Dynamic Capabilities and Adaptation Under Uncertainty: How Disaster Relief Nonprofits Adjust to the Environment

ABSTRACT Natural disasters significantly impact the economy and human well‐being. Disaster relief nonprofits play an important role in supporting disaster survivors by providing complementary and often irreplaceable services. Given the turbulent environment and the substantial influence of nonprofit services on the recovery of disaster survivors, it is necessary for nonprofits to adjust to the environment in a prompt and effective manner. Further research is needed to understand how nonprofit managers operationalize organizational capabilities to process adaptation. Using interview data from active disaster relief nonprofits in Arizona, New Jersey, and Florida, this study identifies the capabilities and processes through which these organizations achieve adaptation, conceptualized as a rhizomic model characterized by strategic connectivity, temporal simultaneity, and directional flexibility. The findings advance the literature by revealing the rhizomatic nature of nonprofit adaptation and identifying specific approaches applied by organizations of varying sizes across multiple states. The flexibility of adaptation procedures also provides implications for disaster relief nonprofit leaders by emphasizing the importance of cross‐level collaboration, decentralized leadership, and ongoing evaluation and learning to promote effective adaptations.