Resilience and small business performance: An empirical investigation

When small business owners encounter vicissitudes, does their resilience help them bounce back quickly to survive and be successful? Is their resilience more pronounced when they perceive the environment to be hostile? Answering this question is the purpose of this study. Using data from 105 small business owners in multiple industries, the results show that small business owners’ resilience and small business performance are positively associated, and that when they perceive the environment to be hostile, the effect of resilience is stronger. While validating findings in the extant literature, this study enhances the veracity of past findings by examining small business owners in Thailand. Also, the study illustrates the importance of the individual difference perspective in small business research. Last, the study illustrates a need for training to enhance the resilience of small business owners before, during, and after small business owners encounter vicissitudes.