Organizational resilience refers to the ability of an organization to withstand and adapt to changes, crises, and disruptions in the business environment. In recent years, there has been increasing attention to the role of organizational resilience in promoting innovation and improving firm performance. Organizational resilience has been found to have a positive impact on innovation in multiple studies. In their study of Australian firms, McGrath and MacMillan (2000) found that organizations with higher levels of resilience were more likely to engage in innovative activities, such as product development and R&D.

Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the positive relationship between organizational resilience and innovation. One mechanism is the ability of resilient organizations to adapt to changes in the business environment. Organizations that are able to respond to changes in the market or technology are more likely to identify and pursue new opportunities for innovation. Another mechanism is the culture of innovation that is often associated with resilient organizations (Vakilzadeh & Haase, 2021) .

In addition to its impact on innovation, organizational resilience has also been found to be positively related to firm performance. A study by Teece (2014) found that resilient organizations were more likely to achieve long-term competitive advantage and sustained profitability. Similarly, a study by Weick and Sutcliffe (2006) found that resilient organizations were better able to weather financial crises and maintain high levels of performance.

Organizations that are more resilient are better able to hold onto crucial resources and capabilities, which enables them to sustain a competitive edge over time. The capacity of resilient organizations to establish and uphold solid connections with important stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, and employees, is another factor. Resilient organizations are better able to adapt to changes in the business environment and sustain high levels of performance over time by building strong and trustworthy relationships (Hillmann & Guenther, 2021; Saad et al., 2021) .

Social ties refer to the connections and relationships that exist between firms and other organizations, such as suppliers, customers, and competitors, as well as networks and clusters (Lechner & Dowling, 2003) . Social ties can enhance a firm’s access to external knowledge and resources, which can, in turn, promote innovation performance (Muller & Peres, 2019) . Research has shown that firms with stronger social ties with their suppliers and customers are more likely to have access to valuable information, knowledge, and resources that can support innovation activities (Deng et al., 2023) . Similarly, firms that are members of innovation networks or clusters are more likely to benefit from knowledge spillovers and other forms of knowledge exchange that can stimulate innovation (Lechner & Dowling, 2003) .

However, the impact of social ties on innovation performance may depend on the nature and strength of the ties. For instance, strong ties with a few key partners may be more beneficial for innovation than weaker ties with a larger number of partners (Saka-Helmhout et al., 2020; Öberg, 2019) . Similarly, ties with partners in diverse industries and knowledge domains may be more valuable for innovation than ties with partners in similar industries (Liu et al., 2017) .

Moreover, the impact of social ties on innovation performance may vary across different contexts. For example, the benefits of social ties for innovation may be greater in emerging economies, where firms may face greater resource constraints and a less developed innovation ecosystem (Adéchian et al., 2022) . Similarly, the impact of social ties on innovation performance may vary across different industries, depending on factors such as the level of competition and the nature of innovation activities (Bamwesigye & Hlaváčková, 2019) .

Social ties can enable firms to access information about industry trends, customer preferences, and new technologies, which can be valuable for improving their products or services and gaining a competitive advantage (Birley & Westhead, 1990) . Additionally, social ties with other organizations such as suppliers or customers can provide access to resources such as raw materials or funding (Tsai & Ghoshal, 1998) .

Social ties can also facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing between firms, which can lead to improved performance. For example, partnerships between firms can allow for the sharing of resources, expertise, and knowledge, which can lead to increased efficiency and innovation (Powell et al., 1996) . Additionally, social ties can provide opportunities for firms to learn from each other and share best practices, which can lead to improved performance in areas such as marketing, production, or management (Hagedoorn, 1993) .

Trust and reputation associated with social ties and exchanges can also impact firm performance. Social ties can help to build trust between firms, which can be important for establishing long-term partnerships and collaborations (Dyer & Singh, 1998) . Additionally, social ties can contribute to a firm’s reputation, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth recommendations (Glynn, 1996) .

Resilient organizations are better equipped to withstand and adapt to changes, disruptions, and crises in the business environment, which can enable them to maintain long-term competitive advantage and foster innovation. Social ties refer to the network of relationships that exist within and outside of an organization and can include relationships with customers, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders.

Research has suggested that social ties can play a critical role in shaping the relationship between organizational resilience and innovation performance. Social ties can provide access to resources, knowledge, and expertise that are critical to innovation performance, such as information about customer needs, market trends, and emerging technologies (Wen et al., 2021) . In addition, social ties can enable organizations to leverage the resources and capabilities of their partners and stakeholders, which can facilitate innovation (Foerderer, 2020; Hao et al., 2020) .

However, the impact of social ties on the relationship between organizational resilience and innovation performance may depend on the nature of these ties. For example, strong and trust-based ties may facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration, leading to higher levels of innovation performance. Conversely, weak ties may provide access to new and diverse information and perspectives, which can also foster innovation (Burt, 2004) . The nature and strength of times have a significant influence on the exchange of information and consequently mitigate the risk of exchange hazards. The relationship between organizational resilience and innovation performance is moderated by social ties. A firm that has strong ties in the business environment has access to slack resources and competence that can be channelled into boosting innovative performance and activities of organizations. Hypothesis 3 examined the extent to which social ties moderated the positive impact of organizational resilience on the innovation performance of firms.

H3: The positive relationship between organizational resilience and innovation performance is moderated by social ties.

Source: Author, 2023.

Data will be collected using a combination of online surveys and in-person surveys. Firm executives are invited to participate in the study through email invitations and follow-up reminders. Survey responses will be collected using a secure online survey platform, and publicly available data will be obtained from patent databases and other sources.

The questionnaire is used to collect data for the study. A 7-point Likert scale is used to measure the measurement items. To ensure that the survey is free of omitted variable bias and common method bias, a number of measures have been put in place (Krishnan et al., 2006) . The questionnaire was distributed to respondents after a pilot study was used to assess its initial reliability and validity.

A total of 680 questionnaires were distributed between October 2022 and December 2022. The survey had a response rate of 70% translating into 476 answered questionnaires. However, after data cleaning and an initial data validation check—incomplete questionnaires and questionnaires with multiple answers to a question were excluded, remaining 450 completed questionnaires were used for further analysis.

In sum 450 completed questionnaires were used for empirical analysis—these include respondents from various sectors within the hospitality industry in Ghana. The findings indicate on average respondents have been working in the industry for a substantial number of years. In addition, organizations have been in operation for some years in some cases over two decades. These characteristics place respondents in a position to provide sufficient information about how organizations thrive under uncertain business environments. Table 1 presents a summary of the profile of respondents—gender, age, years of operation and experience of individuals.

The distribution and properties of the data are displayed in Table 2. The mean, standard deviation, and excess kurtosis are highlighted in this section. Along with the skewness of the data, the minimum and maximum data points are also shown.

The Ordinal Least Square (OLS) regression was used to examine the study’s structural model. It examined the extent to which organizational resilience impact firm innovation and overall performance. The firms in the hospitality sector have experienced a negative effect on their operation and overall performance. Study findings suggest organizational resilience had a positive impact on the innovation performance of the firm at an R² value of 0.712. This reveals the significant role of a firm ability to adapt, and innovate and the risk-taking behaviour of firms contributes positively to the innovation capabilities and competencies of enterprises.

Inasmuch as the risk-taking, innovativeness and adaptability of firms have a positive impact on firm innovation performance, it has a non-significant but positive impact on organizational performance. The relationship between organizational resilience and the firm performance had an R² value of 0.238.

In addition, the moderation analysis is performed to examine the moderating effect of social ties on the association between organizational resilience and the

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

innovation performance of enterprises within the hospitality sector. Examining the outcome of the analysis indicates social ties can influence the association between organizational resilience and innovation performance. The extent to which entrepreneurs and business owners are embedded within its community and ecosystem plays a crucial role in terms of access to the slack resource, knowledge and relational asset needed to thrive in an uncertain environment. Table 5 presents the outcome of the OLS analysis.

Furthermore, the outcome of the t-statistics is used to examine the hypotheses stated for the study. The findings of the study support two (2) out of the three stipulated hypotheses. Hypotheses 1 and 3 were supported by a t-statistics value of 8.542 and 6.851. Hypothesis 3 had a value of 1.912, well below the acceptable threshold of 1.96. Although the coefficient suggests a positive association between organizational resilience and firm performance, the extent is not very strong to affect the hypothesis.