Disaster and emergency management (DEM) systems are increasingly recognised as complex adaptive systems (CAS), where effectiveness arises not from structure but from the quality of relationships and the capacity to adapt under pressure. This study examines how Aotearoa New Zealand’s DEM environment functions as a dynamic network of interdependent actors, relationships, and feedback processes. Using a Constructivist Networked Grounded Theory (CNGT) approach - integrating grounded theory with social network analysis - data from forty national participants were analysed to explore how collaboration, trust, and information flow shape system performance.
Findings reveal three interlinked themes. First, fluid boundaries define who is “in” or “out” of the system, continually negotiated through engagement, trust, and power dynamics. Second, relational enablers - such as trust, shared learning, and indigenous partnership - enhance coordination and adaptability across diverse actors. Third, systemic frictions - including leadership gaps, resource constraints, and cultural misalignment - fragment connectivity and restrict evolution. Network mapping demonstrates a core–periphery structure reliant on a small number of brokers to maintain cohesion, highlighting both resilience and vulnerability.
The study concludes that strengthening DEM requires shifting from controlling the system to stewarding its conditions - investing in relational capacity, cultural competence, and continuous feedback loops that sustain collective learning. By revealing how meaning and structure co-evolve, this research contributes new methodological and theoretical insights into the relational foundations of resilience and offers practical guidance for fostering adaptive, whole-of-nation emergency management systems.