Resilience and Risk Tolerance of Small Entrepreneurs in the Brazilian Northeast

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between financial risk tolerance and organizational resilience among small business managers in the Brazilian Northeast, a region strongly affected by economic fragility and intensified uncertainty during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a positivist, quantitative, cross-sectional design, data were collected from 218 managers through validated scales of financial risk tolerance and organizational resilience and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, cluster analysis, ANOVA, and correlation techniques. Results indicate that most managers exhibit medium to high financial risk tolerance and that higher tolerance is positively associated with greater organizational adaptability, especially in dimensions related to teamwork, knowledge sharing, and leadership. In contrast, no significant association was found between financial risk tolerance and organizational planning capacity, suggesting that planning routines operate independently of individual risk attitudes. The findings underscore the role of behavioral characteristics in shaping resilience and highlight innovation, internal resources, and leadership as critical factors supporting organizational adaptation in resource-constrained environments. This study contributes to the limited empirical literature connecting behavioral finance and organizational resilience in emerging economies and offers practical implications for strengthening entrepreneurial training and resilience culture in small firms. Future research should expand geographic coverage and explore team-level perspectives and mixed-method approaches.