How to Manage a Crisis: Entrepreneurial and Learning Orientation in Out-of-Court Reorganization

This paper analyzes the impact of SMEs' entrepreneurial and learning orientation on the outcome of reorganization. We draw on a resource-based view on reorganization, linked with entrepreneurial and learning orientation. Previous research indicates a higher success rate of out-of-court reorganization compared to formal court-supervised proceedings. Out-of-court solutions are handled privately, therefore little is publicly known about the process of an out-of-court reorganization and what determines its success or failure. Thus, we focus on out-of-court reorganization, analyzing a sample of 521 Austrian SMEs. The data were collected from the financing banks. To test our hypothesized model of the impact of entrepreneurial and learning orientation on reorganization success, we applied bivariate analyses and logistic regression. The findings indicate that both entrepreneurial orientation and learning orientation positively influence the success of reorganization. While action-oriented entrepreneurial orientation probably has a stronger impact on short-term success, vision-oriented learning orientation seems to be more important for long-term turnaround. Company size acts as a moderator, indicating that small companies are less likely to succeed than micro-and medium-sized companies. The study has implications for corporate practice and future research.