ABSTRACT

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the effects of a natural disaster on businesses and organisations, and on a range of stakeholders, including employees and consumers. Research on how communities and businesses respond to disasters can inform policy and mitigate the cost and impacts of future disasters. This book discusses how places recover following a disaster and the vital roles that business and other organisations play.

This volume gives a detailed understanding of business, organisational and consumer responses to the Christchurch earthquake sequence of 2010-2011, which caused 185 deaths, the loss of over 70 per cent of buildings in the city’s CBD, major infrastructure damage, and severely affected the city’s image. Despite the devastation, the businesses, organisations and people of Christchurch are now undergoing significant recovery.

The book sheds significant new light not only on business and organisation response to disaster but on how business and urban systems may be made more resilient.

part I|20 pages

Context

chapter 1|18 pages

Introduction

The business, organisational and destination impacts of natural disasters – the Christchurch earthquakes 2010–2011

part II|98 pages

Business and organisational responses and relationships

chapter 2|12 pages

Why stay?

The resilience of small firms in Christchurch and their owners

chapter 4|17 pages

After the shock

Employee turnover decision-making in a post-crisis context

chapter 6|18 pages

I do (not) want you back!

(Re)gentrification of the arts centre, Christchurch

part III|60 pages

Consumer and communication responses

chapter 8|11 pages

From brand love to brand divorce

The effect of a disruption in supply on consumer–brand relationships

chapter 10|12 pages

It's not all dark!

Christchurch residents' emotions and coping strategies with dark tourism sites

chapter 11|12 pages

Telling tales

Some implications for response agencies from stories of informal personal communication in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake

part IV|70 pages

Learning from ‘the new normal'