Network Structure in Disaster Response: The Mediating Role of Coordination Within a Humanitarian Organizational Network in Uganda

Abstract

There is limited academic endeavour to study the mediating role of coordination in the relation ship between network structure and disaster response in the context of humanitarian organisations. Furthermore, much of the research focuses on identifying challenges rather than offering deeper insights about this study. Moreover, most disaster management research centres on Western countries with well-established response systems and planned coordination. This overlooks the unique realities of less developed countries, such as Uganda, where humanitarian contexts are more com plex and response systems are less organised. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design, utilising quantitative methods. A survey was conducted using questionnaires administered to seventy (70) humanitarian organisations, particularly those that participated in the three (3) Ugandan disasters highlighted in this study. Findings suggest that the structure of the humanitarian organisational network impacts disaster response, and coordination mediates the relationship between network structure and disaster response. The study concludes that disaster response is dependent on a well-structured humanitarian organisational network, and without coordination, disaster response efforts are likely to be ineffective. This study further provides both theoretical and practical implications, especially for disaster scholars and practitioners in developing countries