Manager Characteristics and Early Innovation Adoption during Crises: The Case of COVID-19 Preventive Measures in Danish Eldercare

Reacting rapidly and adequately in the early stages of a crisis is crucial to effective crisis management. This study analyses the relationship between key first-line manager characteristics, early innovation adoption and crisis scenarios in the context of Danish eldercare during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis. Our findings show that manager characteristics such as education level, eldercare job tenure and previous similar experience are important to early innovation adoption in crises. The study contributes to the crisis management literature by emphasizing the importance of first-line manager characteristics in effective crisis management.