Beyond Bureaucratic Rigidity: A Dynamic Capability Framework for Public Sector Disaster Response
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/jpan.v17i1.45351Keywords:
Dynamic Capabilities, Disaster Management, Adaptive Bureaucracy, Public Technology, Emergency GovernanceAbstract
This study investigates how public institutions apply dynamic capabilities in disaster management to strengthen adaptability and resilience. The research focuses on institutions such as BNPB and BPBD, collecting data through in-depth interviews, field observations, and document analysis using a qualitative case study approach. Grounded theory elements guide the inductive development of a conceptual framework based on three key components: sensing, seizing, and transforming. The study finds that traditional bureaucratic structures often rigid and hierarchical are poorly suited to handle the fast-paced and complex nature of disasters. Institutions that can detect early signals, coordinate strategic actions, and adapt organizational routines in real time show greater responsiveness. Key enablers of this capacity include technological integration, inter-agency collaboration, and continuous learning processes. The research contributes theoretically by contextualizing the dynamic capabilities framework within public governance, moving beyond its original business-oriented formulation. It offers insights for institutional reform by identifying adaptive patterns in disaster response that can inform more flexible, data-driven, and sustainable emergency governance models. These findings provide a foundation for improving the agility of public institutions in navigating future uncertainties and crisis environments.
References
Abdullahi, U., Martadha Mohamed, A., & Senasi, V. (2024). Digital orientation and organizational resilience: the contingent effect of dynamic capabilities. Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure, 1(1), 1–18.
Battisti, M., & Deakins, D. (2017). The relationship between dynamic capabilities, the firm’s resource base and performance in a post-disaster environment. International Small Business Journal, 35(1), 78–98.
Bertrand, M., Burgess, R., Chawla, A., & Xu, G. (2016). The costs of bureaucratic rigidity: Evidence from the Indian Administrative Service. Unpublished Working Paper. University of Chicago.
Cvetkovic, V. M., Tanasic, J., Ocal, A., Kesetovic, Z., Nikolic, N., & Dragasevic, A. (2021). Capacity development of local self-governments for disaster risk management. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(19), 10406.
Fu, K.-J., & Chang, T.-W. (2019). Toward an integrative framework of dynamic capabilities in innovation-based public services: Empirical analysis in Taiwan. Chinese Public Administration Review, 10(1), 60–76.
Handelman, D. (1981). Introduction: the idea of bureaucratic organization. Social Analysis, 9, 5–23.
Jiang, Y., Ritchie, B. W., & Verreynne, M.-L. (2022a). A resource-based typology of dynamic capability: Managing tourism in a turbulent environment. Journal of Travel Research, 61(5), 1006–1023.
Jiang, Y., Ritchie, B. W., & Verreynne, M.-L. (2022b). A resource-based typology of dynamic capability: Managing tourism in a turbulent environment. Journal of Travel Research, 61(5), 1006–1023.
Jiang, Y., Ritchie, B. W., & Verreynne, M.-L. (2023). Building dynamic capabilities in tourism organisations for disaster management: Enablers and barriers. In Knowledge Management, Organisational Learning and Sustainability in Tourism (pp. 77–102). Routledge.
Kaltenbrunner, K., & Reichel, A. (2018). Crisis response via dynamic capabilities: a necessity in NPOs’ capability building: insights from a study in the European refugee aid. Voluntas, 29, 994–1007.
Kleinknecht, A., Kwee, Z., & Budyanto, L. (2015). Rigidity by flexibility: Flexible work and the growth of management bureaucracies. Wirtschaftsdienst, 95, 851–856.
Kristian, I. (2022). Decision making in disaster management operations: Challenges and opportunities. Jurnal Manajemen Publik dan Kebijakan Publik, 4(2), 82–91.
Kristian, I. (2022). Sustainable development and public policy revitalization. The International Journal of Education Management and Sociology, 1(2), 41–50.
Kristinawati, D. (2024). Managing dynamic capability in the public sector. International Conference on Sustainable Collaboration in Business, Technology, Information, and Innovation, 339–353.
Liu, R., & Fan, B. (2023). Roles of institutions and dynamic capability in the relationship between collaboration and performance in emergency management: Evidence from 110 cases in Shanghai. Journal of Chinese Governance, 8(2), 206–233.
Loureiro, R., Ferreira, J. J. M., & Simoes, J. M. M. (2021). Dynamic capabilities in public sector: theoretical insights and research agenda. International Journal of Business Excellence, 25(2), 233–260.
Martinelli, E., Tagliazucchi, G., & Marchi, G. (2018). The resilient retail entrepreneur: Dynamic capabilities for facing natural disasters. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 24(7), 1222–1243.
Mazar, M., Gossett, K., & Shashi, M. (2024). Sustainable strategies for improving humanitarian supply chain management in the United Nations using dynamic capability theory. Standards, 4(4), 154–175.
Mishra, J. L., Chiwenga, K. D., Mishra, N., & Choudhary, S. (2022). Extending dynamic capabilities towards lean thinking in humanitarian supply chains. Production Planning & Control, 33(6–7), 655–675.
Monteiro, P., & Adler, P. S. (2022). Bureaucracy for the 21st century: Clarifying and expanding our view of bureaucratic organization. Academy of Management Annals, 16(2), 427–475.
Parsons, M., Glavac, S., Hastings, P., Marshall, G., McGregor, J., McNeill, J., Morley, P., Reeve, I., & Stayner, R. (2016). Top-down assessment of disaster resilience: A conceptual framework using coping and adaptive capacities. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 19, 1–11.
Polater, A. (2021a). Dynamic capabilities in humanitarian supply chain management: A systematic literature review. Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 11(1), 46–80.
Polater, A. (2021b). Dynamic capabilities in humanitarian supply chain management: A systematic literature review. Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 11(1), 46–80.
Prayag, G., Jiang, Y., Chowdhury, M., Hossain, M. I., & Akter, N. (2024). Building dynamic capabilities and organizational resilience in tourism firms during COVID-19: A staged approach. Journal of Travel Research, 63(3), 713–740.
Rosenback, R., & Eriksson, K. M. (2024). COVID-19 healthcare success or failure? Crisis management explained by dynamic capabilities. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 759.
Sanford, A. G., Blum, D., & Smith, S. L. (2020). Seeking stability in unstable times: COVID-19 and the bureaucratic mindset. In COVID-19 (pp. 47–60). Routledge.
Son, B. G., Roscoe, S., & Sodhi, M. S. (2025). Dynamic capabilities of global and local humanitarian organizations with emergency response and long-term development missions. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 45(1), 1–32.
Sorensen, E., & Torfing, J. (2024). The ideational robustness of bureaucracy. Policy and Society, 43(2), 141–158.
Turyahikayo, E. (2018). Bureaucratic rigidity, risk aversion and knowledge generation and utilization in the public sector: Reality or illusion. Management and Organizational Studies, 5(3), 9–16.
Valantiejiene, D., Butkeviciene, J., & Smakova, V. (2022). Dynamic capabilities in social purpose organisation during critical event: Case study analysis. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 78, 103125.
Vanderhorst, H. R., Suresh, S., Renukappa, S., & Heesom, D. (2021). Strategic framework of unmanned aerial systems integration in the disaster management public organisations of the Dominican Republic. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 56, 102088.
Wei, C., Wang, J., Wu, H., Xu, Z., & Zhang, J. (2025). The dynamic capabilities of county-level government in China during the outbreak of large-scale epidemics: A study based on three cases. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1562915.
Zavattaro, S. M., & McCue, C. P. (2025). Dynamic capabilities, COVID-19, and public sector death management: Introducing the dirty work micro-foundational capability. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 10793739251322412.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Indra Kristian, Yudiyanto Tri Kurniawan, Thalita Rifda Khaerani, Iwan Pramana, Frederic Kornelius Marbun
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
-
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license that allows others to share the work with acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
-
Authors may enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., posting it to an institutional repository or publishing it in a book), with acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
-
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their personal websites) prior to and during the submission process, as this can lead to productive exchanges and earlier, greater citation of the published work (see The Effect of Open Access).