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Purpose This study leverages Russia’s highly sanctioned environment as an extreme empirical setting to examine how severe external constraints shape the adaptation strategies of high-tech firms. In particular, the study focuses on the underexplored relationship between owner-CEOs’ personal characteristics and firm-level strategic decisions. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study methodology was employed to explore the impact of sanctions on business strategy. Data on seven Russian high-tech firms and their owner-CEOs were collected from multiple sources, including interviews, social media posts and statistical data, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings The analysis reveals that the relationship between an owner-CEO’s identity and the firm’s business strategy is influenced by executive characteristics. Owner-CEO’s willingness to take risks serves as a key mechanism, while prior crisis experience conditions how owner-CEO’s identity is expressed in strategic choice. Originality/value This study offers original insights by unveiling the specific mechanisms that connect owner-CEO identity to strategic adaptation under extreme conditions. The study extends the upper echelons theory to the context of severe sanctions, demonstrating how executive characteristics filter external shocks, and refines the organizational adaptation lens by uncovering the micro-foundations of strategic choice in high-threat environments. The study discusses how the specified boundary conditions are likely to vary across country contexts, offering practical value for executives and policymakers in sanctioned economies navigating similar challenges.
Shirokova et al. (Mon,) studied this question.