Contextualizing small business resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from small business owner-managers

In light of the unprecedented global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, resilient businesses are those more likely to make the transition to the post-COVID era. Our study draws on the concept of psychological resilience and focusses on individual owner-managers to the end of examining business resilience in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conduct a longitudinal qualitative study, collecting data from 35 small business owner-managers between April and December 2020. Our findings—which provide insights into the micro-underpinnings of the resilience exhibited by small business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic—illustrate the responses and resilient qualities of owner-managers at both the personal and leadership levels, which facilitate resilient actions at the small business level. By drawing on a psychological perspective, our study provides a novel conceptualization of small business resilience at the person-role-organization nexus. The psychological resilience of owner-managers provides novel insights towards a better understanding of small business resilience during exogenous shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological resilience involves an individual’s ability to adapt or thrive in the face of life’s adversities and uncertainties. We conduct a longitudinal qualitative study, collecting data from 35 small business owner-managers between April and December 2020. We reveal a sequential process centred on owner-managers and on their abilities to build-up or strengthen any personal and leadership resilient capacities, which appear to be prerequisites for the establishment of resilient actions at the level of the small business. We contribute theoretically by conceptualizing the links and path dependencies between personal, leadership (role), and organizational resilience in small businesses. In conclusion, our study provides practical implications on essential personal-level responses that can guide the leadership role of owner-managers in the midst of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.