Leveraging resources and dynamic capabilities for organizational resilience amid COVID-19

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities (DCs) to settle the problem of how and why a firm could achieve successful resilience under the context of the COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted among 596 Chinese firms, and a structural equation model was applied.

Findings/results: The empirical results indicate that both valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable (VRIN) and non-VRIN resources can promote better organisational resilience (OR). Moreover, DCs could mediate the relationship between the RBV and OR. Specifically, DCs could fully mediate the connection between non-VRIN resources and OR, while they can only partially mediate the relationship between VRIN resources and OR.

Practical implications: The results of this study provide recommendations for how to proceed in environments where significant crises and outbreaks may occur. These findings are useful for business decision-making and enabling companies to develop new business strategies.

Originality/value: Previous studies have investigated the drivers of OR from the perception of business strategies and practices. This study is the first to empirically test DCs as intermediary variable from RBV to promote the resilience of enterprises in the context of COVID-19.