Applying an Organizational Framework to Examine Jihadi Organizations as an Industry

The Leadership of the Extreme and Dangerous for Innovative Results (LEADIR) project, funded by The Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate, Office of University Programs (DHS S&T OUP) since 2010, uses an industrial and organizational psychology approach to assess the characteristics of violent extremist organizations (VEOs) in relation to their capacity for innovative and violent performance. In the current paper, we use the LEADIR database and an internal strategic organizational approach to assess the unique set of resources and capabilities that provide a competitive advantage within the “Jihad Industry.” The results suggest that VEOs ability to utilize or acquire one or more unique resources or capabilities provides a competitive advantage over other groups in the larger Jihadi Industry. We will discuss practical implications for DHS I&A, as well as the methodological contributions of using a lens from management theory and organizational psychology to the scholarship on violent extremism.