What drives export resilience? : the case of post-transition country firms in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: The objective of this article is to explore the determinants of export resilience, considering the interactions of firm capabilities with prior export commitment and environmental hostility. Research Design & Methods: We integrated insights from the organisational capabilities perspective, internationalisation process theory, and literature on environmental hostility to create a conceptual framework exploring how and under which boundary conditions firm capabilities drive export resilience. We proposed that this relationship is moderated by prior export commitment and environmental hostility. We tested the propositions on a sample of 500 Polish exporters in a COVID-19 environment. Findings: We found empirical support for the positive interaction of firm capabilities with environmental hostility on export resilience. Implications & Recommendations: Among others, we observed that firms facing higher environmental hostility must rely on their capabilities to a larger extent, leading to increased export resilience in terms of maintaining or expanding export operations and building up export-specific capabilities. Contribution & Value Added: While economic crises have reinforced interest in organisational resilience, less attention has been paid to the resilience of exporting under crisis conditions. Export resilience has preferably been addressed from the point of view of its continuity or survival, rather than accounting for a more proactive view of the firms' approach to exports under conditions of environmental hostility.