Antifragile Organizations: Embracing Uncertainty to Gain in the Face of Crisis

Crises pose significant challenges to industries and organizational operations. The global crisis presented by the COVID-19 pandemic destabilized business environments and led many organizations towards failure. However, some organizations displayed considerable gains, achieving enhanced performance in response to the elevated uncertainty. These organizations have the potential to inform future organizations facing similar periods of elevated uncertainty. This study employs the use of case study design underpinned by thematic identification and analysis to explore how antifragility was evidenced in three organizations (The Walt Disney Company, The Tractor Supply Company, and Zoom). Our exploratory analysis reveals two antecedents to antifragility namely ‘embracing uncertainty’ (informed by flexibility and exploration) and ‘resource reconfiguration’ (underpinned by key decisions and actions). These antecedents constitute a potential for antifragility to organizations aiming to gain through increased outputs and performance. Our findings contribute to the emerging body of literature on leveraging gains from uncertainty, providing insights for organizations to consider when faced with future crises.