organisation start-up: Effects on early survival. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34(3), 369–387.Google Scholar
Ruef, M. (1997). Assessing organisational fitness on a dynamic landscape: An empirical test of the relative inertia thesis. Strategic Management Journal, 18, 837–853.Google Scholar
Wan, W., & Yiu, D. (2009). From crisis to opportunity: Environmental jolt, corporate acquisitions, and firm performance. Strategic Management Journal, 30, 790–801.Google Scholar