Managerial Mindfulness and Business Model Innovation as Antidotes to SMEs’ Survive and Growth: Conceptual Model and Scale Development

Abstract

In the dynamic business environment, the notions of business model (BM) and business model innovation (BMI) have received considerable attention in industry and academia. Coupled with reduced consumer demand and supply restraints due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, it is no surprise that many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are experiencing challenging times. Under challenging and stressful conditions, mindfulness plays a prominent role. However, mindfulness is primarily observed as an individual’s psychological state, thus scholars have begun to study collective mindfulness, particularly focusing on managerial mindfulness. It is worthwhile to argue that BMI processes of SMEs can be supplementary facilitated by owners’/managers’ mindful behaviors. On these notes, backed by previous works, this study provides a first attempt to develop a hypothesized model connecting managerial mindfulness, BMI and SMEs survive and growth. Subsequently, in scale development process, an initial item pool was established, and face validity of the modified measures have been tested using expert judging method. A logical next step would be to collect data and test the scales for overall construct validity as well as provide a statistical view on how managerial mindful behaviors can drive to adopt BM tools to support SMEs survive and sustain continued growth.