Can entrepreneur demographics moderate the effect of improvisational capabilities on organizational resilience? Evidence from selected MSMEs in Barangay Caticlan, Aklan Province

• Main Authors: Paderna, Raymond D., Guevarra, John Benedict C., Dominguez, Limuel John S., Luyun, MIchael Angelo T., Navarro, John Bryan T.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2018
• Subjects: Organizational resilience; Crisis management; Small business—Philippines—Boracay Island; Businesspeople—Philippines—Boracay Island; Entrepreneurship—Philippines—Boracay Island; Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations; Organizational Behavior and Theory
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/10348
• Institution: De La Salle University

Extant literature hints that improvisation can now go beyond the jazz metaphor and be scaled for use in an organizational setting. Of specific interest to the researchers is whether improvisation plays a role in enhancing the resilience of small business owners in Barangay Caticlan as they deal with the temporary closure of their presumed lifeline, Boracay Island. Additionally, the team also investigated the moderating effect of selected entrepreneur demographics on the hypothesized improvisation-resilience nexus. I 03 entrepreneurs were polled and several expert respondents were also invited to corroborate the survey findings. It was subsequently revealed that the improvisational capability and resilience level of the typical survey participant arc both above average. Furthermore, linear regression analysis revealed that improvisation is a highly significant predictor of organizational resilience. Selected entrepreneur demographics such as age, educational attainment, years of business experience, form of business ownership, type/nature of business operations, and firm size were all shown by the moderated regression analysis to amplify the effect of improvisation on resilience. While the expert respondents showed some restraint in confirming the results particularly involving age as a moderator, observed data by and large were consistent with a priori knowledge regarding the constructs. Some key recommendations of the team include the need to fortify small business resilience (a) by designing a resource plan for crisis threshold, (b) through the use of collective improvisation, and (c) by having a combination of different income sources within and across customer groups.