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Can being innovative help firms to shield themselves from the detrimental effects of a crisis? This study employed a mixed-methods approach using empirical analysis based on firm-level secondary data of China’s manufacturing sector and multi-case analysis to provide evidence on whether and how innovativeness could help businesses to survive the Covid-19 crisis and thrive afterward. We find that innovativeness empowers firms to withstand the negative financial consequences of the crisis. The first quarter 2020 analysis based on a sample of 606 manufacturing firms reveal that innovative firms appear more efficient and profitable and have significantly higher chances of survival than less innovative firms. Furthermore, the second-quarter results based on a sample of 582 firms show that innovative firms exhibit higher operating efficiency and a greater probability of survival relative to others. The results remain …