Resilience building among small businesses in low-income neighborhoods

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to investigate the drivers of static and dynamic resilience as a response to the COVID-19-induced crisis among small business entrepreneurs in Brazil. This study explores the role of human, social, and financial capital in the building of resilience responses based on 38 longitudinal case studies. Our interviews indicate that small businesses with lower levels of human capital and social capital were associated with static resilience responses. However, those with higher levels of human capital and higher levels of family social capital had a higher likelihood of developing a richer resource repertoire associated with stronger social media and financial management capabilities, which were associated with dynamic resilience responses. Our study helps in the theoretical understanding of reasons entrepreneurs at times fail to develop novel responses to the crises.