Ludivine Adla , Grenoble IAE Graduate School of Management ; Marie Eyquem-Renault , iaelyon School of Management – Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 ; and Virginie Roquelaure , iaelyon School of Management – Jean Moulin University Lyon 3
SMEs are particularly vulnerable to the Covid-19 crisis. A survey conducted by the Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CPME), published in mid-April, reveals that 55% of managers of this type of business fear bankruptcy due to the current health crisis.
However, while their economic activity may be weakened, the values held by individuals and, more broadly, by the organization, remain stable. These values can even constitute organizational resources capable of redirecting their actions and helping them to weather this crisis.
The values present in SMEs are all the more significant since they are generally championed by the leader and shared by all employees due to a strong sense of closeness.
Stronger solidarity
For some, these efforts translate into mobilizing the value of solidarity. Indeed, they do not hesitate to reposition their activities in order to provide assistance. This is the case of the SME 1083, an ethical clothing brand, which decided to halt its production to manufacture masks.
This is also the case for multinationals that are reinventing themselves in this context. However, for SMEs, the risk is greater due to the inherent fragility of this type of structure. The surge of solidarity is therefore all the more significant.
We conducted research with an SME that we will call Persontop, aiming to understand how values materialize and how they can transform behaviors in exceptional situations. This research identified three phases.
Phase 1. Translating the leader's personal values
The leader's values are a precursor to the organization's values. Through their experience, training, and personal history, leaders are guided by their own unique values. Consciously or unconsciously, these values will translate into practices within their organization.
As an example, the SME studied has implemented a document, co-constructed with employees, in which values are explained and translated into concrete actions: support for employees in difficulty or flexibility of hours to reconcile private and professional life; these practices which take on their full meaning in this period.
To address this crisis, beyond the now essential practice of remote work, other measures are being implemented. Lockdown inevitably leads to isolation. However, during this period, the priority is to maintain team cohesion to facilitate a swift post-crisis recovery. It is important to maintain social connections by adhering to established values. Regular videoconferences are therefore being organized in some SMEs to continue sharing information.
Phase 2. The materialization into organizational values
In order to avoid considering values as abstract data existing solely in the minds of individuals. Indeed, these values materialize when their implementation is observable.
The way in which teleworking is implemented thus stems from the values of the leader and reflects organizational values in a new way.
Ultimately, when a leader establishes a relationship of trust with their employees, they will be more likely to implement remote work, ultimately accepting a break from the physical proximity that typically characterizes SMEs. In this time of crisis, this fosters social cohesion and improves company performance.
Phase 3. The evolution of practices to materialize its values
As we have seen, the leader plays an undeniable role in embodying values within the organization. However, without an appropriate framework, employees experience negative emotions that can undermine certain values such as commitment.
When employees feel frustrated because they feel their commitment or solidarity is not recognized by the leader, disengagement and mistrust ensue.
Another point of concern is the lack of transparency on the part of management. If the meaning given to values by management is too ambiguous, or if their translation into desirable practices is not explicit enough, employees may act in a way that contradicts the organization's values.
To give these strategies meaning, it's essential to involve employees in their co-creation and translate them into practice. While core values may remain stable during this exceptional situation, practices are bound to evolve. For example, more regular feedback helps maintain connections with teams, who are more likely to take "extraordinary" initiatives.
Evolving actions
Our results therefore demonstrate the need to dedicate resources, share information on ethical issues, and assess the performance of organizational values in order to ultimately improve the organization's moral competence. It is also important to create opportunities for dialogue to give meaning to values and to reflect on how to implement them in practice.
Value-based organizations, which initially originate from the leader, are those that iteratively test the effectiveness of values in producing desirable behaviors and re-evaluate them under changing conditions.
In the context of the Covid-19 crisis, new moral questions may arise, leading to new behaviors. On the other hand, new behaviors may be guided by enduring values. Thus, we observe that values are dynamic and must adapt to changes in the socio-economic environment.
We believe that organizations can be considered moral agents capable of acting with reflexivity, particularly in changing contexts.
This is the case in the health and economic crisis we are currently experiencing, since values can guide behaviors and lead to evolving actions.
Ludivine Adla , Senior Lecturer in Management Science, Grenoble IAE, Grenoble IAE Graduate School of Management ; Marie Eyquem-Renault , Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Sociology of Innovation, iaelyon School of Management – Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 ; and Virginie Roquelaure , Professor, iaelyon School of Management – Jean Moulin University Lyon 3
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.