Identifying and prioritizing critical success factors for business continuity management

With globalization, developing technology and increasing use of computers, the importance of business continuity management has increased considerably and the effect of interruptions on the functioning of the institution has become a critical issue. Institutions increasingly linked to each other in their activities, and thus the tolerance of the interruption of institutions' process was greatly reduced. Recent disasters and attacks on information systems are indications that business continuity management is critically important. This study was conducted to prioritize the critical success factors in business continuity management and to measure the level of awareness of business continuity management in Turkey. For this purpose, a questionnaire was firstly drawn up that sets out the priorities of the critical success factors in business continuity management. Subsequently, a model proposal was introduced, using both qualitative and quantitative data, with the AHP technique to allow prioritization of critical success factors in business continuity management. In addition, a survey of 292 randomly selected respondents shows the importance of critical success factors in business continuity management. Data obtained through the questionnaire were analyzed using the SPSS program. According to the AHP results evaluated by the expert, the most important critical success factor is methodology and project management, and when the survey results are taken into account, it is seen that the most important critical success factor according to the participants is top management support.