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Avoiding crisis-driven business failure through digital dynamic capabilities. B2B distribution firms during the COVID-19 and beyond

Zia, Najam Ul, Shamim, Saqib, Zeng, Jing, Awan, Usama, Chromjakova, Felicita, Akhtar, Pervaiz, Orel, Marko (2023) Avoiding crisis-driven business failure through digital dynamic capabilities. B2B distribution firms during the COVID-19 and beyond. Industrial Marketing Management, 113 . pp. 14-29. ISSN 0019-8501. E-ISSN 1873-2062. (doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.05.015) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:101499)

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.05.015

Abstract

Previous research has proposed different determinants of the success and failure of technological innovation in industrial networks. However, following the recent COVID-19 pandemic crisis, distributors have been seeking to become more agile in identifying and transforming business processes to avoid failures. Although industrial practitioners have been broadly motivated to understand the effects of pandemics on business failure, the contingency factors that affect organizations in their responses to such sudden exogenous shocks remain unclear. Inspired by a burgeoning academic interest in viewing the COVID-19 pandemic as a digital accelerator, this paper examines how B2B distribution firms have been avoiding business failure by using their dynamic capabilities (DCs) in response to the sudden exogenous shocks caused by the pandemic. Based on data drawn from interviews conducted with a sample of B2B distribution firms, we argue that capitalizing on digital DCs—digital sensing (i.e., digital mindset crafting and digital scenario planning), digital seizing (i.e., engaging in strategic agility and balancing a digital portfolio), and digital transformation (i.e., navigating the innovation ecosystem, redesigning the internal structure, and improving digital maturity), —helps to prevent business failure during a pandemic.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.05.015
Uncontrolled keywords: Industrial networks, Business failure, B2B distributor, digital dynamic capabilities, post-COVID-19 pandemic
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5351 Business
Divisions: Divisions > Kent Business School - Division > Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and International Business
Funders: University of Kent (https://ror.org/00xkeyj56)
Depositing User: Maggie Zeng
Date Deposited: 01 Jun 2023 13:15 UTC
Last Modified: 21 Sep 2023 10:57 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/101499 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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