This thesis aims to understand how owner-managers of SMEs in a developing country manage their organizations in a turbulent environment, and how they seek to create resilience in their organizations in this context. Specifically, this thesis investigates the major factors influencing the management strategies of infrastructure construction sector SMEs in North Cyprus. The primary data for the research was collected from owner-managers of infrastructure construction SMEs in North Cyprus that held a Class-1 classification in the sector, allowing them to participate in infrastructure projects in North Cyprus. Twelve SMEs with Class-1 classification are identified in the Building Construction Association of North Cyprus (CT-BCA), of which nine out of twelve consented to participate in the research. A qualitative research approach was adopted, with primary data gathered through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with these owner-managers; the collected data was then subjected to thematic analysis. The research found that the most influential factors influencing the management strategies of SMEs in North Cyprus were the macro characteristics of the socio-political environment, the individual characteristics of the owner-managers, and the characteristics of the infrastructure construction sector itself. These factors, which are linked in deep and nuanced ways, were discovered to impact the perceptions of the owner-managers and to affect their approaches towards the management of their SMEs. By evaluating the interaction between these factors, this research identified that infrastructure construction SMEs in North Cyprus operate in a complex system, where the approach to their management is identified as dissipative. Overall, the findings indicate that SMEs in North Cyprus take a reactive approach to management within this complex system, an approach that is itself related to ever-changing relationships between the key individual and environmental factors mitigating owner-managers' personal, sectorial and wider country circumstances. In this complex context, these SMEs cannot follow a systematic approach to management. Therefore, the resilience of these SMEs is found to lie in the adaptation of management strategies of SME owner-managers in the presence of disturbances, by experimenting and adjusting themselves in the existence of disturbances throughout their history.

Esta tese investigou como o uso do Sistema de Controle Gerencial influencia na gestão da resiliência organizacional de uma empresa brasileira. A escolha pelo modelo teórico \"Levers of Control\" de Robert Simons (1995, 2000) está vinculada ao seu objetivo que é analisar quais são os sistemas de controle gerencial utilizados pela organização para promover a renovação da estratégia organizacional, com isto auxiliar na gestão da resiliência estratégica da organização. Desenvolveu-se um survey single entity em uma empresa do setor de comércio de derivados de petróleo, com estrutura, porte e sistema de controle gerencial demandados para a investigação. A empresa escolhida foi conveniente pois, no momento da pesquisa, estava vivenciando um momento de tensão em relação a sua estrutura e modo de funcionamento. O levantamento dos dados ocorreu a partir de um questionário enviado aos executivos de diversas áreas da organização abrangendo uma amostra de 64 gestores organizacionais. Os resultados suportam a hipótese de que o uso do sistema de controle gerencial impacta positivamente na resiliência estratégica porque permite uma visão estruturada para ação e reação das organizações. Observou-se que elevados níveis do uso do sistema de controle gerencial nas formas de sistemas de crenças, restrições, uso diagnóstico e uso interativo aumentam a capacidade da organização para a resiliência ao atuarem de forma proativa, com visão estratégica frente às adversidades do cenário empresarial, proporcionando a renovação da estratégica proposta por Simons (1995). Dentre as contribuições da pesquisa, destacam-se: (i) a discussão sobre o sistema de controle gerencial sob o prisma das alavancas de controle gerencial de Simons (1995, 2000) no cenário nacional e sua associação com a teoria da resiliência organizacional; (ii) o desenvolvimento e a validação de uma ferramenta para mensurar resiliência estratégica no nível empresarial; e (iii) do ponto de vista prático, este estudo auxilia os gerentes a decidirem qual padrão de controle melhor se adequa às circunstâncias em que operam e aos seus desafios estratégicos, contribuindo para a compreensão de como o uso do sistema de controle gerencial impacta a resiliência no ambiente organizacional. / This Ph.D. dissertation investigated how the use of the Management Control System influences in the management of organizational resilience in a Brazilian company. The choice by the theoretical model named \"Levers of Control\" by Robert Simons (1995, 2000) is linked to its purpose to analyze which are the management control systems used by the organization to provide the strategic renewal and helping with the organization\'s strategic resilience management. A survey single entity developed in a Brazilian oil derivative trading company with structure, size and management control system required for the research. The chosen company was convenient because, at the time of the research, it was experiencing a moment of tension in relation to its structure and mode of operation. The data were collected based on a questionnaire sent to executives from different departments, covering a sample of 64 organizational managers. The results support the hypothesis that the use of the management control system has a positive impact on the strategic resilience because it allows a structured view for organizations\' action and reaction. Thus, it was observed that high levels of the use of the management control system in the forms of beliefs systems, boundary systems, diagnostic control system and interactive control system increase the organization\'s capacity for resilience by acting in a proactive way, with strategic vision facing the business context\'s adversities, providing the strategic renewal proposed by Simons (1995). Among the research contributions, the following stand out: (i) the theoretical discussion about the Management Control System through the prism of Levers of Control by Simons (1995, 2000) in the national scenario, and its association with the organizational resilience theory; (ii) the development and validation of a tool to measure strategic resilience at the organizational level; and (iii) the practical point of view, this research helps managers to decide which pattern of control best fits the circumstances in which they operate and their strategic challenges, contribute to understanding how the use of management control system impacts on the resilience in the organizational environment.

Research was undertaken for this thesis to uncover characteristics of resilient volunteers and stewardship groups, both of which are a major element of the social mobilisation strategy used in Australia to manage natural resources. The ability of volunteers and groups to overcome problems, deal with new issues as they arise, and keep going under pressure is termed 'resilience'. A 'resilience management' approach to natural resource management uses the idea of 'adaptive change' or panarchy to understand the development of resilience and thus, sustainability in human communities. According to this theory, sustainable communities are both changeable and stable, adapting to new situations as they arise. The research approach used in the study is called 'phenomenography'. It is an interpretive approach, based on the central assumption that there is variation in the ways in which people experience the same phenomenon. Phenomenography was used to see if lessons about resilience and sustainability could be learnt from catchment volunteers. All participants were 'catchment volunteers' working along the east coast of Queensland. They were drawn from a variety of organisations and programs including Landcare; Coastcare; Bushcare; Greening Australia; Waterwatch; treeplanting groups; and Integrated Catchment Management Committees. A total of 26 personal and group interviews involving 85 participants were conducted. Interviews comprised a series of semi-structured questions that were tape-recorded, then transcribed verbatim. Through a process of comparing and contrasting themes in the transcriptions, six conceptions emerged. These were: catchment volunteering was experienced as seeking and maintaining balance; developing/maintaining an identity; empowerment; learning; networking; and sustainable. Analysis of these themes was used to develop a model of catchment volunteer experiences depicting relationships between conceptions (termed the 'Outcome Space' in phenomenography). In this study the Outcome Space emerged as a set of scales, signifying the importance of keeping a balanced perspective on volunteering - a balance between things such as personal goals and organisational goals; between dedication to an unpaid vocation and family life; and between social benefits and environmental benefits. From the Outcome Space, several conceptual and practical outcomes were developed. These included: a typology of participation based on volunteer experiences; a table describing forms of empowerment in catchment volunteering; a table listing drivers for catchment volunteers; an illustration of Holling and Gunderson's adaptive cycle as it applies to stewardship groups; a table of factors that enhance the resilience and sustainability of stewardship groups; a model of the relationship between external pressures and resilient, sustainable stewardship groups; and guidelines for developing resilient sustainable stewardship groups. These outcomes contribute to an understanding of individual, group and community level responses to environmental issues; and how resilience can be developed in volunteers and stewardship groups and programs.