Ambidexterity capacities for a recovery culture: Combination of logics and emergence of new practices

Abstract

The propensity for public organizations to prioritize short-term over long-term recovery objectives and their lack of involvement with important stakeholders limits capacities for post-disaster recovery. This article approaches these persistent problems as challenges to the ambidexterity of public organizations, and more specifically organizations in charge of civil security that must revise their institutional logics and intervention mechanisms to confront post-disaster recovery mandates. Based on an action research project, we explain how proactive recovery practitioners work to adapt a professional logic based on emergency management to better respond to the challenges of recovery-based institutional ambidexterity. We also identify eight cognitive and structural factors that limit practitioners' ability to develop greater institutional ambidexterity in managing the recovery process. Finally, we present five permanent adaptive spaces that might enable practitioners to develop a recovery culture.