The anatomy of entrepreneurial continuity: a cross-national recovery story from COVID-19

Purpose This study explores how entrepreneurial perceptions and cultural legitimacy influenced early-stage (TEA) and established (EBO) entrepreneurial activity during and after the COVID-19 crisis (2019–2024), and how these dynamics shaped national resilience profiles. Design/methodology/approach Using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data from 2017–2024 across 27 economies, we employ fixed-effects panel regression to assess the interactive impact of behavioral and legitimacy factors on entrepreneurial outcomes (RQ1). For RQ2, we apply k-means clustering to classify economies into distinct resilience profiles based on changes in opportunity perception, entrepreneurial confidence, legitimacy cues and outcome shifts. Findings Findings reveal that perceived capability became a leading behavioral driver of entrepreneurial activity in the post-crisis period, while perceived opportunity showed only modest gains. In contrast, legitimacy indicators weakened during the crisis and recovered more slowly, highlighting their fragility under systemic stress. These patterns point to asynchronous recovery, where individual confidence outpaces societal endorsement. Using longitudinal clustering, the study identifies three resilience profiles: rebounders, drifters and non-conforming ecosystems, each reflecting distinct combinations of perception dynamics, legitimacy alignment and recovery trajectories. Originality/value The study offers a temporally grounded explanation of how behavioral drivers and legitimacy cues interact and decouple across crisis phases, shaping entrepreneurial continuity. Also, a novel lens on how ecosystems evolve in response to disruption.