Conceptualization of SMEs’ business resilience: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Attention for business resilience research in the academic world has increased considerably, despite fragmented literature on definitions, measurements, and of variables influencing the concept. Therefore, there is a need to take stock of current knowledge on the areas and structure them to lay the foundation in this field. We also give due attention to the resilience of SMEs in a highly vulnerable setting (i.e., developing countries), as the nature of this settings requires resilience research attention (in terms of rate of recurrence and complexity of disruptions). We deployed a well-structured systematic review procedure. This paper offers (1) an overview of SMEs resilience literature from 2000 to November 2018 comprising 118 articles, and (2) special attention, within that overview, to developing countries. This review concludes that resilience literature is very much varied in its definitions and measurements, and is inconclusive about its influencing factors. Furthermore, little resilience research has focused upon the context of SMEs in developing countries, which is perhaps surprising given the contribution made by these businesses in such a setting. Based on the review results, we describe distinguishing features of resilience; give options to extend the theoretical foundations of research into resilience in the future.