Resilience reimagined: Mapping the intellectual landscape of organizational resilience in SMEs

Organizational resilience is central to explaining how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) survive and renew during crises, yet the literature remains conceptually fragmented and inconsistently operationalized. This review synthesizes SME resilience research to clarify conceptual foundations, map intellectual structure, and consolidate evidence on antecedents, decision mechanisms, and outcomes. Using bibliometric mapping and systematic content analysis, we apply the antecedents–decisions–outcomes and theory–context–method lenses to examine how resilience is theorized and measured. From Scopus-indexed studies published between 2011 and 2024, we screened 325 records and retained 52 peer-reviewed articles. Findings show that resilience meanings and measures vary by theoretical tradition and methodology, with heterogeneous performance and renewal outcomes. Recurring mechanisms include innovation-mediated renewal and capability bundles, such as learning, digital maturity, and flexibility. We propose a research agenda emphasizing multilevel theorization and methodological pluralism, including emerging constructs, such as sensemaking capability, digital empathy, and translocal embeddedness.