So called wicked problems or grand challenges lead to major changes and disruptions within nearly all areas of society and economy. To address grand challenges, which are global and characterized with complexity and uncertainty (Ferraro et al., 2015), collaborative coordinated effort is necessary. Thereby, inter-organizational networks are a potential strategy. However, the concepts of disruption and resilience and their interwovenness in the context of inter- organizational collaboration are mainly considered within supply chains, but not in other areas of management research. Therefore, the proposed paper entails a systematic review combined with the Gioia-method (Gioia et al., 2013) in order to theorize the role of disruption and resilience within inter-organizational networks. First, we aim to elaborate and systemize the diverse conceptions of disruption and resilience in this context. Second, we seek for network characteristics that are beneficial when facing and dealing with disruptions.
The results will provide insights on the role of disruption and resilience in inter- organizational networks and thus relate to the grand challenges literature. Furthermore, the implications for organizations will help by effectively navigating grand challenges, addressing disruptions, and fostering resilience.