How do agile and internationally experienced companies respond to sanctions?
How do agile and internationally experienced companies respond to sanctions?

Summary/Abstract: Objective: In this article, we show how agility and international experience influence the adjustment strat-egies that firms adopt when exposed to sanctions. We also assess how these strategies affect firms’ finan-cial performance.Research Design & Methods: Quantitative; international e-survey, computer-assisted web interview (CAWI)method, structural equation modelling (SEM), linear regression, clustering; 610 middle-sized companies stud-ied from Poland, US and Germany, data gathered in 2023.Findings: The more agile and internationally experienced the firms, the more proactive measures they use toadapt to sanctions. Proactive adaptation strategies positively impact financial performance. Agility and inter-national experience are mutually reinforcing.Implications & Recommendations: When exposed to the sanctions regime, proactive adaptation strategiesincrease the likelihood of firms’ survival. Meanwhile, agility and international experience reinforce proac-tivity. Therefore, firms should strengthen both these characteristics as they increase the likelihood of re-silience in the face of a crisis.Contribution & Value Added: The article extends understanding of firms’ strategic behaviour in the face ofa sudden external change/crisis, such as the imposition of sanctions. It shows how intrinsic factors, in thiscase, agility and international experience, influence the adaptation choice. The results show that agile andinternationally experienced companies adopt proactive strategies towards sanctions, which has positivefinancial consequences. Agility and international expansion serve here as an effective and resilient way ofsurvival during external shocks, such as war.

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