Resilience to the pandemic: The role of female management, multi-unit structure, and business model innovation

Abstract

In this study, we analyse organisational resilience in the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Combining arguments from the resource-based view and ergodicity, we theorise that organisational resilience depends on certain key characteristics of firms and their ability to innovate their business models. Specifically, we focus on female leadership and multi-unit structure as two characteristics that may condition the resource availability of firms during the pandemic and consider firms' innovative actions in response to the pandemic. We test our hypotheses using data from more than 11,000 firms in 34 countries. Our results confirm that female-led firms are less resilient, while multi-unit firms and those that introduced business model innovations are more resilient to the COVID-19 shock. Based on these findings, we suggest management and policy implications for building a firm's resilience to future disruptions.