Resilience in service firms: the impact of social capital on firm performance during turmoil

PurposeThis study aims to examine whether social capital contributes to service firms' resilience during crisis.Design/methodology/approachThis study measures social capital via environmental and social (ES) ratings and firm performance via buy-and-hold-abnormal returns derived from Refinitiv ESG and CRSP databases. Using a sample of 404 US service firms, this study runs cross-sectional regressions to estimate the effect of social capital on service firms' crisis returns.FindingsThis study finds that high-social capital service firms outperformed in the first quarter of 2020. The crisis response is heterogeneous among service sub-sectors and diverges (i.e. calming or deepening) over time depending on social capital. Service sub-sector analysis notably posits that social capital impact is positively related to returns of Health- and Business Services and firms with utilitarian nature. The study also indicates that ES commitments targeting internal stakeholders contribute more to resilience. Overall, social capital might be a relevant value driver, generate real impact and provide insurance-like protection for service firms during turmoil.Originality/valueThe service industry is one of the most severely hit industries during COVID-19. However, there is limited knowledge about whether and when social capital creates value in the service industry during crises. This study makes two main contributions: first, it extends to the continuous efforts toward the role of social capital in firm performance, and second, it provides important insights related to the resilience search for service firms.