Determinants Of Business Disaster Preparedness In Two U.S. Metropolitan Areas
Files
Date
1995
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Disaster Research Center
Abstract
Although there has been a proliferation of "how to" planning guides
in recent years, there has been very little documentation of the
variation in and determinants of business disaster preparedness.
The few studies that have been conducted have focused on specific
firms or industrial sectors, such as the chemical or tourist
industry, or have been plagued by too few cases. These problems
clearly limit the generalizability of the research findings. This
paper attempts to fill a void in the literature by exploring the
determinants and variation of planning within the private sector
utilizing two stratified random samples of businesses from
Memphis/Shelby County, Tennessee (N=737), and Des Moines/Polk
County, Iowa (N=1079). Findings show that business size, whether
the business property is owned or leased, and prior disaster
experience are all related to business disaster preparedness in
both study areas. Type of business was related to preparedness
among businesses in Mernphis/Shelby County. Policy implications of
the findings are discussed.
Description
Keywords
Business Disaster, Metropolitan, Shelby County, Tennessee