Resilience In Times Of Crisis Research Articles

Governance and Leadership in Enhancing SME Resilience in Ghana: A Systematic Literature Review

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are especially susceptible to pandemics. Consequently, resilience and adaptability to shocks from pandemics like COVID-19 are crucial. Nonetheless, although SMEs have strategies to cope with these, there is still a dearth of research on the nature and effectiveness of these coping strategies. Thus, it remains unclear how leadership and governance frameworks reduce SMEs’ vulnerability and increase their resilience to pandemic risk. This academic article provides a systematic literature review on the role of governance and leadership in enhancing the resilience of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana. The review explores existing literature on SME resilience, environmental uncertainty, and the impact of governance frameworks. The article also focuses on how leadership practices in the Ghanaian context contribute to building SME resilience in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The study analysis revealed that there are opportunities for SMEs to adopt better governance and leadership practices that foster long-term resilience. Governance practices, such as formal structures, board diversity, and leadership, enable SMEs to respond to crises and navigate challenging situations. Moreover, leadership styles that prioritize governance procedures, especially transformational leadership, empower SMEs to maintain agility and innovation, thereby securing their survival and growth in a rapidly evolving environment. The review highlights the need for stronger governance frameworks and leadership development programs that equip SME owner-managers with the tools to navigate environmental uncertainties.

SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE DIMENSIONS OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AT WAR TIME (BASED ON THE RESULTS OF A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ANALYSIS)

The article is devoted to studying community resilience in the context of war in Ukraine. It analyzes both subjective and objective dimensions of resilience that affect the ability of local communities to adapt to crisis conditions. The empirical foundation of the research consists of interviews and focus groups with representatives of executive and local authorities, the public sector, business, volunteer organizations, and informal initiatives, conducted within the framework of the Polish-Ukrainian research grant «Multilevel governance of the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian aggression on Ukraine, using examples from the Lublin Voivodeship (PL) and the Volyn Oblast (UA)» (funded by NAWA). Subjective aspects of resilience encompass public perceptions, trust among community members, and emotional resilience, which is manifested in people's willingness to support one another. Objective dimensions include infrastructural, economic, and social resources that contribute to recovery after crises. The results indicate that distinguishing between subjective and objective aspects of resilience is an effective tool for developing policies capable of supporting communities in wartime. This article aims to contribute to the understanding of the complexity of community resilience in times of crisis and social instability.

Impact of auditor characteristics on audit quality during COVID-19: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to analyze the impact of auditor characteristics on audit quality in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic by assessing how auditor characteristics (such as gender, age, education level, professional certificate, sector, size of the employees, revenue, experience, and region) impact audit quality in crisis conditions. It employed a descriptive-analytical approach and quantitative regression analysis of cross-sectional data. The survey was conducted in 2021 among 203 auditors in Saudi Arabia. Data collection was facilitated through the assistance of the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants (SOCPA) to make the sample more structured and representative. The results reveal that auditor characteristics played a significant role in determining audit quality during the pandemic. Gender, education level, audit firm size, and professionalism experience showed a strong correlation (r = 0.619) between professional experience and adaptability to remote auditing conditions. The regression analysis indicates a positive impact on audit performance. The results suggest practical implications for improving auditor selection, training programs, and regulatory frameworks to enhance audit resilience in times of crisis. It offers theoretical contribution by validating existing models under pandemic conditions and providing insights for the future of auditing practices. It also assists in establishing confidence in financial reporting together with control, making investors feel secure, and maintaining stability in the business world.

Searching for the drivers of organizational resilience in times of crisis: An example from the Covid-19 pandemic

The theme of organizational resilience has been acquiring relevance for some time to date due to the health crises and geopolitical tensions that have marked the last years. Understanding which drivers helped ensure business continuity during such crises can subsequently help managers prepare for future challenges or shocks. Answering the call for an aggregate analysis of the drivers of organizational resili-ence, this study identifies three main categories: the first one focuses on the hu-man characteristics of the business community; the second focuses on the role played by management control systems, and the third one points to the external support of consultants and stakeholders. This framework is applied to a case study of a not-for-profit organization (FASI – Fondo Assistenza Sanitaria Integrativa) that operates in the healthcare assurance sector and was strongly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The results of this study reaffirm the multilevel essence of organizational resilience. In more detail, the policies adopted by the company to face different challenges led to the achievement of three different types of resili-ence: reactive behavior – bouncing-back to the previous equilibrium (type 1), adaptive behavior – bouncing-forward to a higher level of equilibrium (type 2), and proactive behavior – preparing for a possible future shock (type 3).

Learning From Countries on Measuring and Defining Community-Based Resilience in Health Systems: Voices From Nepal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ethiopia

Background: The best approach for defining and measuring community health care resilience in times of crisis remains elusive. We aimed to synthesise definitions and indicators of resilience from countries who had recently undergone shocks (i.e., outbreaks and natural disasters). Methods: We purposively selected four countries that had recently or were currently experiencing a shock: Nepal, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted with participants at the community, facility, district, sub-national, national, and international levels. Interviews and discussions were translated and transcribed verbatim. Data were open coded in ATLAS.ti using a grounded theory approach and were thematically collated to a pre-specified framework. Results: A total of 486 people participated in the study (n=378 community members, n=108 non-community members). Emergent themes defining community-based health system resilience included: the importance of communities, health system characteristics, learning from shocks, preventing and preparing for shocks, and considerations for sustainability and intersectoral engagement. Participants identified 193 potential indicators for measuring resilience, which fell into the domains of: 1) preparedness, 2) response and recovery, 3) communities, 4) health systems, and 5) intersectoral engagement. Conclusion: Despite varying definitions and understanding of the concept of resilience, community-centred responses to shocks were key in building resilience. Further insight is needed into how the definitions and indicators identified in this study compare to other shocks and contexts and can be used to further our understanding of health system resilience. Metrics and definitions could assist policy makers, researchers, and practitioners in evaluating the readiness of systems to respond to shocks and to allow comparability across health systems. We must build health systems that can continue to function and ensure quality, equity, community-focused care, and engagement, regardless of the pressures put upon them and ensure they are linked to strong primary health care.

Nurturing Resilient Health Ecosystems: What Can We Learn From Patient and Professional Experience?

Patients and professionals face important crises through their "normal" experiences of illness and care, which can either prepare them or make them more vulnerable to global crises. What can we learn from these experiences to nurture more resilient health ecosystems? In this commentary, we reflect on resilience in times of crisis, based on our lived experience as patient and physician. We learned that identifying "who is strong" and "who is vulnerable" can be surprising and unexpected, that patients and professionals can lean on one another at different stages of crises and that resilient health ecosystems require reciprocal, caring relationships at the individual and collective levels.

A blessing in disguise? The socio-economic impact of Covid-19 on urban women in Zimbabwe

The Covid-19 pandemic that broke out in 2019 was one of the largest epidemics in human history after the Spanish flu of 1918-1919 (Trilla, Trilla and Daer, 2008). Its spread across Africa, and Zimbabwe in particular, shook economies and disrupted social structures, severely affecting the mental health of the populace. However, calamities like Covid-19 are hardly gender-neutral. While Covid-19 had negative psychosocial and economic impacts on all gender groups, women suffered disproportionately from the socio-economic and psychological toll of the epidemic. Using qualitative research methods based on interviews and observations in Harare Zimbabwe, this article explores the experiences of urban Zimbabwean women during the Covid-19 pandemic. The outbreak of covid-19 and the consequential lockdowns had a marked disruptive effect on urban formal and informal sources of livelihoods than it had on the largely subsistence rural economy. We, therefore, analyse the urban socio-cultural and economic contexts that shaped women's daily experiences in the context of Covid-19 and how this affected their economic and psychological situation. We aver that while Covid-19 made women 'beasts of burden' who had to provide for the household and family, it also served as a means of social reconstruction and provided opportunities for women's social and economic advancement and long-term psychological well-being. Covid-19 broke down and weakened the manipulative patriarchal socio-cultural norms that excluded women from economic and social advancement. Using the neo-dependency analytical framework, this article contends that while crises worsen conditions for vulnerable groups, there should also be space to celebrate the breaking of exploitative social structures that have kept women in subservient positions for centuries. By exposing the weaknesses of patriarchy, Covid-19 signalled the development of a new social order that recognises and celebrates women's courage, strengths, and resilience in times of crisis.

Community in times of COVID: building resilience in a self-help neighborhood in Medellin

ABSTRACT This article looks at resilience-building in Moravia, an inner-urban, self-help neighborhood constructed on and around the former principal landfill of Medellin, Colombia. Based on a photovoice project carried out with a group of children and youth in 2019, an image is presented of social cohesion within the neighborhood. Moravia's case shows that social cohesion in the neighborhood fosters three concrete forms of resilience-building: (1) maintaining networks of aid and care, (2) cultivating a sense of neighborhood identity, and (3) engaging in direct and indirect forms of reciprocity. Data from digital ethnography obtained in 2021 demonstrate that these resilience-building practices were maintained online during quarantine. This article contributes to the literature on social cohesion, first, by departing from children and youth views of community dynamics in their neighborhood and, second, by connecting social cohesion to resilience-building in the context of an auto-constructed, underprivileged neighborhood in Latin America and the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, it contributes to the literature on the photovoice methodology and the expanding work on digital ethnography, respectively by showing the efficacy of photovoice when researching community-related themes with children and youth, and investigating neighborhood-based Facebook groups as a space for enhancing social cohesion and resilience in times of crisis.

EXAMINING THE TREND OF INNOVATIVE WORK BEHAVIOUR LITERATURE: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

The concept of innovative work behaviour (IWB) has received attention as a strategy to be competitive for an organisation. Given the intricate nature of the global landscape, the emergence of new risks, and the need to enhance organisational resilience in times of crisis, the significance of IWB becomes pertinent, particularly for the public sector. This paper examines the development and the current trends of IWB research from the perspectives of bibliometric indicators. This study retrieved a total of 1,574 documents from the Scopus database between the years 1963 and 2023. The analysis of this study used several tools – Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer, and Harzing's Publish or Perish. The findings of this study show the increasing trends over the last ten years in various disciplines. Research results indicate that IWB research mostly appears in the subject areas of Business, Management, Accounting, Social Sciences, Psychology, Economics and Finance. This study also reveals that China, the United States, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia have become the five major countries that have created collaborative IWB research. In light of this, the results of this investigation furnish crucial data for advancing IWB research in the realm of multidisciplinary studies.

Leadership Styles and Organizational Resilience in Times of Crisis in Sudan

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the leadership styles and organizational resilience in times of crisis in Sudan.
 Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
 Findings: Research on leadership styles and organizational resilience in times of crisis underscores the critical role of leadership in navigating turbulent environments. Studies suggest that transformational leadership, characterized by vision, inspiration, and individualized consideration, tends to foster organizational resilience by promoting adaptability, innovation, and employee commitment. Additionally, servant leadership, which prioritizes the needs of others and emphasizes empathy and humility, has been linked to enhanced organizational resilience through fostering trust, collaboration, and a sense of community.
 Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Contingency theory, social exchange theory and complexity leadership theory may be use to anchor future studies on assessing the leadership styles and organizational resilience in times of crisis in Sudan. Organizations, both public and private, should prioritize leadership development initiatives aimed at nurturing transformational leadership behaviors among their leaders. Policymakers should recognize the importance of leadership in promoting organizational resilience and incorporate leadership development initiatives into crisis management policies and strategies.

ESG investments in the Covid-19 pandemic

The objective of this study is to analyze the effect of investment in environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors on the financial performance of Brazilian companies and on the accumulated abnormal return during the Covid-19 pandemic period. To this end, two theoretical portfolios of the Brazilian market were compared: one composed of ISE (Sustainability Index) companies and the other of Ibovespa companies. The impact of financial performance variables on Abnormal Returns during the Covid-19 pandemic period was analyzed using the Event Study method. This study obtained mixed results. ISE companies obtained higher CAR for the period of the pandemic, demonstrating greater resilience during the crisis. In addition, lower volatility was observed for ESG stocks. The results of the regression models did not identify a positive relationship between profitability indicators and CAR for ISE companies. On the other hand, in line with the hypotheses of this study, there was a positive association between Tobin’s Q of ESG companies and CAR. This research can be useful for academics and investors, as it expands the evidence of ESG investments in terms of financial performance in an emerging market, such as Brazil, and their resilience in times of crisis. Finally, managers, investors, creditors and other professionals may be interested in the results of this research, since ESG investments can develop a competitive advantage, contributing to the long-term success of the business.

Organizational Resilience in Times of Crisis: Its Relation with Work-Life Balance and Work Engagement

Organizational Resilience in Times of Crisis: Its Relation with Work-Life Balance and Work Engagement

Enterprise Long-term Development and Survival in The Crisis

The paper encompasses an examination of the challenges that small and medium-sized enterprises may face during periods of economic depression, as well as the essential capabilities required for enterprises to sustain long-term competitiveness in such circumstances. By comparing the operational strategies employed by companies that successfully weathered economic crises with those that went bankrupt within the same industry and timeframe, this study identifies key factors contributing to enterprise resilience in times of crisis. These factors primarily include research and development efforts towards new product innovation, optimization of enterprise capital structure, and investment in human capital. Additionally, this paper analyzes the feasibility macroeconomic environments across different regions or countries, consumer demand patterns and confidence levels, as well as human capital availability and skill sets. In this way, smes in different countries can find their own solutions to cope with the crisis during the economic depression.

ШЛЯХИ ПІДВИЩЕННЯ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ ДЕРЖАВНОГО УПРАВЛІННЯ В УМОВАХ ВІЙНИ

Background . War is one of the most serious challenges for any state. It significantly changes the conditions for the functioning of the state apparatus and requires it to quickly adapt to new realities. National security, defense, humanitarian aid, and infrastructure restoration come to the fore. This leads to a redistribution of budgetary funds and a change in the focus of government agencies. War creates an additional burden on government agencies related to resource mobilization, coordination of various agencies, ensuring public safety, etc. In emergency situations, there is often an increase in the centralization of power, which may be accompanied by restrictions on the rights and freedoms of citizens. This creates additional opportunities for corruption related to the distribution of humanitarian aid, procurement for the army and infrastructure restoration, leads to the depletion of resources, both material and human, and complicates planning and decision-making. Methods . To obtain the scientific results, the method of system analysis was used, which allowed us to consider public administration as a complex system consisting of interconnected elements (government, civil society, business, etc.), to analyze the interaction of these elements and to identify bottlenecks in the management system. The retrospective analysis was applied to study the evolution of public administration in Ukraine, in particular, in the context of previous crises. This allowed us to identify patterns of public administration development and predict possible scenarios in the future. Functional analysis allowed us to analyze individual functions of public administration (policy making, resource management, service delivery), identify problems and shortcomings in the performance of specific functions. Results . The full-scale war has become not only a challenge for national security, but also a powerful incentive for reforms in the public administration system. It has accelerated the processes of decentralization, digital transformation, and the role of civil society. Decentralization has proved to be an effective tool for ensuring the state's resilience in times of crisis. Communities have demonstrated the ability to respond quickly to the needs of the population and provide the necessary services. The war also emphasized the need to invest in human capital development. Upskilling civil servants, adapting educational programs, and developing the skills necessary to work in a crisis are priority tasks. The introduction of e-services has made it possible to ensure the continuity of administrative services, increase their accessibility, and simplify the interaction of citizens with government agencies. Ensuring social stability and providing assistance to war victims is one of the key tasks of the state. The role of social workers in overcoming the consequences of the armed conflict is irreplaceable. Despite the results achieved, the public administration system in Ukraine still faces a number of challenges, such as corruption, bureaucracy, insufficient funding, and lack of public trust in state institutions. Therefore, to further develop the public administration system, it is necessary to: continue the decentralization reform, intensify the fight against corruption, improve the level of professional training of civil servants, develop e-governance, ensure social protection of the population, and engage civil society in the decision-making process. Conclusions . Effective governance in a time of war requires prompt decision-making, optimal resource allocation, and ensuring the stability of state institutions. To achieve this, it is necessary to decentralize power, introduce digital technologies, engage civil society, improve the skills of civil servants, and fight corruption. The transfer of powers to the local level allows for a faster response to local needs, the involvement of citizens in the decision-making process increases the legitimacy of the government and the effectiveness of governance, and the introduction of digital technologies allows for greater transparency, efficiency, and accessibility of public services. In addition, providing civil servants with the necessary knowledge and skills increases their efficiency.

Building Resilience in Times of Crisis: The Role of Perceived Wellbeing in Enhancing Employee Performance

Building Resilience in Times of Crisis: The Role of Perceived Wellbeing in Enhancing Employee Performance

Turning crisis into chances: Tourism entrepreneurs’ timing strategies amidst emergencies

PURPOSE: Nowadays enterprises operate in a very turbulent environment characterized by frequent, significant, and often unpredictable changes. Such conditions, including crises, force enterprises to take quick actions to adapt to changing conditions. The aim of the paper is to identify chances and timing strategies used by tourism entrepreneurs in conditions of large-scale emergencies (such as COVID-19) and show how they can serve organizational resilience. METHODOLOGY: Qualitative research was conducted in the form of 12 individual in-depth interviews and 4 focus group interviews with 22 representatives of selected industries in the tourism sector. The concept of chance management and timing strategies is used to present how, according to our interviewees, changes in the environment caused by the pandemic contributed to the survival and development of their entities in the tourism market. FINDINGS: The research findings showed that changes caused by the pandemic allowed entities to identify several chances. These chances mainly concerned the introduction of changes to the offer (accelerating previously planned changes and enabling the introduction of unplanned changes). Moreover, they provided the chances to use held digital competences and time to think about the company’s development strategy, as well as establishing and developing relationships with stakeholders. Additionally, our research identified four timing strategies used by tourism entrepreneurs in the time of crisis, i.e. chance-grasping strategy, chance-entraining strategy, chance-riding strategy, and chance-creating strategy. IMPLICATIONS: Tourism enterprises are highly exposed to operating in crisis conditions. Therefore, chance management can be very useful in their activity and our research findings can be also useful regarding its theoretical and practical implications. From the theoretical point of view, we show how the concept of chance management (in particular timing strategies) can be useful for analyzing the reactions of tourism entrepreneurs to changes in times of crisis and taking advantage of opportunities arising from crisis situations. From a practical point of view, we show what strategies, depending on entrepreneurs’ subjective assessment of the current and future conditions for implementing changes, can serve organizational resilience in times of crisis. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: This paper fills a research gap related to the use of the concepts of chance management and timing strategies from the perspective of tourist enterprises resilience, previously not used in this context and to a limited extent used in the general management literature so far.

Pandemic mothering: Mothers' experiences of adaptation and resilience during the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractResearch suggests that the demands of parenting have increased during the COVID‐19 pandemic, especially for mothers. Widespread loss of childcare and in‐person schooling forced parents to make adjustments to care for their children in new ways, many while working remotely. This qualitative study, guided by Walsh's theory of family resilience, examines mothers' experiences with stress and resilience as they adapted to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Data were gathered as part of a longitudinal, mixed‐methods study that examined family stress and resilience among mothers of children ages zero to five. The authors conducted in‐depth interviews between June and August 2020 with mothers (n = 15) of children under age six. Three themes emerged to characterize pandemic parenting: 24/7 parenting, changing expectations, and making it work. Recommendations are provided for researchers and practitioners working with mothers of young children, with emphasis on mothers' aptitudes for resilience in times of crisis.

Implications of Crises on Start-Up Management and Ways to Increase Business Resilience and Sustainable Development

Abstract This paper aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of how recent crises have been experienced by Romanian start-ups from the perspective of their managers, through quantitative research. The authors also aimed to investigate the interest of entrepreneurs in sustainably developing their businesses and the actions they aim to take in this direction. Data were collected from a sample of 216 respondents, managers of start-ups operating in the Center and South-West Oltenia Regions. The results indicate that the COVID-19 health crisis and the international financial crisis, followed by the energy crisis, have had the greatest impact on the activity of start-ups and identify response measures that can be solutions to increase their resilience in times of crisis. The research can help managers of start-ups maintain business stability in complicated times and incorporate sustainability practices into their business strategy. Governmental, regional and local authorities, as well as entrepreneurship education providers, can also use the research results to initiate measures to support start-ups in their efforts to cope with current challenges and develop sustainably.

Intelligent manufacturing for strengthening operational resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A dynamic capability theory perspective

The occurrence of unexpected crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, creates a serious disruption in business operations, causing many companies to reassess the way they operate and seek new ways to enhance efficiency and resilience. Intelligent manufacturing may provide greater flexibility and adaptability, but less is known about whether and how intelligent manufacturing improved operational resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to address this gap in knowledge by comparing the operational resilience before and after the pandemic between companies that adopted intelligent manufacturing and those that did not. Drawing upon dynamic capability theory, this study explores the impact of intelligent manufacturing on operational resilience via ambidextrous capability during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the moderating role of managerial myopia. To test hypotheses, this study used the difference-in-differences (DID) approach by collecting 3960 observations from 1980 Chinese listed companies in 2019–2020. The findings suggest that intelligent manufacturing aids companies in developing operational resilience in times of crisis. It also enables companies to develop ambidextrous capability which further enhances operational resilience. However, managerial myopia tends to weaken the positive effect of intelligent manufacturing on operational resilience. The findings extend the current understanding of enhancing operational resilience and provide insights for companies to adopt intelligent manufacturing to improve their operational resilience during disruptive times.

The role of foreign-owned entities in building economic resili-ence in times of crisis: The case of European digital and technologically-intensive firms during the Covid-19 pandemic

Research background: Over the decades, foreign-owned entities (FOEs) have become an important part of the economic landscape considered as behemoths of globalisation, but also transmitters of positive effects such as technology or know-how spillovers. In times of volatility and uncertainty, firms’ contribution to building a resilient economy is at the top of the public agenda. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the article is two-fold. Firstly, we test, how FOEs perform in this stressful time of volatility and uncertainty. Secondly, we examine the contribution to resilience by digital and technologically intensive sectors. Methods: The study utilises the Bureau van Dijk (BvD) Orbis firm-level database as a primary data source. The results are derived with the use of two econometric approaches. Firstly, we estimate a static model utilising the ordinary squares estimator. Secondly, we re-estimate the equations using a two-step System GMM estimator. It introduces a lagged dependent variable into the model and implements a correction for endogeneity among covariates by including instruments (in levels and differences). Findings & value added: We use size, age, ownership, gearing, and intangibility as firms’ financial performance determinants, together with the sector-, country- and time-fixed effects. FOEs compared to domestic ones generated a higher revenue growth rate. In times of crisis high-tech and digital firms are more resilient. However, ownership does not matter in this respect. We contribute to the discussion about functions performed by FOEs in crisis and turbulent times, in which resilience issues are on top of the agenda. Our research intends to bridge the gap between the performance of FOEs, micro-level analysis, and resilience.