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Today's supply chains face increasing vulnerabilities; effective management of disruptions is critical to an organization's ability to weather disruptive events and remain competitive. Contingency planning is a method of risk management that promotes effective crisis management. This research tests proposed antecedents of contingency planning effectiveness in a supply chain setting.

A survey method was used to gather data from 103 participants who are involved in their respective organization's contingency planning and implementation processes. The data were analyzed using partial least squares to examine relationships between contingency planning effectiveness, inter‐organizational information technology (IT) use, cooperative attitude, and inter‐organizational collaboration.

The proposed model explains 87 percent of the variance in contingency planning effectiveness. The findings suggest that inter‐organizational collaboration, inter‐organizational IT use, and cooperative attitude directly impact contingency planning effectiveness. Inter‐organizational collaboration mediates the relationships between the other antecedents and contingency planning effectiveness.

Although effective contingency planning has been shown to influence positive outcomes, the relationship between contingency planning effectiveness and its antecedents is not well understood in extant literature. This study identifies and investigates key antecedents to contingency planning effectiveness and provides a foundation for continued investigation.

Identifies major issues of the contingency planning process covered by the Sydney Organizing Committee of Olympic Games (SOCOG) with regard to the various venues. For the evaluation of the findings the Australian Business Excellence Framework has been used. The methodology includes a literature review and five in‐depth interviews with individuals who played an active role in the planning process. The results indicate that as far as the overall planning process is concerned, there has been: a lack of communication between the three levels of hierarchy within SOCOG 2000 (senior management, contingency planning project team and venue teams); a limited involvement of the venue management in the process in all levels; a poor follow up regarding the evaluation and the documentation of the contingency plans made; and a considerable inadequacy in terms of “real life” exercises that would enable the venue teams’ personnel to practice what has been planned.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of a strategic approach (contingency planning) to minimize risk exposure to a supply chain disruption. Specifically, the relationship between several attributes of a contingency planning process and flexibility are examined.

This effort develops a model that will provide both researchers and practitioners a means of determining the attributes with the highest relationship to flexibility. The model is then tested using multiple regression techniques.

Based on the sample used in this survey, top management support, resource alignment, information technology usage, and external collaboration provide the largest contributions to flexibility. Flexibility has been shown to enhance the ability to minimize risk exposure in the event of a supply chain disruption.

In this research effort, the multiple regression results produced an R² of 0.45, indicating that additional variables of interest may need to be identified and investigated. Furthermore, a wider range of respondents could make the results more generalizable.

This effort will help to allow managers at multiple levels to understand the primary planning attributes to use to increase flexibility.

The paper develops a model that can be used to identify the specific areas that can lead to improved flexibility. Based on the model, managers, and planners can develop appropriate strategies for minimizing risk exposure in the event of a supply chain disruption.

This paper presents an analysis of selected participants in a survey of Australian organisations’ approaches to business and information technology (IT) contingency planning. In particular, it examines the role of management in planning and setting priorities for contingency planning, especially in those organisations that have specified that IT is critical to the business operations. The survey was undertaken because there was a perception that coping with disaster is a much‐neglected aspect of management in Australia, and this analysis examines the underlying attitudes. The findings reveal that most organisations are inadequately prepared and fail to take the issue seriously. Business continuity is not rated as a high priority. Managers in the IT area are also expected to take the responsibility for contingency planning for the whole business.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how leaders can benefit from better contingency planning.

This paper is a viewpoint from an acclaimed organizational advisor and specialist in strategic planning.

The paper gives examples of good and bad contingency planning, and offers advice on how to put together a plan.

This paper will help managers develop and implement better strategic contingency plans.

This paper will be very useful for practitioners wanting to learn about contingency planning, or considering whether to write a plan or not. It gives clear step‐by‐step instructions, and uses well‐known examples from practice.

Offers a crisis management critique of the information systems and contingency planning literature and puts forward recommendations for disaster recovery. The internal and hardware focus of disaster recovery permits only partial examination of the causes of disasters and seeks to treat their effects or symptoms rather than to prevent them. Concludes with a series of recommendations for information systems planners. Information systems crises should be perceived as the result of an interaction between a number of internal and external factors. Preventing information systems crises, therefore, requires attention to complex system issues.

In the 1970s and early 1980s several studies recommended using a framework based on a 1977 Hulbert and Toy model for analyzing marketing variances. Proposes adaptation of the model to control the processes of sales planning and sales performance, not the performance of individuals as originally advocated ten to 15 years ago. Emphasizes process improvement, rather than people measurement, consistent with the current quality movement that so many firms have embraced. Implementation of the Hulbert and Toy model requires generation of a revised plan. By comparing the original plan, the revised plan, and actual results, management can identify where improvements in the planning processes may be achieved. The objective is to reduce variation between actual and planned sales. Suggests that reduced planning variances yield a higher quality plan and a more harmonious operation.

To many facilities managers the chance of a major disaster — fire, say, or flood — may seem so remote that the time and expense entailed in planning for it couldn't possibly be justified.

It is conventional for a manufacturing company to equip itself to cope with a demand greater than that considered most likely to arise. Often the costs associated with excess capacity are not high, and so little energy is expended on determining least‐cost solutions and options close to them. Increases in machinery costs in the mid 1970s necessitated one cigarette manufacturer to rethink its policy towards machinery purchase; in particular that governing the size of its machinery contingency allowance—the machinery to hold over and above that required to meet the most likely forecast of demand. This article describes the background to the reframing of this policy on machinery acquisition, including an analysis of the structure of demand for cigarettes and ways of achieving an appropriate level of supply.