Measuring organizational resilience in a resource-constrained environment: An empirical study of Micro-and-Small-Service-Enterprises (MSSEs) in Nigeria

There is growing evidence that a preponderance of resilience indicators discussed in management scholarship is often developed with limited consideration of the context in which micro-and-small-service enterprises (MSSEs) operate. Given their strategic relevance to developing economies, it thus becomes necessary to understand the meaning of resilience for MSSEs operating in resource-constrained environments. Drawing on a sample of 219 MSSEs, we tested five resilience indicators using hierarchical regression models. Results show that personal network (PN), resource slack (RS), creative problem-solving (CPS), and adaptive capacity (AC) all had significant positive effects on organizational resilience (OR), while planning and crisis readiness (PCR) lacked confirmatory validity as a resilience indicator. A key theoretical contribution in this study is the emergence of our four-dimensional resilience model that more closely captures the nature and dynamics of small-scale venturing in under-resourced business landscapes. We discussed the implications of these findings for theory, policy, and practice.