Resourcing for post-disaster reconstruction: a comparative study of Indonesia and China

Purpose - There is a need to understand resourcing issues when reconstructing the built environment in a post-disaster situation. The purpose of this paper is to determine the resourcing difficulties that are likely to face the international practitioners in post-disaster reconstruction by identifying and comparing the factors that affected resource availability following natural disasters in Indonesia and China respectively. Design/methodology/approach - The research methodology included field-based questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews and observations. A comparative analysis was used to extract similarities and differences with regard to resourcing approaches in Indonesia and China. Findings - Despite the different resourcing approaches adopted in Indonesia and China in their recovery from large-scale disasters, there are common issues facing post-disaster reconstruction stakeholders, including competence of the implementing agencies, capacity of transportation, governance and legislation, and market conditions. Specifically, community-related housing features played a dominant role in donor-driven resourcing practice in post-Indian Ocean tsunami reconstruction in Indonesia, whereas factors related to project control and management primarily contributed to resourcing performance of Chinese reconstruction specialists following the Wenchuan earthquake. Research limitations/implications - To solve resourcing problems, countries need to create an enabling environment and build institutional capacity. The cross-cultural comparative analysis encourages policy makers and practitioners to exchange experiences from recent recovery operations. Originality/value - The paper illustrates the infrastructural and institutional weaknesses that hindered effective resource procurement during post-disaster reconstruction in Indonesia and China. The research findings show common areas in need of improvement in other disaster prone countries, along with the issues to be addressed in the donor-led or contractor-led resourcing practice in the two studied countries.