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The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected service small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), increasing the importance of understanding how these businesses can become more resilient and how service innovation can be an effective strategy to increase their adaptive capacity and survival. This study aims to examine the role of dynamic capabilities in service innovation as a factor explaining the resilience of SMEs in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic during the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on service innovation. Additionally, the authors assess whether service innovation has a significant impact on value cocreation in these businesses.

This study used a quantitative method by surveying 118 SME owners in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The data were analyzed using partial least-squares structural equation modeling.

The results reflect important theoretical contributions by analyzing resilience from an innovation perspective instead of a retrospective approach, which is an area that has not been analyzed in the literature. Additionally, theoretical contributions to marketing services in SMEs are discussed, which is an underresearched topic. The results advance by discussing the role of service innovation through the reconfiguration of resources and how this can be an effective strategy to increase value cocreation with customers during crises.

This study is original in that it analyzes resilience from the perspective of innovation, and not from a retrospective approach. It offers a vision in response to the need for studies that provide a clearer conceptualization of resilience in small businesses. This highlights the importance of considering regional differences and service innovation as effective strategies to enhance resilience and value cocreation with customers.

Based on cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this study develops an integrated model to examine the double-edged sword effect and boundary conditions of the impact of organizational crisis on employee behavior.

This study collected 672 employees’ data through three stages of longitudinal follow-up. Hierarchical regression analysis and SPSS macro process were used to test the hypotheses.

The paper finds that organizational crisis induces unethical pro-organizational behavior through enhanced job insecurity and foster taking charge by stimulating career calling. Employee resilience negatively moderates the relationship between organizational crisis and job insecurity as well as the indirect effects of organizational crisis on unethical pro-organizational behavior through job insecurity. Conversely, it positively moderates the association between organizational crisis and career calling and the indirect effects on taking charge through career calling.

This study not only expands the research on the mechanisms of organizational crisis' effects on employees' behaviors but also provides practical guidance for corporate managers on how to respond to organizational crisis.

The following insights are available to organizations and managers: first, this study confirms that organizational crisis can be perceived as threatening stressors that create job insecurity, which in turn leads to pro-organizational unethical behavior. Therefore, managers in organizational crisis should focus on stress regulation and guidance, pay timely attention to changes in the mindset of employees to reduce job insecurity, and strictly prohibit unethical pro-organizational behavior. They should promptly calm and control the atmosphere of panic and anxiety in the organization, do a good job of coordinating the division of labor, reduce personnel conflicts and contradictions, create a good organizational climate and reduce employees' sense of stress and negative perceptions of organizational crisis, thus reducing job insecurity and being able to meet the challenges in a better state. Secondly, this study confirms that employees also perceive organizational crisis as challenges and develop career calling, which in turn inspires proactive change behaviors. This suggests that managers in organizational crisis should promote the positive perception of organizational crisis as challenge, stimulate the career calling of employees in organizational crisis and call on and encourage employees to actively adopt taking charge. Therefore, managers should promptly give employees work affirmation, rewards and punishments, enhance the sense of participation and intrinsic motivation of subordinates, improve self-efficacy and self-confidence levels, effectively reduce the negative perception of organizational crisis, awaken positive psychological energy within individuals, increase their sense of belonging to the organization and thus, increase employees' awareness of the positive challenges of organizational crisis, stimulate employees' career calling through positive and optimistic beneficial pressure drive them to lead the corresponding changes in the crisis. Finally, this study confirms that employees' own resilience can change the double-edged sword effect of organizational crisis. Employees with high resilience are more likely to see organizational crisis as challenge and are thus more likely to develop career calling and are more inclined to initiate change, while employees with low resilience are more likely to see organizational crisis as threat, are more negatively affected by them, develop greater job insecurity and are, thus, more inclined to commit unethical pro-organizational behaviors. This reflects the fact that organizations should constantly cultivate employees' resilience and enhance their cognitive toughness at the same time. For instance, the organization can regularly use promotional lectures and scenarios to help leaders and employees establish corporate ethics, strengthen moral beliefs and correctly understand the nature of unethical affinity behavior. Managers should encourage and advocate positive and correct behaviors such as overcoming difficulties, positive innovation and positive suggestions to promote the sustainable and healthy development of the organization.

The results of this study can increase the organization’s understanding of the negative effects of crisis, help the organization take measures to manage and guide the employees in organizational crisis, more effective and targeted functional changes within the organization, reduce stress damage and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of crisis management. It is also beneficial to improve competitiveness and foresight in the organization’s industry and enhance organizations and employees’ resilience.

This study explores the double-edged sword effect of organizational crisis on employees’ behavior from the perspective of the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, which theoretically opens up a new research perspective, enriches the research in the fields of organizational crisis and taking charge, pro-organizational unethical behavior relationship and practically provides theoretical guidance for enterprises and managers on how to effectively respond to organizational crisis from the employees, which is of great practical significance.

This study explores resilience learning from uncertainty, taking a holistic view by considering individual, firm and contextual factors. Resilience development is understood by focusing on how uncertainty is related to entrepreneurs and their environment, suggesting that developing resilience needs to be a continuous learning process.

This qualitative study explores factors related to entrepreneurial uncertainty, resilience and learning. Evidence is drawn from interviews with rural entrepreneurs in two regions of Indonesia, and analyzed using a rigorous approach to generate codes, second-order themes and aggregate dimensions for the theoretical contributions.

Uncertainty readiness, uncertainty response and uncertainty opportunity for resilience emerge as the key learning areas from this study. They are related to resilience on a personal, community and systemic level. The proposed framework relates learning from uncertainty to the process of developing resilience for entrepreneurs and their communities.

This study proposes a framework based on resilience motivation and learning from uncertainty as usual. It explores the relationships between uncertainty readiness, responses and opportunities with personal, relational and systemic resilience factors. This contributes to entrepreneurship behavior research at the intersection of organization studies and management in the socio-economic and often informal context of developing countries.

Based on action regulation theory (ART), this study aims to test the impact of individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) training on small business owner career success (financial attainment, satisfaction and achievement). Moreover, this relationship was unpacked through a dual mediation model of IEO behaviour and career resilience.

A four-wave, longitudinal randomized controlled field experiment was conducted in which 527 small business owners participated from Lahore, Pakistan (training group = 256, control group = 271). The data analysis was done via ANCOVAs (group comparison) and PROCESS Model 6 (for serial mediation).

The results demonstrated that after getting IEO training, the small business owners had increased IEO behaviour, career resilience and career success as compared to their counterparts in the control group. In addition, the effect of IEO training on career success was attributed to the underlying role of IEO behaviour and career resilience development.

This is one of the few studies that have demonstrated the impact of IEO training on the career-related outcomes based on the action regulation perspective.

This study aims to explore how not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) adopt service innovation and improve their employee resilience capabilities as a response to environmental changes arising from marketisation of public services.

Using a multiple case-study research design, this study involved 32 interviews with frontline employees working in a not-for-profit care-providing organisation.

This study finds that the development of absorptive capacity can facilitate service innovation adoption in NFPs and improve employee resilience in times of transition.

This study offers theoretical insights on service innovation, absorptive capacity and employee resilience in NFPs. It makes practical recommendations that will enable NFPs to help frontline employees better adopt service innovation practices in business models endorsed by the private sector.

Digital technologies over time are becoming increasingly pervasive and relatively affordable, finding a large diffusion in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) also for internationalization purposes. However, less is known about the specific mechanisms by which this can be achieved. Specifically, we focus on how SMEs can face the international environment, leveraging digital technologies and thanks to their intellectual capital (IC).

We analyze the relationship between digital technologies and the internationalization of SMEs, exploring the mediating role of IC in its three dimensions: human, relational and innovation capital, and assessing the possible moderating effects posed by international institutional conditions, specifically the Sino-US trade frictions. The relationships are tested using a sample of companies listed on China’s A-share Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) from 2010 to 2021.

Digital technologies help to internationalize SMEs. However, this positive relationship is affected (mediated) by the presence of an already consolidated IC. In addition, the institutional conditions of the international market, such as the Sino-US trade friction, moderate the components of IC differently. Specifically, the overall mediating effect of human and relational capital is boosted, while this does not happen for innovation capital.

First, this study contributes to the literature on organizational resilience, especially digital resilience, confirming its validity in the context of internationalization and, in particular, those processes adopted by SMEs. Second, we clarify the mechanisms through which digital technologies exert their impact on the process of internationalization and in particular the prominent necessity of having IC. Third, our conclusions enrich the understanding of how IC components react to turbulence in international markets.

This study aims to delve into the lived experiences, challenges and visions of women entrepreneurs in Jordan, placing a magnifying glass on those spearheading or co-pioneering start-ups. It aims to understand the myriad factors that influence their entrepreneurial journey, from motivation to the future of their niche.

Adopting a qualitative lens, this study is anchored in semi-structured interviews encompassing 20 Jordanian women entrepreneurs. Following this, thematic analysis was deployed to dissect and categorize the garnered insights into ten salient themes.

The study reveals that personal experiences and challenges are pivotal in directing these women towards niche markets, aligning with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Tools such as digital instruments, customer feedback and innovative strategies like storytelling and augmented reality are integral to their entrepreneurial success, resonating with the resource-based view (RBV). Additionally, challenges like cultural barriers and infrastructural limitations are navigated through adaptive strategies, reflecting the resilience inherent in these entrepreneurs. Networking, mentorship, embracing technological advancements and implementing sustainable practices are highlighted as crucial elements underpinned by the social identity theory (SIT).

Contrary to the extant body of research, this study provides new insights into the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Jordan, highlighting the practical relevance of theories like TPB, RBV and SIT for both policymakers and the start-up community in niche markets.

This study aims to examine the association of employee resilience and agility with innovative performance and subjective well-being. Moreover, it tests job crafting as the underlying mechanism through which resilient and agile employees perform innovatively and experience higher subjective well-being.

The study used a survey-based research design and structural equation modeling technique to examine the proposed hypotheses. Data was collected from a sample of 380 employees working in the Indian information technology sector using survey questionnaires.

The results show that highly resilient and agile employees participate in job crafting that positively influences their innovative performance and subjective well-being. Job crafting fully mediates the association of resilience with work and well-being outcomes and partially mediates agility and outcomes.

There is a value in promoting the development of employee resilience and agility to foster ways in which employees can craft their jobs and, thus, maximize their innovative performance and subjective well-being.

This study makes an important contribution by underscoring the importance of personal resources (resilience and agility) as drivers of job crafting for higher innovative performance and subjective well-being.

This study focusses on the intersection of social sustainability and human resource management (HRM) as a strategy for crisis management. It aims to provide detailed insight by exploring the associations between socially sustainable HRM (SSHRM), employee well-being, trust in social capital and employee resilience.

This study used a cross-sectional research design to test relationships amongst variables. Data was gathered from employees in India’s private-sector information technology (IT) industry, making the framework relevant to this specific context. The study employed the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse complex relationships between the variables.

The results indicate that organisations can boost employee resilience through SSHRM implementation, promote personal well-being (PWB) and family well-being (FWB) and foster trust in social capital. Additionally, the study highlights the moderating impact of employee empowerment, improving the translation of positive employee behaviour in organisational settings.

Our research emphasises the importance of sustainability efforts and strategies focused on social capital to build long-lasting employee connections. This highlights the necessity of incorporating social sustainability objectives into the organisation’s strategic blueprint, ensuring integration into decision-making procedures.

This study uniquely explores the underlying mechanisms through which SSHRM influences employee resilience. An in-depth empirical analysis evinces the causal mechanism between SSHRM, employee well-being, social capital trust and employee resilience.

This study aims to explore the role of frontline service employees’ (FSEs) awareness that their job can be substituted by smart technology, artificial intelligence, robotics and algorithms (STARA) in their job autonomy and proactive service performance and when these relationships can be buffered. Drawing on the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, the study examined the mediating relationship between FSEs’ STARA awareness, job autonomy and proactive service performance and the moderating effects of self-efficacy and resilience on this relationship.

The authors administered two-wave online surveys to 301 South Korean FSEs working in various service sectors (e.g. retailing, food/beverage, hospitality/tourism and banking). The Time 1 survey measured respondents’ STARA awareness, self-efficacy, resilience and job autonomy, and the Time 2 survey assessed their proactive service performance.

FSEs’ STARA awareness negatively affected their subsequent proactive service performance through decreased job autonomy. The negative association between STARA awareness and job autonomy was weaker when FSEs’ self-efficacy was high than when it was low. While the authors observed no significant moderation of resilience, the author found a marginally significant three-way interaction between STARA awareness, self-efficacy and resilience. Specifically, STARA awareness was negatively related to job autonomy only when both self-efficacy and resilience were low. When either self-efficacy or resilience was high, the association between STARA awareness and job autonomy became nonsignificant, suggesting the buffering roles of the two personal resources.

Given that the measurement of variables relied on self-reported data, rater biases might have affected the findings of the study. Moreover, the simultaneous measurement of STARA awareness, self-efficacy, resilience and job autonomy could preclude causal inferences between these variables. The authors encourage future studies to use a more rigorous methodology to reduce rater biases and establish stronger causality between the variables.

Service firms can decrease FSEs’ STARA awareness through training in the knowledge and skills necessary to work with these technologies. To promote FSEs’ proactive service performance in this context, service firms need to involve them in decisions related to STARA adoption and allow them to craft their jobs. Service managers should provide FSEs with social support and exercise empowering and supportive leadership to help them view STARA as a challenge rather than a threat.

Distinct from prior research on STARA awareness and employee outcomes, the study identified proactive service performance as a key outcome in the STARA context. By presenting self-efficacy and resilience as crucial personal resources that buffer FSEs from the deleterious impact of STARA awareness, the study provides practitioners with insights that can help FSEs maintain their job autonomy and proactive service performance in times of digitalization and automation.