Enacting project resilience: Insights from Uruguayan air force flight 571′s crash in the Andes

In this qualitative study, we examine how project members organize for resilience amid adversity by analyzing the case of the 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. The survivors endured 72 days in the Andes, navigating uncertainty, time pressures, interpersonal conflict, and intense emotions—challenges similar to those in modern project organizations. Using insights from the survivors' (auto-)biographies, we conclude that resilience emerges through members' daily social interactions. Our findings reveal three key elements of project resilience: (1) processing contextuality, where sensebreaking and adaptive sensemaking evolve as adversity unfolds; (2) processing communality, which forms a socio-emotional foundation for resilience; and (3) shifting between different modes of emergent responding, by which project organizations harness the stability of structured responses while retaining the flexibility to adapt under pressure. This study highlights the dynamic processes through which project resilience is cultivated, offering insights for managing resilience in high-stakes environments.