The diversity-stability paradox in an organization: examining the divergent role of functional diversity in operational resilience

Purpose This study proposes a nature-inspired approach to fostering operational resilience with the aim of examining whether organizations, akin to biological ecosystems, may utilize functional diversity to improve their adaptive capacity for responding to disruptions. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a pilot study design that combined index development with correlational analysis. Ecology-based indices were formulated to quantify organizational functional richness and functional evenness, and their correlation with recovery and residual capacity was examined. The analysis was conducted using empirical data from a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, tested under a simulated power outage as the disaster scenario. Findings This study empirically confirms the dual role of functional diversity in organizational resilience, showing that while greater richness and evenness enhance long-term recovery, they can hinder early-stage responsiveness due to dominance and structural asymmetries. The ecomimetic indices validated these effects, revealing that resilience is shaped by temporal dynamics, trait dominance and uneven workforce distribution. Research limitations/implications Results of this study are based on a single enterprise and a specific disruption scenario; therefore, caution is advised when generalizing the results. Originality/value This paper introduces novel ecomimetic functional diversity indices and offers preliminary empirical evidence of the diversity-stability paradox in an organizational context beyond ecology, addressing an underexplored dimension of organizational resilience theory.