Examining organizational collaboration and resource flows of disaster response system based on a time-dynamic perspective

Abstract

Increasing the efficiency of organizational collaboration and resource flows is key to improving the emergency response performance. Given that previous studies did not consider the interactions and dynamic characteristics of emergency response organizations and resources, this study divided the emergency response into four stages and analyzed the relationship between organizational collaboration and resource flows by combining the network attributes of emergency response goals at each stage. The 2022 Luding earthquake was selected as a case study, and a multisource mixed data method was used to identify 381 organizations and 2496 organizational relationships. Using the social network analysis, the dynamic evolution characteristics of the emergency response networks (ERNs) and organization-resource two-mode networks were analyzed. The results showed that the ERNs generally exhibited the following trends: a more compact structure, balanced distribution, evolution from decentralization to centralization, and homogenous organizational collaboration. A correlation existed between changes in the organizational status and ERN attributes, with government organizations always at the core and non-profit organizations gradually rising. The evolution of the resources was closely related to the network attributes and organizational relationships. We identified the strengths of China's current emergency management system, such as enhanced performance, improved information infrastructure, and emphasis on the engagement of the military and social organizations. We recommend the following for future practice: enhancing the information technology system, establishing a mechanism for the participation of social forces, and strengthening the management of emergency stockpiles. These will help improve the disaster emergency management performance and reduce casualties and losses.