Cotterell, Dafydd, Bowen, Robert  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8492-2701 and Huxtable-Thomas, Louisa Anne
2026.
Retail micro-SME resilience during crisis: failing, surviving and thriving as outcomes of bricolage.
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research
32
(7)
, pp. 1822-1841.
10.1108/ijebr-10-2025-1543
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Abstract
Purpose The global business environment faces ongoing disruption from numerous unprecedented crises. These crises – including the aftermath of COVID-19, Mpox, Brexit, climate change, American trade tariffs and war in Europe and the Middle East – have created complex challenges for business, where the development of resilience has become essential. Existing research identifies bricolage as a key behaviour for supporting business resilience; however, enablers of bricolage are poorly understood. Thus, the purpose of this research is to evaluate the enablers of bricolage behaviour as a form of resilience to unprecedented crises. Design/methodology/approach This research deploys a qualitative methodology where semi-structured interviews form the research instrument. Maximum variation sampling achieved a response rate of 20 interviews from retail micro small and medium-sized enterprise (micro-SME) owner-managers. The data collected were analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2006, 2021) reflexive thematic analysis method, where a thematic map was subsequently developed. Findings This research identified three outcomes of bricolage across the retail micro-SMEs that participated in this study. These outcomes are presented as businesses that failed, survived or thrived as a result of the crisis. It was identified that the most resilient were able to enable bricolage by leveraging business support, business experience and business age. Originality/value This study contributes to existing bricolage research by extending understandings of how bricolage can be successfully deployed in practice. While previous research has simply identified resource bricolage behaviour as a form of resilience, this research presents three bricolage enablers which support its deployment under crisis conditions.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Publication |
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > Business (Including Economics) |
| Additional Information: | RRS policy applied |
| Publisher: | Emerald |
| ISSN: | 1355-2554 |
| Date of First Compliant Deposit: | 8 July 2026 |
| Date of Acceptance: | 29 April 2026 |
| Last Modified: | 08 Jul 2026 09:30 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187390 |
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