Understanding Stakeholder Roles in Business Continuity Management Practices – a Study in Public Sector

Natural disasters, power cuts and fires do not discriminate, but they happen to both private and public organizations. Prior literature has agreed that business continuity management (BCM) requires commitment from all levels of an organization. However, the roles of different internal and external stakeholders in BCM practices have not been discussed in prior literature. This study focuses on BCM stakeholders in continuity practices in the public sector. We report the results of a qualitative case study with 16 interviews. The support from senior and middle management was expected, IT experts were valued, the role of users was not deemed important, and external service providers were trusted partners but also considered “the biggest headaches” by the interviewed managers.