Marketing agility and financial performance in migrant enterprises during crises: does resilience capability matter?

Purpose: The business literature has established that marketing agility can improve business performance; however, the relationship between the two becomes less clear in a turbulent context. There is a compelling case that resilience capability can support agile firms through such unstable and challenging times. The question of resilience is particularly relevant for migrant entrepreneurs, who have historically encountered difficulties in accessing the required resources; however, little research has been done on this topic. Utilising the literature on business resilience and crisis management, this study addresses this knowledge gap in three ways: (1) by re-examining the direct relationship between marketing agility and the financial performance of migrant enterprises (MEs) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) by exploring whether the lack of financial and human resources of migrant entrepreneurs from smaller ethnic communities may hinder their ability to develop marketing agility and (3) by examining the mediating role of resilience capability in the relationship between marketing agility and performance. Design/methodology/approach: 335 Nepalese MEs in the UK participated in the survey from July to October 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey data were analysed using structural equation modelling with Mplus. Findings: First, the study confirms the existence of a direct positive effect of marketing agility on the financial performance of MEs. Second, while marketing agility significantly correlates with human capital, the relationship with financial capital is insignificant. Third, the study finds resilience capability to be a significant mediating factor, with the indirect effect accounting for about 10% of the total impact of marketing agility on financial performance; this suggests that the mediating effect is not inconsiderable. Originality/value: This study confirms that the established relationship between marketing agility and performance can also be applied to turbulence, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent with the crisis management literature. It sheds further light on the importance of financial capital in developing marketing agility, aligning with bricolage theory. A lack of finance, as faced by many MEs from small ethnic communities, is not necessarily a debilitating factor; however, human capital remains crucial. Finally, consistent with the crisis management literature, the relationship between marketing agility and the performance of firms can be strengthened if the firms are resilient and have a good understanding of the nature of the turbulence.