Communication Markers of Resilience: Activity, Timing, and Mechanisms of Effective Communication Amidst Adverse Events

This dissertation examines the role of communication in resilience during adversity, using large-scale empirical data from varied organizational contexts. Defining adversity as events that disrupt standard routines, causing distress and hardship, this research identifies specific communication behaviors that help effectively respond to it. It focuses on objectively measured communication data, enabling a precise analysis of real-time communication dynamics during adversities.
The dissertation encompasses extensive datasets across different settings. It examines communication in two water supply organizations, analyzing 5,521 disruptions with 135,123 phone conversations over 14 months in the first, and 1,177 disruptions with 184,795 conversations over six months in the second. These analyses reveal the importance of adapting inter- and intra-departmental communication activity to disruption concurrence level, as well as establishing coordination stability and flexibility through four communication mechanisms.
Additionally, the research investigates a virtual hackathon, studying the communication and performance of 71 teams through 6,638 interactions on a digital platform over three days. The findings here highlight effective strategies such as "bursty" communication and minimizing multicommunication, associating these patterns with higher team performance in this high-pressure context.
By categorizing communication behaviors into activity, timing, and mechanisms, this dissertation demonstrates how resilience manifests through specific communication practices. The results underscore that resilience is influenced not merely by communication frequency but also by its temporal distribution and underlying mechanisms which should be adapted to the adversity level and source. This comprehensive analysis provides valuable insights for organizations, suggesting how to nurture communication markers of resilience under various adverse conditions.