The Importance of Risk Management and Marketing Innovation Activities of Firms During Health, Political, Energy, and Economic Crises

Declining business activity, decreasing income, and sanctions imposed by policymakers have increased firms’ perception of business during health, political, energy, and economic crises. Since marketing innovation activities require less time to adopt and less costly investments, firms can apply these activities to mitigate the negative consequences of those tough economic times. Moreover, since marketing innovation is a dynamic capability included in the Resource-based View, it is a good strategy for businesses to react to unexpected and uncontrollable external business risk factors. In this regard, this research aims to analyse whether firms’ application of marketing innovation activities differs depending on their perception of business risk during and after periods of COVID-19, the war between Russia and Ukraine, rising energy prices, and economic recessions. To achieve this goal, this research analyzes 1367 enterprises operating in various European countries and across multiple industries, including iron and mining. Moreover, the research data are collected through online questionnaire surveys, and the researchers apply Ordinal Logistic Regression Tests for analysis purposes. The results show that firms apply marketing innovation activities more when they perceive business risk less intensively during and after tough economic times. The sectors and countries in which firms operate, as well as the geographical scope of companies’ activities, may explain the findings of this study.