Authors:
Afif Muis Fakhri Masysur, Chandra Selamat Putra Gulo, David Giovano Pardosi, Iskandar Muda, P. Sudha, Muhammad Saleem
Addresses:
Department of Accounting, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan Campus, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia. Department of Business Administration, Dhaanish Ahmed College of Engineering, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Department of Management and Economics, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Abstract:
Despite its significance and omnipresence in the economy, MSMEs are highly susceptible to external shocks. In this paper, researchers travel back 20 years to examine the risk management environment these firms faced from 2005 to 25. This paper investigates early strategic responses to financial crises, technological disruption, and global health emergencies with a focus on the re-orientation of ‘dominant logics’ towards resilience engineering. Using a sample of 457 early cases, researchers explore how small firms respond to uncertainty, and our findings suggest that, while the strategies were initially focused on cost savings—consolidation and exploitation of labour pool resources—contemporary ones are more about digital diversification and agile supply chains. Researchers conclude that survival now depends on the strategic adoption of predictive data analytics and flexible operational models, rather than on plain access to liquidity. This paper, therefore, exposes the gulf between perceived risk and actual preparation for it, shifting the focus to how under-resourced companies can flourish in times of volatility. Hence, it is the internal learning and adaptation capabilities of MSMEs that matter more than any predictable, peaceful market.
Keywords: Risk Management; MSME Resilience; Financial Crises; Economic Sustainability; Strategic Agility; Operational Uncertainty; Digital Transformation; Digital Diversification.
Received: 22/12/2024, Revised: 24/02/2025, Accepted: 10/04/2025, Published: 23/12/2025
DOI: 10.64091/ATITP.2025.000182
AVE Trends in Intelligent Technoprise Letters, 2025 Vol. 2 No. 4 , Pages: 193-201