This study investigates how different forms of resource scarcity affect organisational resilience in manufacturing firms during crises. It examines the mediating role of organisational agility: Market capitalising agility and operational adjustment capacity to decide whether resilience depends on resource availability or on capability reconfiguration under constraints
A positivist, deductive approach was employed using survey data from 271 senior managers across global manufacturing firms. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and bootstrapping were applied to test the direct and mediated relationships among five types of resource scarcity, agility mechanisms and resilience. Reliability, validity and common method bias were tested using established procedures
Technological and informational scarcities have significant negative effects on resilience, while financial, human and supply-chain scarcities show no direct impact. However, agility compensates for these constraints. Market capitalising agility mediates the effects of financial, human and technological scarcity, while operational adjustment capacity mediates supply-chain and informational scarcity. These results demonstrate the fact that resilience arises not from resource abundance but from agility-driven capability reconfiguration
Managers should prioritise agility development rather than solely pursuing resource accumulation. Investing in digital infrastructure, real-time information systems and cross-functional adaptability enables firms to convert scarcity into competitive strength during crises
This study applies the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities Theory to explain how different forms of perceived resource scarcity relate to organisational resilience through agility-based reconfiguration mechanisms. It provides a multidimensional empirical examination of how market capitalising agility and operational adjustment capacity help firms respond to resource constraints during crises, offering actionable insights for crisis-era strategy
