SMEs’ strategic responses to crisis: the role of organizational identity

Emilia Karpinskaia, Lev Alushkin, Galina Shirokova and Virginia Bodolica

Management Research Review, 2025, vol. 48, issue 7, 1148-1181

Abstract: Purpose - This paper aims to shed light on the relationship between organizational identity and strategic responses to crisis through the lens of intellectual capital perspective and resource-based view. Design/methodology/approach - A longitudinal multiple case study design was adopted to extract rich data from interviews conducted with nine Russian SMEs during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings - The results suggest that: SMEs with utilitarian organizational identity choose proactive strategic responses; SMEs with normative organizational identity adopt reactive strategic responses; and SMEs with dual organizational identity implement a sequential approach to strategic responses. Furthermore, the study uncovered that the underlying mechanism behind these relationships is anchored in different domains of intellectual capital. Originality/value - The study provides new insights on the identity–strategy nexus in the context of crisis by examining values and principles that underlie various types of organizational identity.

Keywords: Strategic responses; Crisis; SMEs; Organizational identity; Resource-based view; Intellectual capital; Multiple case study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:mrrpps:mrr-01-2024-0026

DOI: 10.1108/MRR-01-2024-0026

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