Purpose

Several studies have shown that economic shock and crisis trigger companies to move forward innovatively. This paper aims to compliment this research topic by investigating how SMEs activate their organization resilience to adapt to changes generated by a crisis, with specific focus on how digitalization is used as an opportunity on this road. COVID-19 pandemic provided the context to investigate this situation.

Design/methodology/approach

The research approach combines literature review, quantitative data survey and data analysis and modeling using PLS-SEM. The quantitative data survey provided the database for building the structural equation model, exploring the structural relationships between the constructs and testing the hypotheses. Expert discussions contributed to the validation and interpretation of the results.

Findings

The model reveals that while organizational resilience has no direct effect on digitalization, combined with available resources, it realizes its indirect impact. Resilient companies require less external financial support to achieve their digitalization goals. The results also confirm that an uncertain environment encourages SMEs to go digital.

Originality/value

Several research studies highlighted the importance of SMEs in recovery from crises. Knowing more about how they can be supported and what capabilities they should develop is essential. This research explores the relationship between organizational resilience, resource availability and digitalization for SMEs in crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing the self-reinforcing effect of organizational resilience and the level of digitalization that was not previously studied.

中文翻译：

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危机中的数字化：组织弹性在中小企业数字化中的作用

 目的

多项研究表明，经济冲击和危机会促使企业创新前进。本文旨在通过调查中小企业如何激活其组织弹性以适应危机产生的变化，特别关注如何利用数字化作为这一道路上的机遇，来补充这一研究主题。 COVID-19 大流行为调查这一情况提供了背景。

设计/方法论/途径

研究方法结合了文献综述、定量数据调查以及使用 PLS-SEM 进行数据分析和建模。定量数据调查为构建结构方程模型、探索结构之间的结构关系和检验假设提供了数据库。专家讨论有助于结果的验证和解释。

 发现

该模型表明，虽然组织弹性对数字化没有直接影响，但结合可用资源，它实现了其间接影响。具有韧性的公司需要较少的外部财务支持来实现其数字化目标。结果还证实，不确定的环境会鼓励中小企业走向数字化。

 原创性/价值

多项研究强调了中小企业在危机复苏中的重要性。更多地了解如何支持他们以及他们应该发展哪些能力至关重要。这项研究探讨了在 COVID-19 大流行等危机中中小企业的组织复原力、资源可用性和数字化之间的关系，揭示了组织复原力的自我强化效应和以前未研究过的数字化水平。