Title: Learning from operational planning

Authors: Dianka C. Zuiderwijk; Riana Steen; Pedro N.P. Ferreira

Addresses: Department of Social Sciences, Organization Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands ' Department of Accounting and Operations Management, BI Norwegian Business School, Byfjordparken 17, 4007 Stavanger, Norway ' CENTEC – Instituto Superior Técnico IST, University of Lisbon, Avenida Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal

Abstract: Institutional and regulatory approaches to planning are still primarily based on linearity and predictability and show a trend towards centralised control and prescriptive planning. A second trend recognises unpredictability in complex operations and focuses on dealing with the changeable nature of work. We refer to this adaptive type of planning as operational planning (OP). In this paper, we argue that a shift towards more control and prescriptive planning can undermine this critical adaptive capability in the completion of complex operations. Triggered by lessons drawn from three different studies, we demonstrate that fostering this adaptive capability in complex operations necessitates a shift in how uncertainty is addressed in institutional and regulatory systems. While exploratory, our findings add to a more complete picture of OP and its relevance to the reliability of complex operations.

Keywords: complex operations; operational planning; uncertainty; adaptive capability; inter-organisational.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBCRM.2023.131863

International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management, 2023 Vol.13 No.2, pp.165 - 187

Received: 25 Dec 2021
Received in revised form: 06 Jun 2022
Accepted: 10 Jun 2022
Published online: 04 Jul 2023 *

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