SMEs and digital transformation during a crisis: The emergence of resilience as a second-order dynamic capability in an entrepreneurial ecosystem

In this research, we examine how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) build their resilience capability during a crisis, through the adoption of digital technologies. Utilizing a qualitative approach grounded in case studies of eight entrepreneurs from India who had to radically change their business...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of business research 2022-11, Vol.150, p.623-641
Main Authors: Khurana, Indu, Dutta, Dev K., Singh Ghura, Amarpreet
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crisis
Digital technologies
Dynamic capabilities
Entrepreneurial ecosystem
Resilience
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Summary:In this research, we examine how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) build their resilience capability during a crisis, through the adoption of digital technologies. Utilizing a qualitative approach grounded in case studies of eight entrepreneurs from India who had to radically change their business models and operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, we develop a multilevel model of resilience capability: at the micro (entrepreneur), meso (organizational), and macro (entrepreneurial ecosystem) levels. In developing resilience, the SMEs alternate their focus: from concentrating on the core to moving toward the periphery of their organizational boundaries, highlighting a shifting play of the three first-order dynamic capabilities of sensing, seizing, and transforming. By affording SMEs an opportunity to transform themselves by embracing digital technologies, the crisis leads to the emergence of resilience capability as a second-order dynamic capability.
ISSN:0148-2963
1873-7978
DOI:10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.06.048