Betting on the future: how to build antifragility in innovative start-up companies

Abstract

While after a crisis, organizational robustness and resilience are associated with the return to pre-shock conditions, antifragility is characterized by the tendency to take advantage of the shock to improve the organization’s position. Understanding how to create antifragility is important to ensure rapid recovery from a crisis. This is especially true for innovative start-ups, which if they are particularly fragile also have the opportunity to improve their unstable situation by adapting to the new context. However, studies on the subject are rare. To fill this gap, a survey was carried out with 181 Italian innovative start-ups to investigate the relationship between antifragility and intangible resources, tangible surplus resources, and absorptive capacity. The results show that antifragility is supported by a combination of tangible and intangible resources that can help innovative start-ups thrive when other organizations succumb.