Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/312574 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 24-086
Publisher: 
ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, Mannheim
Abstract: 
Economic crises can have substantial impacts on companies and their stakeholders. The ability of organizations to manage and cope with crises is therefore central to the direction and severity of their impact. We explore an underidentified determinant of strategic crisis management by focusing on the role of decision-makers' non-cognitive and cognitive traits. In a representative sample of 1,408 young companies founded between 2012 and 2019 in Germany, we find that founders' personality impacts the choice of crisis management strategy in the COVID-19 context. Risk-tolerant founders respond with operative innovation rather than retrenchment. Conscientiousness is linked to choosing a perseverance strategy and openness to experience to strategic innovation. More agreeable founders, however, are generally less responsive. Finally, migration experience and education are positively associated with innovative crisis responses. Our results have implications for policymakers and practitioners when designing measures to cope with economic distress.
Subjects: 
Strategic Crisis Management
Crisis Responses
COVID-19
Founder Personality
Cognitive Traits
JEL: 
D21
L21
L26
M2
O30
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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