Purpose This viewpoint aims to advance research on business transfers in smaller companies by introducing organisational resilience, and particularly proactive resilience, as a promising conceptual perspective to better understand how these companies deal with the upheavals and uncertainties that accompany business transfers. Design/methodology/approach This paper argues that business transfers should be viewed in light of proactive organisational resilience. It develops a conceptual argument that reframes business transfers as dynamic and potentially disruptive processes and shows how a proactive resilience perspective can provide new insights into how organisations anticipate, navigate and adapt to them. Findings The paper highlights that business transfers represent critical organisational events. It shows that smaller firms with higher levels of proactive organisational resilience, developed through anticipation, preparation and adaptive capacity, are better positioned to manage transfer-related opportunities and challenges. Companies that lack this capacity could face increased instability and, in the worst case, even closure. Research limitations/implications Researchers should design longitudinal studies to develop and deepen the relationship between proactively developed organisational resilience and business transfers. Such studies would provide the necessary information about the effectiveness of developing this capability. Practical implications The paper invites reflection on the importance of developing organisational resilience as a key component of proactive business transfer planning, to better anticipate and proactively address potential disruptions and opportunities related to the entire process. Originality/value This viewpoint contributes to existing literature by linking research on business transfers with research on organisational resilience and demonstrating that prepared business transfers offer a concrete and relevant context for developing and implementing proactive resilience.
Amanova et al. (Wed,) studied this question.