Unveiling the key characteristics of intra-organizational relationships that enable organizational resilience in healthcare

Purpose High-quality relationships among healthcare professionals are crucial for organizational resilience. They enable efficient information flow, quick decision-making, adjusting workflows and (re)distributing resources - crucial activities for timely and flexible adaptation while maintaining functional stability to continuously provide high-quality care. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding the characteristics of such resilience-enabling intra-organizational relationships. This article aims to provide conceptual clarity regarding the key characteristics of high-quality, resilience-enabling relationships within healthcare organizations. Design/methodology/approach A scoping literature review was conducted in January of 2025, resulting in 30 literature contributions that provide insights regarding the research aim. Findings The literature review provides a broad overview of affective, cognitive, behavioral and structural relationship characteristics that are related to organizational resilience according to the findings of interdisciplinary research. Based on this overview, a four-dimensional theoretical model is derived and proposed to provide conceptual clarity. Practical implications The overview of affective, cognitive, behavioral and structural relationship characteristics enables healthcare organizations to systematically assess and shape relationship qualities that underpin resilient action. It highlights which exact relationship characteristics should be prioritized to sustain coordination, adaptability, resource and information flow, and stability in challenging situations. Originality/value Existing resilience literature lacks a consistent differentiated understanding of the concrete relationship qualities that promote organizational resilience, particularly in dynamic and complex environments like healthcare. This article fills this gap in resilience literature, finally proposing a conceptual model regarding characteristics of intra-organizational relationships that enable resilient action and thus create the basis for organizational resilience.