Resilient organizations and academic institutions have been identified as contributing immensely to resilient communities. The majority of organizations showing preparedness to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 have deployed an efficient organizational resilience framework. Yet, there is little research on organizational resilience, and the conceptualization of resilience as a complex variable has not been achieved. Focusing on the higher education sector in the UAE during the COVID-19 pandemic, the current study aims to contribute to this promising research area by exploring and expanding a theoretical model on organizational capabilities that constitute organizational resilience. A qualitative phenomenological research design was utilized, where a total of 13 executives from reputable universities were interviewed, followed by a thematic analysis of the data. Findings provided deep insight into the status of universities in the UAE that are currently in the early adaptation stage of the current crisis. Organizational resilience was conceptualized as a process that comprises three successive stages (anticipation, coping, and adaptation), five key antecedents (knowledge, resources availability, social resources, power relationships, and innovative culture), and two main moderators (crisis leadership traits and employee resilience). Important findings were also identified on the needed crisis leadership styles. Recommendations for practice and research are discussed.

弹性组织和学术机构已被确定为对弹性社区做出了巨大贡献。大多数准备减轻 COVID-19 影响的组织都部署了有效的组织弹性框架。然而，关于组织复原力的研究很少，复原力作为一个复杂变量的概念化还没有实现。本研究重点关注 COVID-19 大流行期间阿联酋的高等教育部门，旨在通过探索和扩展构成组织复原力的组织能力的理论模型，为这一有前途的研究领域做出贡献。采用了定性的现象学研究设计，共采访了来自知名大学的 13 名高管，其次是对数据的主题分析。调查结果深入了解了目前处于当前危机早期适应阶段的阿联酋大学的状况。组织弹性被概念化为一个过程，包括三个连续阶段（预期、应对和适应）、五个关键前因（知识、资源可用性、社会资源、权力关系和创新文化）和两个主要调节因素（危机领导特质和员工弹性）。还确定了有关所需危机领导风格的重要发现。讨论了实践和研究的建议。组织弹性被概念化为一个过程，包括三个连续阶段（预期、应对和适应）、五个关键前因（知识、资源可用性、社会资源、权力关系和创新文化）和两个主要调节因素（危机领导特质和员工弹性）。还确定了有关所需危机领导风格的重要发现。讨论了实践和研究的建议。组织弹性被概念化为一个过程，包括三个连续阶段（预期、应对和适应）、五个关键前因（知识、资源可用性、社会资源、权力关系和创新文化）和两个主要调节因素（危机领导特质和员工弹性）。还确定了有关所需危机领导风格的重要发现。讨论了实践和研究的建议。