Financial Resilience of Firms Beyond Efficiency: A Conceptual Framework for Navigating Systemic Shocks

Abstract

The recurrence of global systemic shocks exposes the dead ends of management models based on absolute efficiency and the elimination of all structural redundancy. This paper proposes an innovative conceptual framework that re-examines capital structure through the lens of organizational resilience and antifragility. Drawing on the resource-based view and the dynamic capabilities perspective, our model demonstrates that the deliberate constitution of financial safety buffers (financial slack) is not a sterile opportunity cost, but rather the essential strategic fuel required to face radical uncertainty. Triggered by agile governance centered on the sensing, seizing, transforming triad, this financial architecture enables firms to move beyond mere shock absorption and capture an asymmetric competitive advantage driven by low-cost external growth and market share expansion during turbulent times.