Cooperative resilience: Toward a heuristic model of collective action in a crisis

Abstract

This paper examines financial cooperatives (credit unions) in Ireland and their response to COVID-19. The paper offers two contributions. The first is the Cooperative Resilience Framework, which highlights the importance of iterative, heuristic responses in building capabilities that enable routine-based responses. These responses, in turn, avoid and absorb the effects of disruption in subsequent similar crises. The second contribution is empirical, demonstrating the how of resilience by offering a better understanding of how the credit unions’ collective actions created dynamic, agile responses that helped them to “bounce forward” after the crisis. Key themes identified include agility, strong social relationships, and decentralized decision-making (empowerment).