A Complex Adaptive Systems View of Resilience in a Project Team

Abstract

Using a complex adaptive systems perspective, this case study explored project team resilience through analysis of group development and panarchy. Three research questions focused on a team's consciousness of a need to change under adversity, its response through adaptive action, and its potential for innovation through creative destruction. The subject team consisted of approximately 200 students, building a solar house over a 2‐year period in an international competition sponsored by the US Department of Energy. A multilevel analysis culminated in an integrated systems perspective with conclusions, specifically the role of environmental feedback. Implications suggest using complex adaptive systems as a theoretical foundation for studying group development, as well as organizational culture, inflection points, nested adaptive cycles, emergence of leadership, and emergence of innovation. This research contributes a deeper understanding of project team resilience in organizational systems such as companies, non‐profits, governmental, and non‐governmental entities by revealing the importance of building adaptive capacity through organizational learning. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.