Innovation as a lever for business resilience in times of crisis: The case of Morocco’s energy sector

¹ PhD. Student in Management Sciences, Laboratory of Prospective Research in Finance and Management, National School of Commerce and Management (ENCG), Hassan II University, Casablanca, Morocco
² Professor, National School of Commerce and Management (ENCG), Hassan II University, Casablanca, Morocco

Abstract

Today’s businesses are increasingly confronted with uncertainty, unpredictability and environmental complexity, as well as severe, recurrent and consecutive crises. In this context, innovation and resilience are the watchwords. Resilience refers to a company’s ability to adapt and recover from shocks and disruptions. Innovation, on the other hand, is the process by which new ideas, products, services or methods are developed, implemented and adopted. Despite the abundance of research on organizational resilience and innovation, very few have addressed the relationship between these two concepts, let alone in the Moroccan context. The objective of this article is to analyze the relationship between these two key concepts and to explore how innovation can be a lever for organizational resilience in times of crisis. To do this, we conducted a qualitative study, through semi-structured interviews with Moroccan companies operating in the energy sector. The main results confirm the existence of a positive correlation between the two concepts. However, innovation alone does not guarantee the exit from the crisis and the resilience of companies. In order to validate and generalize the results obtained, we recommend conducting a confirmatory quantitative study.