From bouncing back to bouncing forward: resilience as strategic and ethical imperative in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

This paper advances the resilience imperative in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), a strategically significant yet underexplored context in international business research, by offering a conceptual point of view. This study aims to conceptually integrate diverse empirical and conceptual contributions from the special issue to clarify how the region’s distinctive institutional, political and social dynamics shape organizational and community resilience. Adopting a multilevel and multistakeholder perspective, this viewpoint synthesizes insights from the special issue’s contributions, including conceptual reviews, qualitative case studies, longitudinal phenomenological research and participatory action research on organizational, community and sectoral resilience in LAC. The discussion organizes these insights into four interrelated analytical dimensions: regional institutional context and value definition; governance architectures and policy alignment; capability development encompassing digital, social and environmental dimensions; and stakeholder embedding and legitimacy. This paper identifies four mutually reinforcing dimensions of resilience in LAC. First, institutional context and value definition are shaped by pendular policy regimes and persistent implementation gaps. Second, governance architectures affect community resilience by allocating decision rights and rents. Third, multidimensional capability development spans digital, social and environmental aspects. Finally, stakeholder embedding and legitimacy reveal a potential dark side of resilience, whereby firm-level adaptation strategies may externalize risks to vulnerable workers and communities. This paper proposes a five-step blueprint to guide multinational enterprises, domestic firms and policymakers in developing context-sensitive resilience strategies for LAC that are effective, competitive and socially inclusive. It reframes resilience as both a strategic and ethical imperative in international business, extending beyond a narrow risk-management perspective. It also advances an agenda for longitudinal, multilevel and comparative research that examines both the enabling and constraining outcomes of resilience across contexts.