Decoupling Organizational Resilience from Adaptive Capacity: A Reconceptualization of Dynamic Managerial Cognition Under Volatility Regimes

Abstract

Contemporary business management scholarship has long conflated organizational resilience with adaptive capacity, treating them as functionally interchangeable constructs. This paper critically interrogates that assumption by disaggregating both concepts through the lens of dynamic managerial cognition theory and volatility regime analysis. Employing a mixed-methods design across 214 multinational enterprises operating in high-turbulence markets (2021–2024), we apply structural equation modelling and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to isolate the distinct antecedents and performance outcomes of each construct. Findings reveal that resilience and adaptive capacity follow divergent causal pathways, with managerial mental models functioning as an asymmetric moderating variable. These results challenge prevailing resource-based assumptions and carry significant implications for executive decision-making frameworks, strategic human capital allocation, and organizational design in environments characterized by compounding systemic disruptions.