The Role of Strategic Orientations in Managing Economic Crisis: An Empirical Examination of Russian SMEs

Abstract

While there is a growing interest towards exploring multiple strategic orientations, most research has been conducted in stable economic environments. Taking into consideration the contemporary economic instability, it is timely to develop an understanding of strategic directions which may guide firms' behaviors for managing their way through economic crises. In this study, we examine the role of entrepreneurial (EO), market (MO), and learning orientation (LO) in helping SMEs capitalize during economic crisis. Based on the dataset of 612 Russian SMEs collected in 2015-2016, the results indicate that, individually, EO and MO enable firms to capitalize during crisis times; yet, their benefits are reduced when coupling with another strategic orientation.