Crisis Strategies by Women Executives During COVID-19: Evidence from Turkish SMEs

This study examines the role of women executives in shaping crisis management strategies and firm outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Türkiye. Drawing on survey data from 207 SMEs across 12 sectors in Istanbul and using nonparametric tests and regression models controlling for firm age, size, and sector, we analyze whether the presence of women in executive positions influenced firm resilience and strategic responses under crisis conditions. The findings reveal that firms with women executives demonstrated significantly stronger cash flow sustainability and cost management outcomes. However, no significant differences were observed in revenue generation or overall performance. In terms of strategy, women executives were more likely to adopt cost-control measures such as operational cost reduction, telecommuting, and staff expense adjustments. At the same time, they were more likely to pursue ambidextrous strategies combining cost control with revenue gene-ration rather than relying solely on defensive approaches. Despite this balanced strategic orientation, only the cost-related dimension translated into measurable outcomes. This indicates an intention–outcome gap, where revenue-generating efforts did not yield significant advantages under severe crisis conditions. The results suggest that women’s leadership advantages during crisis may be domain-specific, emerging primarily in areas of internal organizational control rather than market-dependent outcomes.