Purpose

This study aims to present and test a model of small business owners’ adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic, through the lenses of the resource-based view of the firm, upper echelon theory (UET) and positive psychology. Specifically, it examined the relationships between personal characteristics and strategic pivot behavior in a sample of small business owners during a peak period of the crisis in Israel.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample (N = 202) of small business owners provided information on their business and demographics, and responded to questionnaires assessing their personality (Big Five personality traits), emotional intelligence (EI) and reported the extent to which they implemented strategic changes during the pandemic. These changes were categorized as “positive” (e.g. shifting to new markets, adding partners or investors) or “negative’ (e.g. letting employees go).

Findings

The results partially support an association between personality traits and “positive” strategic change behavior, mediated by EI.

Research limitations/implications

The results suggest that business owners' personality traits, and chief among them – EI may play a key role in enabling flexibility when dealing with a long-term crisis or threat. However, market and legislative differences between markets may limit the generalizability to other sectors or countries.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to address small businesses’ COVID-19-related challenges from a personal-resource perspective by applying a theoretical lens integrating the RBV of the firm, UET and positive psychology. The findings provide a better understanding of the ways in which business owners’ personal resources account for business pivot behavior in times of crisis.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行期间小企业主的个人特征及其战略变革行为

目的

本研究旨在通过公司资源基础观、上层梯队理论 (UET) 和积极心理学的视角，提出并测试小企业主在 COVID-19 大流行期间的适应模型。具体来说，它研究了以色列危机高峰时期小企业主样本的个人特征与战略枢纽行为之间的关系。

设计/方法论/途径

小企业主样本（N = 202）提供了有关其业务和人口统计的信息，并回答了评估其性格（大五人格特质）、情商（EI）的调查问卷，并报告了他们在战略变革期间实施战略变革的程度。大流行。这些变化被归类为“积极”（例如转向新市场、增加合作伙伴或投资者）或“消极”（例如解雇员工）。

发现

结果部分支持人格特质与由 EI 介导的“积极”战略变革行为之间的关联。

研究局限性/影响

结果表明，企业主的人格特征，其中最主要的——情商，可能在应对长期危机或威胁时实现灵活性方面发挥关键作用。然而，市场之间的市场和立法差异可能会限制其对其他部门或国家的普遍适用性。

原创性/价值

据作者所知，这项研究是首次通过应用整合公司 RBV、UET 和积极心理学的理论视角，从个人资源的角度解决小型企业与 COVID-19 相关的挑战。研究结果使人们更好地了解企业主的个人资源在危机时期如何影响企业的关键行为。