Business Continuity Management in Jordanian Banks: some cultural considerations

This paper investigates the extent to which the Jordanian banking sector uses Business Continuity Management (BCM) as a way to manage organizational risk, disasters, and crises, as well as business interruptions. The population in this study consists of the 17 Jordanian banks registered with the Amman Stock Exchange. Data was collected via an interviewer-administered questionnaire. 11 completed questionnaires were obtained, representing a response rate of 64.7%. Questionnaires were followed by three semi-structured interviews conducted with BCM managers from three Jordanian banks from different cultural backgrounds; local, Islamic, and foreign. All the respondents have BCM programs in place. There are no statistically significant differences in the practice of BCM between Jordanian banks in terms of organizational characteristics, such as size and age. However, the cultural backgrounds of the banks and culturally determined differences in their operations more generally have influenced the practice of BCM in significant ways.