Exploring the Influence of Dynamic Managerial Capabilities on SME Business Model Innovation during Covid-19

Covid-19 has presented both short-and medium-long term environmental challenges for firms. There is a need to understand how organisations can adapt their resource bases to respond to and enact changes within an environment (Teece, 2018) in order to remain competitive and sustainable. Hence, this study explores how dynamic managerial capabilities influence SMEs business model innovation during the Covid-19 crisis. The study analyses a polar sample of emerging market SMEs business model responses to Covid-19 within the emerging market of India. The study provides nascent insights into the role of dynamic managerial capabilities as a determinant of business model response strategies during a crisis event. Moreover, it extends knowledge on the micro-foundations of crisis management through providing evidence of the importance that entrepreneurial managers cognition, social and human capital have on both the response speed and decision making processes of organisations.