Thesis (PhD) - Cyprus International University. Institute of Graduate Studies and Research Business Administration

Crises are appearing widely in different regions of the world. The Syrian war was
considered one of the largest humanitarian crises where Lebanon hosted many
displaced Syrians. Recently, the coronavirus outbreak coincided with a severe sociopolitical
and economic environment in the country. In the absence of a wellfunctioning
government, non-profit organizations take the lead in managing any
humanitarian crisis facing the country. Noting that COVID-19 affected NGOs'
response to both the community and refugees. Henceforth, the study investigated the
perspectives of NGOs about the effectiveness of their response to Humanitarian
crises in general and COVID-19 in specific in Lebanon to identify future effective
practices. An inductive qualitative methodology is employed to examine how NGO
leaders manage the humanitarian crisis and the challenges they face. Expert and
Snowball sampling strategies are both used to maximize the number of participants
including forty leaders from local and international organizations. Interviewees
participated in semi-structured interviews and reported on the perceived practices of
NGOs, challenges and strategies required to manage humanitarian crisis effectively.
The data were analyzed through thematic analyses and the following themes
emerged: (i) The importance of intervention during Humanitarian Crises; (ii) Impact
of communication between different parties during Crisis; (iii) Effect of Media
Employment during Crisis; (iv) Sustaining Human Recourses during Humanitarian
Crises; (v) the influence of COVID-19 on NGO’s activities; (vii) Challenges
affecting NGOs’ survival during the crisis; (viii) The evaluation of NGOs’
achievements; (xv) Effective strategies to overcome crises. Data disclosed that NGOs
should strategically utilize and employ their organizational resources and capabilities
by emphasizing on human resource management for an efficient and sustainable
organization. As NGOs' financial and human resources were affected by COVID-19
with a shortage in service provision. The paper suggested that both government and
donor agencies should enhance support for NGOs during crisis times, with better
communication among stakeholders being crucial. Since supportive strategies and
enhanced communication impact both NGOs and the community they serve. A
resource dependency theory was developed and supported by stakeholder
perspectives. Based on the research findings, implications, and future research
suggestions are proposed. Based on the research findings, implications and future
research suggestions are proposed.