This paper investigates the effect of R&D intensity on firm resilience during the COVID-19 recession. I use firm-level data on European technology firms to identify the relation between R&D intensity and resilience, where firm resilience is measured through financial flexibility and firm performance. To investigate deeper into firm performance I distinguish between performance using accounting measures and market performance. I find that R&D intensity has a positive effect on resilience as viewed from accounting measures. I find mixed results regarding performance: No significant positive evidence between R&D intensity and stock performance is found, whereas evidence suggesting a significant non-linear relationship between R&D intensity and return on assets is found. Nevertheless, the results indicate that there seem to be some positive effect of R&D on firm resilience. This is of value to policymakers and corporate managers aiming to enhance firm resilience through strategic R&D investments. Further research with more detailed data are needed to explore the mechanisms behind this relationship.

This dissertation consists of three papers related to firms' resiliency to supply chain disruptions. The first paper seeks to evaluate the effects of supply chain disruptions on firms' performance by using a recent dataset of supply chain disruptions. To this end, we analyzed operating and stock market performances of over 300 firms that experienced a supply chain disruption during 2005 to the end of 2014. The results show that supply chain disruptions are still associated with a significant decrease in operating income, return on sales, return on assets, sales, and a negative performance in total assets. Supply chain disruptions are also associated with a significant negative abnormal stock return on the day of the supply chain disruption announcements. These results are in line with previous findings in the literature. In the second paper, in order to provide a more detailed characterization of negative impacts of disruptions on firms' performance, we develop three complementary measures of system loss: the initial loss due to the disruption, the maximum loss, and the total loss over time. Then, we utilize the contingent resource-based view to evaluate the moderating effects of operational slack and operational scope on the relationship between the severity of supply chain disruptions and the three complementary measures of system loss. We find that maintaining certain aspects of operational slack and broadening business scope can affect these different measures of loss in different ways, although these effects are contingent on the disruptions' severity. The third paper examines relationships between the origin of supply chain disruptions, firms' past experience, and the negative impacts of supply chain disruptions on firms' performance. This third study shows that the impact of external and internal supply chain disruptions on firms' performance can be different when firms do and do not have past experience with similar events. For example, the results show that past experience significantly decreases initial loss, recovery time, and total loss over time experienced by firms after internal disruptions, although past experience may not decrease initial loss, recovery time, and total loss over time in the case of external disruptions. / Ph. D.