Self-organisation, adaptability, organisational networks and inter-organisational coordination: empirical evidence from humanitarian organisations in Uganda
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Abstract
To coordinate humanitarian organisations with different mandates that flock the scenes
of disasters to save lives and respond to varied needs arising from the increased number of victims is
not easy. Therefore, the level at which organisations self-organise, network and adapt to the dynamic
operational environment may be related to inter-organisational coordination. The authors studied selforganisation,
organisational networks and adaptability as important and often overlooked organisational
factors hypothesised to be related to inter-organisational coordination in the context of humanitarian
organisations.
Design/methodology/approach – The study’s sample consisted of 101 humanitarian organisations with
315 respondents. To decrease the problem of common method variance, the authors split the samples within
each humanitarian organisation into two subsamples: one subsample was used for the measurement of selforganisation,
organisational network and adaptability, while the other was for the measurement of interorganisational
coordination.
Findings – The partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis using SmartPLS
3.2.8 indicated that self-organisation is related to inter-organisational coordination. Organisational network
and adaptability were found to be mediators for the relationship between self-organisation and interorganisational
coordination and all combined accounted for 57.8% variance in inter-organisational
coordination.
Research limitations/implications – The study was cross sectional, hence imposing a limitation on
changes in perceptions over time. Perhaps, a longitudinal study in future is desirable. Data were collected only
from humanitarian organisations that had delivered relief to refugees in the stated camps by 2018. Above all,
this study considered self-organisation, adaptability and organisational networks in the explanation of interorganisational
coordination, although there are other factors that could still be explored.
Practical implications – A potential implication is that humanitarian organisations which need to
coordinate with others in emergency situations may need to examine their ability to self-organise, network
and adapt. Social implications – Social transformation is a function of active social entities that cannot work in
isolation. Hence, for each to be able to make a contribution to meaningful social change, there is need to
develop organisational networks with sister organisations so as to secure rare resources that facilitate
change efforts coupled with the ability to reorganise themselves and adapt to changing environmental
circumstances.
Originality/value – The paper examines (1) the extent to which self-organisation, adaptability and
organisational networks influence inter-organisational coordination; (2) the mediating role of both adaptability
and organisational networks between self-organisation and inter-organisational coordination in the context of
humanitarian organisations against the backdrop of complex adaptive system (CAS) theory.
Description
Keywords
Self-organisation, Adaptability, Organisational networks, Inter-organisational coordination, Humanitarian organisations
Citation
Mutebi, H., Ntayi, J. M., Muhwezi, M., & Munene, J. C. K. (2020). Self-organisation, adaptability, organisational networks and inter-organisational coordination: empirical evidence from humanitarian organisations in Uganda. Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management. DOI 10.1108/JHLSCM-10-2019-0074