Taking it personally? The role of personality in strategic crisis management

Abstract The ability of organizations to manage and cope with economic crises is central to the direction and severity of their impact. We explore determinants of strategic crisis responses by focusing on the role of decision-makers’ non-cognitive and cognitive traits. In a representative sample of 1408 young German companies, we find that founders’ personalities influence their crisis management strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Risk-tolerant founders respond with operative innovation rather than retrenchment . Conscientiousness is positively associated with perseverance , and openness to new experiences is positively associated with strategic innovation . More agreeable founders, however, are generally less actively responsive. Finally, migration experience and education are positively associated with innovative crisis responses. Our results have implications for policymakers and practitioners in designing measures to cope with economic distress.