Learn to survive crises: The role of firm resilience, innovation capabilities and environmental dynamism

Exogenous crises, while disruptive, may also present learning opportunities that could affect a firm’s viability and performance. In this study, we examine how exogenous crises can constitute learning opportunities and assess their impact on firm survival. In particular, we investigate the role of learning in response to exogenous crises and how firm resilience, innovation capabilities, and environmental dynamism influence this relationship. Drawing from crisis management and organisational learning literature, we propose that these factors can bolster the connection between learning from crises and firm survival. To test our hypotheses, we conduct a nuanced analysis using both regression analysis and Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) on data from 249 Italian manufacturing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). This approach allows us to simultaneously examine the impact of firm resilience, innovation capabilities, and environmental dynamism on the relationship between learning from crises and firm survival. Our findings offer theoretical and practical insights into the role of learning from crises in a firm’s survival. They also highlight the importance of embracing learning opportunities in crisis situations and suggest that how firms deal with crises could be an opportunity to fine-tune their internal processes and thrive in the long run.