Business Continuity Management, Business Continuity Planning, IT Capability: A Framework for Always-on Business

Following the logic of this book, the aim of this chapter is to propose and empirically test a model with relationships between organisational BCM capability, organisational IT capability, and business performance. The proposed model shows that business continuity management (BCM) and information technology capability interact to improve business performance. In practice, the model encourages organizations to invest money, time, and resources in order to strengthen their BCM and take advantage of IT capability, which may result in increased organizational performance by ensuring always-on business. Always-on business refers to a system’s availability and operability being available 24/7/365. The high level of IT adoption in the business means that downtime is almost certain at some point. In order to fulfil customer expectations, it is critical to proactively plan for such contingencies and be prepared to deliver some level of core services during these times. In other words, where a large number of procedures are carried out online, always-on business is a requirement for success in any industry. As a result, it is clear that company continuity is essential for achieving long-term success in business. A rational relationship and antecedent role of BCM capability is also imposed due to the fact that it is defined as the holistic approach of setting guidelines and capabilities for ensuring the survival of critical infrastructure, people, services, and businesses during and after a catastrophic event, hence, supporting both IT capability and organisational business performance.