A decision model for involvement in vulnerability reduction

Abstract

Purpose

To develop a decision model supporting employee involvement in industrial vulnerability reduction.

Design/methodology/approach

A synthesis review of some of the relevant extant literature on technological/industrial vulnerability, and their application within a normative decision‐making model (i.e. the “Vroom‐Yetton model”).

Findings

The insights on vulnerability drawn from the literature are highly amenable to a systematic decision‐making model for employee involvement. Various aspects of vulnerability, specifically with regard to substantial, social and temporal dimensions may be included in such a model.

Research limitations/implications

New insights about the context‐dependent aspects of vulnerability are offered by considering these within a contingency decision model. This suggests that vulnerability categories are not absolute, but have to be assessed in relation to a specific decision‐making framework.

Practical implications

The developed model provides a way of weighting various dimensions of vulnerability and making more appropriate decisions regarding leadership style in a range of circumstances.

Originality/value

While decision models exist for assessing risk in organizations, no contingency model for employee involvement in vulnerability assessment has been presented to date.

Citation

Hellström, T. (2005), "A decision model for involvement in vulnerability reduction", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 196-205. https://doi.org/10.1108/09653560510595191