Impact of Resilience on the Performance Optimisation of SMEs: Evidence from the Manzini Region, Eswatini
Keywords:
Disruptions, SMEs, Detectability, CopingAbstract
Resilience is essential for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Eswatini to adapt and thrive amid disruptions. This study investigated the relationship between resilience and performance optimisation in SMEs. While previous research recognises the importance of resilience in overcoming organisational performance challenges, the specific mechanisms through which resilience influences performance remain underexplored. Using census sampling, data were collected from 206 owner-managers of SMEs in Manzini through a self-administered questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test for reliability. At the same time, Pearson’s correlation coefficients were employed to examine the bivariate associations between the resilience dimensions and performance optimisation. The findings reveal significant positive correlations between the resilience dimensions: detectability (r = 0.372, p < 0.01), coping (r = 0.200, p < 0.01), and adaptation (r = 0.245, p < 0.01) and performance optimisation. These results recognise resilience as a multi-dimensional and dynamic process requiring strategic actions before, during, and after adverse events. This study contributes valuable insights for SME owners and policymakers by demonstrating how integrating detectability, coping, and adaptation strategies can build resilience and optimise performance in disruptive environments.
References
Abrokwah-Larbi, K. (2024). The impact of customer-focus on the performance of business organisations: Evidence from SMEs in an emerging West African economy. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 15(1), 31–59.
Aisjah, S., Arsawan, I. W. E., & Suhartanto, D. (2023). Predicting SME’s business performance: Integrating stakeholder theory and performance-based innovation model. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 9(3).
Allen, C. R., Angeler, D. G., Garmestani, A. S., Gunderson, L. H., & Holling, C. S. (2014). Panarchy: Theory and Application. 17(4), 578–589.
Alles, L., Jayathilaka, R., Kumari, N., Malalathunga, T., Obeyesekera, H., & Sharmila, S. (2021). An investigation of the usage of capital budgeting techniques by small and medium enterprises. Quality and Quantity, 55(3), 993–1006.
Alves, I., & Lourenço, S. M. (2022). The use of non-financial performance measures for managerial compensation: Evidence from SMEs. Journal of Management Control, 33(2), 151–187.
Ansoff, H. I. (1980). Strategic issue management. Strategic Management Journal, 1(2), 131–148. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/smj.4250010204.
Anthanasius Fomum, T., & Opperman, P. (2023). Financial inclusion and performance of MSMEs in Eswatini. International Journal of Social Economics, 50(11), 1551–1567.
Ayala, J. C., & Manzano, G. (2014). The resilience of the entrepreneur. Influence on the success of the business. A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Economic Psychology, 42, 126–135.
Bennett, J. B., Neeper, M., Linde, B. D., Lucas, G. M., & Simone, L. (2018). Team resilience training in the workplace: E-learning adaptation, measurement model, and two pilot studies. JMIR Mental Health, 5(5).
Bowes, L., Maughan, B., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., & Arseneault, L. (2010). Families promote emotional and behavioural resilience to bullying: Evidence of an environmental effect. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(7), 809–817.
Bui, H., Chau, V. S., Degl’Innocenti, M., Leone, L., & Vicentini, F. (2019). The Resilient Organisation: A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Communication on Team Diversity and Team Performance. Applied Psychology, 68(4), 621–657.
Burnard, K., & Bhamra, R. (2011). Organisational resilience: Development of a conceptual framework for organisational responses. International Journal of Production Research, 49(18), 5581–5599.
Burnard, K. J., & Bhamra, R. (2019). Challenges for organisational resilience. Continuity & Resilience Review, 1(1), 17–25.
Chen, R., Liu, Y., & Zhou, F. (2021). Turning danger into safety: The origin, research context and theoretical framework of organisational resilience. IEEE Access, 9, 48899–48913.
Chen, R., Xie, Y., & Liu, Y. (2021). Defining, conceptualising, and measuring organisational resilience: A multiple case study. Sustainability, 13(5), 1–24.
Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. T. (2003). Development of a new Resilience scale: The Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 76–82.
Coetzee, C., Van Niekerk, D., & Raju, E. (2016). Disaster resilience and complex adaptive systems theory: Finding common grounds for risk reduction. Disaster Prevention and Management, 25(2), 196–211.
Conz, E., Denicolai, S., & Zucchella, A. (2017). The resilience strategies of SMEs in mature clusters. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 11(1), 186–210.
Dejardin, M., Raposo, M. L., Ferreira, J. J., Fernandes, C. I., Veiga, P. M., & Farinha, L. (2023). The impact of dynamic capabilities on SME performance during COVID-19. Review of Managerial Science, 17(5), 1703–1729.
De Souza, Z. & Dick, G. N. (2009). Disclosure of information by children in social networking-Not just a case of you show me yours and I’ll show you mine. International Journal of Information Management, 29(4), 255–261.
Dlamini, B., & Schutte, D. P. (2020). An overview of the historical development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Zimbabwe. Small Enterprise Research, 27(3), 306–322.
Duchek, S. (2018). Entrepreneurial resilience: A biographical analysis of successful entrepreneurs. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 14(2), 429–455.
Duchek, S. (2020). Organisational resilience: A capability-based conceptualisation. Business Research, 13(1), 215–246.
Duchek, S., Raetze, S., & Scheuch, I. (2020). The role of diversity in organisational resilience: A theoretical framework. Business Research, 13(2), 387–423.
Erdiaw-Kwasie, M. O., Abunyewah, M., Yusif, S., & Arhin, P. (2023). In a pandemic, small and medium enterprises (SMEs): A systematic review of pandemic risk impacts, coping strategies and resilience. Heliyon, 9(10).
Goaill, M. M., & Al-Hakimi, M. A. (2021). Does absorptive capacity moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and supply chain resilience? Cogent Business and Management, 8(1).
Government of Eswatini Centre for Financial Inclusion. (2018). Making Access Possible SME.
Gorjian Khanzad, Z., & Gooyabadi, A. A. (2021). Development of Strategic Resilience Framework for Small Businesses Post-COVID-19. Businesses, 1(3), 127–141.
Haefner, N., Wincent, J., Parida, V., & Gassmann, O. (2021). Artificial intelligence and innovation management: A review, framework, and research agenda✰. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 162, 120392.
Hamel, G., & Liisa, V. (2003). The Quest for Resilience.
Helen, A., Sophie, B., & Nadia, M. (2021). Trust and psychological safety: An evidence review: Practice summary and recommendations.
Hepfer, M., & Lawrence, T. B. (2022). The Heterogeneity of organisational Resilience: Exploring functional, operational and strategic resilience. Organisation Theory, 3(1), 263178772210747.
Herbane, B. (2019). Rethinking organisational resilience and strategic renewal in SMEs. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 31(5–6), 476–495.
Hillmann, J., & Guenther, E. (2021). Organisational Resilience: A Valuable Construct for Management Research? International Journal of Management Reviews, 23(1), 7–44.
Holling, C. S. (1973). Resilience and Stability of Ecological Systems. In Source: Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics (Vol. 4).
Hong, P., Huang, C., & Li, B. (2012). Crisis management for SMEs: Insights from a multiple-case study. International Journal of Business Excellence, 5(5), 535.
Iborra, M., Safón, V., & Dolz, C. (2020). What explains the resilience of SMEs? Ambidexterity capability and strategic consistency. Long Range Planning, 53(6).
International Trade Centre. (2022). Promoting SME Competitiveness in Eswatini. http://www.intracen.org.
Jorge, V. F., Ileana, R. C. M., Castro-Zuluaga Carlos, A., & Mateo, M. G. (2020). Small and medium enterprise-SMEs’ resilience model based on maturity cycle. Proceedings of the LACCEI International Multi-Conference for Engineering, Education and Technology.
Kanyangale, M., & Njoloma, E. (2020). Relational-based Resilience of a Public University: A Case study on Losing a Library by Mzuzu University in Malawi. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 86(1).
Kanyangale, M., & Pearse, N. (2012). How is micro insurance distributed in Swaziland? Evidence from Senior Managers View project Organisational Resilience View project Potential Pitfalls in defining the Small and Medium Enterprise Concept and Implications for Research.
Koporcic, N., Kukkamalla, P. K., Markovic, S., & Maran, T. (2025). Resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises in times of crisis: An umbrella review. Review of Managerial Science.
Kotsios, P. (2023). Business resilience skills for SMEs. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 12(1).
Koşan, L., Enes, K., Çolak, O., Levent Koşan, A., Kemal Enes, L., & Okan Çolak, L. (2014). Activity Based Customer Profitability Analysis: A Case Study in Travel Agency.
Kule, W. J., & Kanyangale, M. (2025). Deconstructing dimensions of resilience in Small and Medium Enterprise in Eswatini: A literature analysis. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147- 4478), 14(3), 60–72.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.
Legenzova, R., Leckė, G., & Lupeikytė, E. (2025). How prepared are SMEs for market disturbances? A dynamic approach to SMEs’ financial resilience. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1).
Lengnick-Hall, C. A., Beck, T. E., & Lengnick-Hall, M. L. (2011). Developing a capacity for organisational resilience through strategic human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 21(3), 243–255.
Limnios, E. A. M, Mazzarol, T., Ghadouani, A., & Schilizzi, S. G. M. (2014). The Resilience Architecture Framework: Four organisational archetypes. European Management Journal, 32(1), 104–116.
Linnenluecke, M. K. (2017). Resilience in Business and Management Research: A Review of Influential Publications and a Research Agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 4–30.
Lukason, O., & Valgenberg, G. (2021). Failure Prediction in the Condition of Information Asymmetry: Tax Arrears as a Substitute When Financial Ratios Are Outdated. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 14(10), 470.
Lütfi, S. & Ahmet, M. (2020). Validity and Reliability in Quantitative Research. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 8(3), 2694-2726.
Manyena, S. B., O’Bein, G., O’Keefe, P., & Rose, J. (2011). Disaster resilience: a bounce back or bounce forward ability? Local Environment, 16(5), 417-424.
Mendonça, S., Cardoso, G., & Caraça, J. (2012). The strategic strength of weak signal analysis. Futures, 44(3), 218–228.
Michael, E., Matthew, A., Salifu, Y., & Patrick, A. (2023). Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a pandemic: A systematic review of pandemic risk impacts, coping strategies and resilience. Elsevier, 9(10).
Miguel, P. C., Filipa, C., Pedro, N., Joana, S., Rego, A., & Stewart, C. (2013). Resilience in organisations.
Mohammed, A., & Mohammad, A. S. (2022). The Role of Supply Chain Resilience on SMEs’ Performance: The Case of an Emerging Economy. MDPI Journal of Logistics, 6, 47.
Morales, S. N., Martínez, L. R., Gómez, J. A. H., López, R. R., & Torres-Argüelles, V. (2019). Predictors of organisational resilience by factorial analysis. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 11.
Murat, B. C., & Algan, N. (2019). The Importance Of SMEs On World Economies.
Nan, W., & Park, M. (2022). Improving the resilience of SMEs in times of crisis: The impact of mobile money amid Covid‐19 in Zambia. Journal of International Development, 34(4), 697–714.
Nyuur, R. B., Brečić, R., & Sobiesuo, P. (2015). Foresight capabilities and SME product/service adaptiveness: the moderating effect of industry dynamism. International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy, 10(4).
Olsson, L., Jerneck, A., Thoren, H., Persson, J., & O’Byrne, D. (2015). Why resilience is unappealing to social science: Theoretical and empirical investigations of the scientific use of resilience. Science Advances, 1(4).
Onzález-Pernía, J. L., Guerrero, M., & Jung, A.-L. (2018). Economic recession shake-out and entrepreneurship: Evidence from Spain. BRQ Bus Res Q, 21(3), 153–16.
Papulová, Z., Gažová, A., Šlenker, M., & Papula, J. (2021). Performance measurement system: Implementation process in SMES. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(9).
Plummer, J. D., & Tanis Ozcelik, A. (2015). Preservice teachers developing coherent inquiry investigations in elementary astronomy. Science Education, 99(5), 932–957.
Puumalainen, K., Sjögrén, H., Soininen, J., Syrjä, P., & Kraus, S. (2023). Crisis response strategies and entrepreneurial orientation of SMEs: A configurational analysis on performance impacts. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal.
Ramirez, H., & Sang Lim, T. (2021). Performance of SMEs: Literature synthesis of contingency models. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 19(3), 276–297.
Razakova, D., Shmatko, L., Shatila, K., & Davtyan, A. (2023). Analysis for the sustainability of intelligent transport systems in the United States. E3S Web of Conferences, 389, 5002.
Richard, A. Dietmar, G., Asta, P., & Christine, V. (2023). Artificiality and Sustainability in Entrepreneurship. Exploring the Unforeseen, and Paving the Way to a Sustainable Future. FGF Studies in Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Springer Germany.
Rousseau, P., Camara, D., & Kotzinos, D. (2021). Weak signal detection and identification in large data sets: A review of methods and applications.
Rutter, M. (2006). Implications of resilience concepts for scientific understanding. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094, 1–12.
Saad, M. H., Hagelaar, G., Van Der Velde, G., & Omta, S. W. F. (2021). Conceptualisation of SMEs’ business resilience: A systematic literature review. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1).
Sadeghi, N. (2022). Continuity of small businesses when facing increased flood risk due to global climate change impacts: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 82,103316.
Santos, A. Y. P., & Spers, R. G. (2023). How to measure organisational resilience? Validating a simplified model. Revista de Administracao Mackenzie, 24(6).
Saunders. (2011). The Layers of Research Design-Saunders. Research Methods for Business Students, 6th ed. Pearson.
Sawalha, I. H. S. (2015). Managing adversity: Understanding some dimensions of organisational resilience. Management Research Review, 38(4), 346–366.
Serfontein, E., & Govender, K. K. (2021). The relationship between resilience and organisational control systems in the South African aviation industry. Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 15.
Simms, C., McGowan, P., Pickernell, D., Vazquez-Brust, D., & Williams, A. (2022). Uncovering the effectual-causal resilience nexus in the era of COVID-19: A case of a food sector SME’s resilience in the face of the global pandemic. Industrial Marketing Management, 106, 166–182.
Staber, U., & Sydow, J. (2002). Organisational adaptive capacity: a structuration perspective. Journal of Management Inquiry, 11(4), 408–424.
Supardi, S., & Hadi, S. (2020). New Perspective on the Resilience of SMEs Proactive, Adaptive, Reactive from Business Turbulence: A Systematic Review. Journal of Xi’an University of Architecture & TechnologY, XII(V).
Taber, K. S. (2018). The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education. Research in Science Education, 48(6), 1273–1296.
Tasic, J., Amir, S., Tan, J., & Khader, M. (2020). A multilevel framework to enhance organisational resilience. Journal of Risk Research, 23(6), 713–738.
Thillai, R. P., Ramayah, T., Anbalagan, M., Sanmugam, A., Pradeep, P., & Wong, C. P. (2023). The Impact of Proactive Resilience Strategies on organisational Performance: Role of Ambidextrous and Dynamic Capabilities of SMEs in the Manufacturing Sector. MDPI Sustainability Journal, 12665.
Thompson, C. A., Poelmans, S. A. Y., Allen, T. D., & Andreassi, J. K. (2006). On the Importance of Coping: A Model and New Directions for Research on Work and Family. In Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being (Vol. 6, pp. 73–113).
Thorgren, S., & Williams, T. A. (2020). Staying alive during an unfolding crisis: How SMEs ward off impending disaster. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 14.
Van Breda, A. D. (2018). A critical review of resilience theory and its relevance for social work. Social Work, 54(1).
Van Griethuijsen, R. A. L. F., Van Eijck, M. W., Haste, H., Den Brok, P. J., Skinner, N. C., Mansour, N., Savran Gencer, A., & BouJaoude, S. (2015). Global Patterns in Students’ Views of Science and Interest in Science. Research in Science Education, 45(4), 581–603.
Wedawatta, G., & Ingirige, B. (2012). Resilience and adaptation of small and medium-sized enterprises to flood risk. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 21(4), 474–488.
Xiao, L., & Cao, H. (2017). Organisational Resilience: The Theoretical Model and Research Implication.
Zahra, S. A. (1996). Technology strategy and financial performance: examining the moderating role of the firm’s competitive environment. Journal of Business Venturing, 11(3), 189–219.
Zhang, S., Zhang, F., Xue, B., Wang, D., & Liu, B. (2023). Unpacking resilience of project organisations: A capability-based conceptualisation and measurement of project resilience. International Journal of Project Management, 41(8), 102541.
Zutshi, A., Mendy, J., Sharma, G. D., Thomas, A., & Sarker, T. (2021). From challenges to creativity: Enhancing SMEs’ resilience in the context of covid-19. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(12).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Julius Warren Kule, MacDonald Kanyangale
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The author fully assumes the content originality and the holograph signature makes him responsible in case of trial.
