Configurations of Resilience in Inter-Organizational Networks

This study examines how inter-organizational business networks build resilience in the face of crises. Prior research has mainly treated structural characteristics and coordination mechanisms as separate explanations of resilience. However, we still lack a clear understanding of how these elements combine to influence resilience outcomes across networks with varying characteristics. We adopt a configurational perspective and investigate how these elements jointly shape networks’ time to recovery after disruption. Using survey data on 224 Italian formal business networks (“contratti di rete”) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), we identify configurations associated with both resilience and non-resilience. The findings show that resilience consistently depends on the joint presence of resource complementarity and relational coordination, while the role of formal coordination varies across network configurations. More specifically, we develop a scale-contingent view of inter- organizational resilience: in small, vertically organized networks, resource complementarity and relational coordination can sustain fast recovery, whereas in large, horizontally organized networks, fast recovery requires formal coordination alongside relational practices. Overall, this study advances a configurational understanding of network resilience by showing that fast recovery depends on distinct combinations of network structure and coordination mechanisms, rather than on any one-size-fits-all network design.