FINANCIAL RESILIENCE AND BUSINESS HETEROGENEITY IN THE FACE OF COVID-19: EVIDENCE FROM THE COLOMBIAN COMMERCE SECTOR
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Abstract
This article analyzes the financial resilience of 7,571 companies in the commerce sector in Colombia during the period 2019-2023, in the context of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The companies were classified by size (micro, small, medium, and large), which allowed us to capture the structural heterogeneity of the sector. Based on six standardized accounting indicators, a Financial Resilience Index (FRI) was constructed, which allowed us to segment the firms into low, medium, and high levels. Using this index, ordinal and binary logistic models were estimated to identify the factors associated with a higher probability of resilience. The results highlight the importance of operating profitability, leverage level, and company size as key variables. The study acknowledges the limitations of the accounting approach used and promotes a research agenda that incorporates strategic, qualitative, and contextual variables. The findings offer useful empirical evidence for the design of differentiated public policies and open new avenues for developing more comprehensive and dynamic approaches to measuring business resilience in contexts of high uncertainty.
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