The Impact of COVID-19 on Sustainable Business Models in SMEs

Impact of the three waves of COVID-19 pandemic on the HR practices of Hungarian organizations-Experience from an empirical study

Over recent decades, the practice of human resource management in the transitional countries of Eastern Europe and in Hungary has changed significantly. Especially in local subsidiaries of foreign-owned companies and in the leading domestic large organizations, HRM has become a strategic function, while in the practice of small and medium-sized enterprises it is less common. COVID-19 hit companies, institutions and individuals unexpectedly, not only in Hungary but also in the more developed regions of the world. This crisis has also highlighted the fact that larger and better prepared organizations and public institutions have found it easier to weather this global human catastrophe. We analyze how the key tasks of HRM have changed during the successive waves, along four hypotheses. Initially, health protection, communication and home-office organization were the focus of the work of human resource professionals. In the second and third waves, securing and retaining staff became more important.

Innovating agri-food business models after the Covid-19 pandemic: The impact of digital technologies on the value creation and value capture mechanisms

This paper investigates the phenomenon of business models innovation (BMI) empowered by digital technologies and activated as a response to Covid-19 crisis. In fact, during the crisis numerous digital redesigns of businesses occurred to pursue both continuity and competitive advantage. Among these, the food retail sector has undergone under the pressure of the crisis intense digital changes, which, however, have not yet been investigated under the theoretical lens of BMI. To fill this gap, the paper analyzes the digital actions taken during the pandemic crisis by two large food retailers, namely Walmart and Carrefour. Covering a wide temporal interval of the pandemic evolution and reviewing multiple geographical markets, the authors interpreted the grocer's digital responses to the crisis in terms of innovation in value creation and capture mechanisms. As a result, three phases of digital BMI have been reconstructed, each characterized by specific mechanisms of value creation and capture experienced by the two grocers during the pandemic. Leveraging these findings, the paper proposes a model capable of defining how digital BMI takes place in response to crises. Results broaden theoretical knowledge and practical suggestions on digital BMI in terms of enabling factors, actionable value mechanisms, and future business opportunities.

Assessing the nexus between COVID-19 pandemic-driven economic crisis and economic policy: lesson learned and challenges

This study examines China's budgetary policy during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of China's insufficient ability to deal with a new crisis when the epidemic struck in March 2020 and as a result of the economic crisis that began in China in March 2020. In order to better comprehend China's economic status during COVID-19, the study relies on secondary data. The fiscal response of emerging market economies like India is less than in advanced economies. However, it is generally considered to be in line with the average for emerging market economies. As a result of the Disaster Management authority imposing a rigorous lockdown, unemployment rose, the trade cycle was interrupted, and manufacturing and service activities were affected. According to the study's findings, China's economic policies, namely its fiscal policy, responded in the years leading up to 2019 by increasing health expenditure, income transfer, welfare payments, subsidies, and reducing short-term unemployment. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, China's government has adopted a number of measures to minimize the damage to the economy. This article also focuses on China's numerous budgetary actions with COVID-19.

Toward resilient organizations after COVID-19: An analysis of circular and less circular companies

The COVID-19 pandemic had large repercussions for our economy and organizations. Improved resilience can give organizations the ability to withstand crises and build back better and faster. This article assesses resilience of organizations and sole proprietorships in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic with eight circular strategies as explanatory variables. Furthermore, these eight circular strategies are also used to assess the organizations' and sole proprietorships' resilience outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis is conducted to explain how circular strategies can help companies and sole proprietorships maintain stability. The analysis was performed by means of a survey conducted between May and June 2020 in Flanders (Belgium), using a sample of 542 respondents. After performing a regression analysis combined with expert opinions collected through interviews, we find that companies and sole proprietorships with a higher circularity score have a significantly higher resilience score during crises and during normal times, compared to less circular companies. Furthermore, we find that the size of the company does not matter during a crisis to adapt and react flexibly, while it is important when there is no crisis. Finally, we argue that it is the combination of different circular strategies which yields to the highest results for the organizations' resilience and we provide policy recommendations based on the most asked support measures.

Investigating the success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises in sustaining business operations during COVID-19

The upheaval caused by the spread of COVID-19 made a devastating effect on businesses, especially small businesses. A huge number of small businesses cannot survive within 3 months of an economic shutdown (Ligouri & Pittz, 2020); however, some survive and maintain their business operation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the success factors in sustaining the business operation. Specifically, the intention is to investigate what are the important factors leading small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia to be able to survive and drive their business operation during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative approach was employed, data was collected through interviews, and seven business owners were identified through the purposive sampling method (Tongco, 2007). The findings revealed that most SMEs are disrupted by the pandemic and struggling for funding to survive in the business. In addition, entrepreneurs adapted to the new business model and utilized the digital platform manage to survive. Moreover, continuous financial support from the government, although meant for the short term is beneficial. The findings are vital as they can be used in assisting the government to create more effective and relevant programs to assist homegrown SMEs.

Micro- and small-scale enterprises' financing preference in line with POH and access to credit: empirical evidence from entrepreneurs in Ethiopia

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that determine micro- and small-scale enterprises' financing preference in line with pecking order theory and access to credit in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State of Ethiopia. The study used primary data collected using cross-sectional survey questionnaire. The sample of this study was 296 enterprises selected using proportional stratified random sampling technique. The data were analyzed using descriptive and logistic regression analysis. The results of probit estimation revealed that business experience, collateral, gender, motivation and enterprises' sectoral engagement affect financing preference. To investigate access to credit determinants, only enterprises that need to raise capital through credit were considered. The empirical results, therefore, revealed that business experience, size, sectoral engagement, collateral, interest rate, loan repayment period, and preparation of business plan, financial reporting, location and educational background of entrepreneurs affect access to credit of enterprises. Before any generalization of the results can be made, more evidence is needed on enterprises' financing preference and access to credit determinants for the fact that the empirical tests were conducted only on 296 entrepreneurs since 2019. Therefore, the findings are valid and practicable only for the entrepreneurs under the study and the results cannot be assumed to extend beyond this group of entrepreneurs to different study periods. The study makes an original contribution to the literature of small business finance by investigating determinants of micro- and small-scale enterprises' financing preference and access to credit in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State of Ethiopia as a developing country.

Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small and medium-sized enterprises performance

This study has several purposes. First, identify indicators contributing to the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that could be affected by the COVID-19. Second, formulate the framework to measure the level of vulnerability of SMEs. Third, assign the SMEs into several clusters. Data used in this research were collected through web-based closed questionnaires and short telephone interviews. This study used Content Validity Analysis, Analytical Hierarchy Process, Multi-Attribute Value Theory approach, K-means Clustering Analysis, and Discriminant Analysis for data processing. The data processing results indicated that the 44 valid indicators belonging to ten dimensions could be used to measure the level of vulnerability of SMEs whose performance was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The surveyed SMEs can be segmented into four clusters, namely resilient cluster, low vulnerability cluster, moderate vulnerability cluster, and high vulnerability cluster. Most of the surveyed SMEs belong to the moderate and high vulnerability clusters. The differences between the clusters were based on 16 indicators. These indicators include levels of supplier disruption and the SMEs' market in which the SMEs operate or expect to operate. The results of this study help quantify how the pandemic could generate different levels of impact on each indicator that could depend on the business and what policymakers should consider as they contemplate the scale of the required intervention. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on the effects of the pandemic on SMEs by synthesizing the findings of studies on the impact of COVID-19 on SMEs. The study also determined the framework and the equation for measuring the level of SME vulnerability caused by the pandemic.

The Effect of Financial Literacy, Cost of Technology Adoption, Technology Perceived Usefulness, and Government Support on MSMEs' Business Resilience

Objective - The Covid-19 pandemic has made MSMEs enter a crisis period that makes them the most vulnerable sector during a crisis. Given the vital role of MSMEs in economic stability, this study identified the drivers that shape the resilience of the MSME business, which is still not widely explored. This study elaborates on the role of knowledge-based financial literacy, financial resources and the cost of technology adoption from the financial side, TAM from the technology side, and external environmental factors in the form of government support as a driver of MSMEs' business resilience. Methodology/Technique – This study collected data from 339 MSMEs operating amid the Covid-19 crisis, and data analysis was carried out using the PLS-SEM technique. Finding – The results show that financial literacy positively affects financial resources and the cost of adopting technology from a financial perspective. However, only the cost of adoption directly affects business resilience, while financial resources have no effect. In terms of technological acceptance, perceived ease of use positively impacts perceived usefulness. However, only perceived usefulness directly affects business resilience, while perceived ease of use does not. Finally, government support positively affected business resilience during the pandemic. Novelty – This paper elaborates on the financial, technological, and government support aspects as an integrated framework to examine MSME resilience. Type of Paper: Empirical JEL Classification: M10, M15, M48, O33 Keywords: MSME Business Resilience, Financial Literacy, Cost of Technology Adoption, Perceived Usefulness, Government Support. Reference to this paper should be referred to as follows: Lestari, E.D; Hamid, N.A; Rizkalla, N Purnamaningsih, P; Urus, S.T. (2022). The Effect of Financial Literacy, Cost of Technology Adoption, Technology Perceived Usefulness, and Government Support on MSMEs' Business Resilience, GATR-Global J. Bus. Soc. Sci. Review, 10(3), 132–147. https://doi.org/10.35609/gjbssr.2022.10.3(3)

Boosting Sustainable Operations with Sustainable Supply Chain Modeling: A Case of Organizational Culture and Normative Commitment

The importance of sustainability in supply chain management is growing worldwide. It is possible to find reasons for this using various phenomena that negatively affect humanity, e.g., climate change, scarce materials, supply disruptions, and complex fossil fuel dependency. Because of that, is extremely important to constantly look for new ways to systematically increase sustainability in enterprises and their logistics and supply chain processes by considering different stakeholders and influential factors. Therefore, this paper explores how different types of organizational culture and normative commitment impact sustainability and each other in business logistics and supply chains and develops a conceptual model to manage this challenge. Gaining new insights is valuable especially for managers to obtain better information on how to improve sustainability not just by integrating green technologies but mainly by changing culture, attitude, and perception in their enterprises. The research is focused on employees from global logistics or related branches in micro, small, medium, and large enterprises with the primary activity mostly related to manufacturing, transport, and storage. The findings are based on the questionnaire which was sent directly to 1576 employees from 528 enterprises. A total of 516 employees from enterprises that are mostly located in 34 countries responded to requests for participation. The results reveal statistically significant positive and negative impacts, e.g., clan culture has a positive statistically significant impact on the sustainable development of supply chains. Most of the connections to the eighth Sustainable Development Goal by the United Nations (decent work and economic growth) were also found, which was the enterprise's highest priority with a share of 52.99%. A contribution to the theory development is gained using the developed model that considers both positive and negative statistically significant impacts studied.

A conceptual framework for identifying sustainable business practices of small and medium enterprises

Purpose

The purpose of the current paper is to identify the factors responsible for achieving business sustainability. This paper further attempts to develop a conceptual framework that can help SMEs to achieve viable business growth through improved sustainable performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study follows a methodical examination of literature published on SMEs during COVID-19. Specifically, the combination of keywords has primarily centred on SMEs, Business Practices, COVID-19 and Pandemic. The 155 research papers identified for the analysis have been classified as per geographical spread, type of papers, central theme, and theoretical foundations, which finally is followed by rigourous thematic analysis.

Findings

This research contributes to the SME literature by providing methodological, conceptual and practical rigour. The framework proposed by the research covers all the relevant areas which can be useful in preparing sustainable business trajectory for SMEs. It outlines the required directives for designing sustainable business practices for SMEs and includes macro and micro determinants. It also opens up future research avenues in different areas identified in the research. Future research can be performed on comparing business practices of SMEs across the emerging and developed economies.

Practical implications

In this study, we propose a framework that enables the design of sustainable business practices and thereby supports SMEs to combat any uncertain events or shocks. SMEs that can work on adopting sustainable business practices may sculpt novel avenues for growth and competitive advantage for their business.

Originality/value

The study is distinctive in nature as it is based on the examination of literature published during a phenomenological event (COVID-19) which depicts the sudden and unaccounted disruptions faced by SMEs and thereby strategies formulated around the significant glitches.

Determinants of Sustainable Growth of SMEs in Developing Countries: The Case of Ethiopia

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) played a significant role in domestic employment and inclusive GDP in developing countries such as Ethiopia. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of sustainable growth of SMEs in developing countries, notably in Ethiopia. To achieve the objectives of this study, both descriptive and explanatory research designs were used. In addition to this, primary data was collected from SMEs engaged in service, manufacturing, trade, construction, and urban agriculture. The sampling techniques used for this study is the stratified simple random sampling technique in which 194 employees of SMEs were drawn as a sample size for this study. Moreover, multiple linear regression models were used with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 software as the data analysis tool. According to the study’s findings, crucial issues such as the coronavirus and political uncertainty in Ethiopia, which have allowed for widespread corruption, are now harming the growth of SMEs. According to the findings, political instability, corruption, and COVID-19 are now having a substantial effect on the growth of SMEs in Ethiopia. These concerns have serious consequences for the long-term sustainability of Ethiopian SMEs. Hence, the study strongly advocates for sequential policy reform in the region, as well as a review of current policies aimed at ensuring effective corruption control in the region and bringing political stability to the region, particularly in Ambo town, Ethiopia.

Autonomy-supportive agents: whose support matters most, and how does it unfold in the workplace?

Managers and colleagues satisfy others' need for autonomy, but employees can also satisfy their own need by engaging in autonomy crafting practices. Although all three sources of autonomy support can benefit employee outcomes, they may not be equally beneficial. Furthermore, their benefits may not be straightforward, but rather a psychological process unfolding. To test these assumptions, the aim of the present study was twofold: to determine whether the different sources of support explained significantly different amounts of variance in autonomy satisfaction when compared and to understand the psychological process through which autonomy support from three sources influenced performance, more specifically, whether autonomy support indirectly affected performance through perceived autonomy satisfaction and work engagement in serial. In a sample of 278 employees, autonomy support from others (especially managers) and autonomy crafting played a role in autonomy satisfaction. Furthermore, the results indicated that autonomy support was associated with performance through its serial associations with autonomy satisfaction and work engagement. The results emphasized the importance of autonomy support for performance, enabling organizations to proactively design interventions to improve engagement and performance.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03550-9.

Exploring the Use of Mobile Apps for Fostering Sustainability-Oriented Corporate Culture: A Qualitative Analysis

Information systems (IS) play a central role in promoting corporate sustainability and pro-environmental behavior. This study explores the use of mobile apps for fostering sustainability-oriented corporate culture. It accentuates issues relating to sustainability-oriented corporate culture (RQ1), app meta-requirements as a strategic approach to addressing these issues (RQ2), as well as design and implementation principles (RQ3). Referring to the literature on sustainability apps, gamification, and nudging, our qualitative research design combines an analysis of four corporate apps intending to promote sustainable behavior and expert interviews (Grounded Theory). The proposed framework supports the planning, realization, and monitoring of this targeted app use. Single cultural dimensions inform seven issues in culture development. Five meta-requirements address this multi-dimensionality, challenges provided by new digital working environments, and principles of Green IT. Four design principles support, extend, and integrate current knowledge on app features, nudging, and gamification. Five variables determine the app intervention and maturity level. We conclude that this targeted app use should intend to foster the sustainability orientation within all dimensions of corporate culture instead of being limited to promoting sustainable behavior.

Sustainable Innovation in the Financial Sector during the Corona Crisis: How Discontinuity Affects Sustainable Innovation, Sustainable Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Absorptive Capacity

The corona crisis caused discontinuity within the financial sector, which has further increased the importance of innovation for sustainability and the capability to manage discontinuity. The aim of this research is to investigate how the corona crisis affected the relationship between sustainability-oriented innovation, sustainable entrepreneurial orientation, and absorptive capacity in the financial sector. Empirical research was carried out in the Dutch financial sector during the corona crisis by means of semi-structured interviews with senior managers, semi-structured group interviews with employees, observations, and documentation. The results of this qualitative exploratory case-study research show that the corona crisis has caused discontinuity for the case organization, which has led to an increase in uncertainty and a decrease in risk appetite. However, the degree of proactivity, innovativeness, knowledge adaptation, knowledge acquisition, knowledge exploitation, and knowledge transformation have also increased as a result of the corona crisis. Therefore, the case organization was able to manage discontinuity and realize more sustainability-oriented innovation. Findings seem to indicate that for the case organization, the corona crisis had a predominantly positive effect on (the relationship between) sustainability-oriented innovation, sustainable entrepreneurial orientation, and absorptive capacity. This research has several theoretical and practical implications and contains recommendations for further research and practice.

AI-Enabled Opportunities and Transformation Challenges for SMEs in the Post-pandemic Era: A Review and Research Agenda

The negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic has seen SME's struggling around the world. With many quickly adopting digital technologies, such as AI, in their manufacturing or services operations to achieve sustainable development. This study aims to develop a framework that informs AI-enabled sustainable development for SMEs by integrating the relevant research in the field. In this framework, we identify the opportunities that the deployment of AI technology can do to alleviate the plights of SMEs in the post-pandemic era, including the impacts on work, organizations, and performance. We further explore the challenges that SMEs face in AI transformation and recommend strategies to take on those challenges. Finally we propose an agenda for future research based on technological challenges and environmental threats.

Sustainable Tourism Issues in European Countries during the Global Pandemic Crisis

Sustainable economic growth can be achieved through tourism by protecting the environment, maintaining natural resources, creating employment, improving cultural diversity, and recognizing cultural heritage values. The concept of tourism sustainability is gradually growing globally and becoming a dominant aspect in modern business, as companies need to meet stakeholders’ demands regarding environmental management. Sustainable tourism incorporates environmental, social, economic, and cultural issues into operations. The demand for green tourism, ethical consumption, protection of natural resources, and living close to nature is expected to increase. In particular, the latter gains more and more popularity due to the stress caused by the global pandemic and also because values have been re-evaluated at every level of society. In this paper, we explore sustainability in the tourism industry within the international context during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on tourism in 35 European countries for the period between January 2020 and September 2021. We aimed to study the impact of tourism on sustainability based on the Eurostat database, using cluster analysis and descriptive statistics. The results indicate that tourism will recover slightly, even though the pandemic will continue, recording different effects in European countries. Furthermore, we highlight the relationship between income and tourism, the clusters on tourism being significantly different according to income. The results also identify potential recovery options to align this business area with global sustainable development goals, generate effective transformational change, and suggest how to create a viable growth process pushed by a glocal perspective.

Examining the Relationship between COVID-19 Related Job Stress and Employees' Turnover Intention with the Moderating Role of Perceived Organizational Support: Evidence from SMEs in China

The outbreak of COVID-19 has exerted an enormous impact on society, enterprises, and individuals. It has affected the work attitudes and psychology of employees to a certain extent and their job stress (JS) has also augmented accordingly, leading to increased turnover intention (TI). With the survey responses of 720 employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in China as the sample, we studied the impact of COVID-19 related JS and TI with the moderating effect of perceived organizational support (POS). We utilized linear and multiple regression analysis using Windows SPSS 25. The research findings indicated that the JS caused by COVID-19 in the first affected region (Hubei) was significantly stronger than that in other regions (non-Hubei). JS had a significant positive relationship with employees' TI, while POS had a significant negative connection with employees' TI. We also identified that POS weakened the positive association between JS and employees' TI. These findings are expected to be conducive to and conductive for the upcoming theoretical and empirical investigations as the founding guidelines, as well as for managers in formulating effective policies to curb JS, which would ultimately be helpful in reducing TI.

Changes in the Innovation- and Marketing-Habits of Family SMEs in the Foodstuffs Industry, Caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic in Hungary

The economic specialties caused by the global coronavirus pandemic completely changed everyday life regarding certain sectors. For the small and medium enterprises, processing during the pandemic held several significant challenges, such as: cost-efficient operations, hardship of keeping employees, efficient management of innovation and various corporate activities, keeping the customers, etc. Many enterprises saw severe damages indirectly from the coronavirus pandemic, as society itself had its habits significantly changed, thereby necessitating changes in strategy for small and medium enterprises, most notably for local service providers and producers that have no delivery service. In order to solve the issue at hand, several governments tried applying a variety of solutions—mostly by financing the enterprises in question. The goal of the authors is to understand the current operation of innovation initiatives that small and medium enterprises have post-COVID-19, and to obtain a clear view on changes in marketing habits. Furthermore, the analysis concentrates on the following: the state of family SMEs dealing in foodstuffs, and how to create a future view for such members of the sector by identifying best practices. Using data collected during 2020 and 2021, and employing descriptive statistics and a conjoint analysis, the authors wished to see how the coronavirus pandemic affected SMEs, detect the changes in their marketing and innovation policy due to the pandemic, and help them create core business strategy via consumer feedback. Authors found that SMEs had to innovate by 2021 beyond their 2019 expectations, and that customers had partially validated their endeavors through their answers.

Business transformation in an age of turbulence - Lessons learned from COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global economic turmoil. Although many companies have suffered huge losses, some have flourished by changing their old ways of doing business. We investigate the business transformation process under drastic market changes and time pressure, with a focus on decision speed and structure in the decision & planning phase, the implementation structure and monitoring in the implementation phase, and reinforcement after the implementation. Through case studies in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, e-commerce, and finance, we explore how companies in specific contexts have dealt with the above-mentioned critical factors when transforming their business during the pandemic, whether the experienced transformation processes differ from theory, and if so, how. The examples of business transformations cover eight categories, including work from home, the use of augmented reality, internet of things, and business model redesign. Our findings reveal how these transformations are perceived and evaluated by companies one year into the pandemic. In addition, we show how decision speed, structure of the decision-making process, structure of the implementation process, and scale of the implementation impact the completion time of the transformations. Based on our results, we provide suggestions to companies for an effective business transformation in times of crisis.

Crisis Management and CSR in Slovenian Companies: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The main aim of this article was to outline how the appearance of COVID-19 changed the global competitiveness of Slovenian companies through the lenses of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and crisis management. Based on concepts of CSR and crisis management, we analyzed the responses of companies to ensure their competitiveness in a crisis situation. Two surveys among managers in Slovenian companies were carried out, one in March 2020 (N = 618) and the other in May 2020 (N = 486). Our results showed that internationally oriented companies responded more comprehensively and proactively to the challenges of doing business in the COVID-19 crisis compared to the companies that had operated mainly in the domestic market during this period. The analysis also showed that internationally oriented companies responded to the COVID-19 crisis with more comprehensive measures also using the concept of CSR and crisis management in comparison with companies that, in the time of the pandemic, operated mainly in the domestic market and used fewer principles of CSR and crisis management. The main theoretical implications of this survey are related to CSR development. They emphasize the interdependent importance of experience and impact in international business in connection with the concept of CSR and crisis management in times of COVID-19. Practical implications include proposals to streamline operations to maintain competitiveness and to take advantage of new business opportunities and effects, which are also encouraged through the use of the CSR concept and crisis management.

Mortality Risk Factors in Micro and Small Businesses: Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda

Most micro and small businesses (MSEs) are limited in organizational structure, financial resources, technology, and management strategies. Due to these limitations, there are many risks involved in this sector. Understanding the aspects that contribute to the risk of mortality among MSEs is important to guide entrepreneurs in the development of strategic actions and to assist governments in the elaboration of policies that support the creation of new ventures. For this, it is important to know the key factors that contribute to the risk of business mortality. Thus, the following research questions emerge: What is the state of the art on the subject of business mortality in MSE? What are the factors that contribute to the risk of mortality in MSE? What is the relationship between the factors that contribute to the risk of mortality in MSE? The objective of this research was to analyze what the risk factors are for MSE mortality and how they are related to each other. From a systematic literature review, the state of the art on the topic of business mortality in MSEs was evidenced and its risk factors were identified. One hundred and six articles, published from January 2000 to February 2021, were analyzed. The results showed 36 mortality risk factors and highlighted the risks associated with innovative processes, business management, and the characteristics of the entrepreneur. This study contributes to a theoretical framework on corporate mortality and provides an agenda for future research, showing gaps to be explored. In terms of managerial implications, we suggest that entrepreneurs prioritize training initiatives, investing in education, that MSEs participate in cooperation networks to establish partnerships between stakeholders, and that they invest in technological tools to make companies more competitive in the market.

Travel-Business Stagnation and SME Business Turbulence in the Tourism Sector in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic, apart from having an impact on public health, has also caused the stagnation of travel-bureau businesses and the management of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector. This study aims to analyze the COVID-19 pandemic as a determinant of travel-business stagnation and turbulence in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the influence of human resources, business development, and product marketing on the productivity of the travel and SME business, the direct and indirect effects of business innovation, economic digitization, and the use of technology on business stability and economic-business sustainability. This study uses an explanatory sequential qualitative–quantitative approach. Data were obtained through observation, in-depth interviews, surveys, and documentation. This study is focused on assessing the efforts made by travel-agency-business actors and SMEs in responding and adapting to changes in the business environment, both internally and externally. Human resources, business development, and product marketing together affect the productivity of travel agents and SMEs with a coefficient of determination of 95.84%. Furthermore, business innovation, economic digitization, and the use of technology simultaneously affect business stability with a coefficient of determination of 63.8%, and business stability affects the sustainability of travel and SMEs with a coefficient of determination of 67.6%. This study recommends a strategy for travel-agency-business sustainability and the stability of SMEs’ economic-business management towards increasing economic growth in the North Toraja Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Exploring COVID-19 Challenges and Coping Mechanisms for SMEs in the South African Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Globally, COVID-19 has caused significant damage, including business closures and changes in how entrepreneurial activities are performed. The pandemic has spawned a slew of publications with the majority thereof being editorials, commentaries, and concept notes. This implies a lack of empirical evidence on the pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to explore the COVID-19 challenges and coping mechanisms for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Data for the study were collected from 15 SME owners through semi-structured interviews using a generic qualitative research method. The findings revealed that the SME COVID-19 challenges included lockdown restrictions, customer loss, lack of government support, and scarcity of raw materials. The coping mechanisms used by the SMEs were having a positive entrepreneurial mindset followed by reduced service prices and the retrenchments of employees. Theoretically, the study contributes to the scarce empirical evidence on COVID-19 challenges and coping mechanisms for SMEs in the South African context; to the available literature in the entrepreneurial ecosystem context and to the world at large. Practically, it is recommended that during crises, businesses should network with one another to remain operational and, owing to e-commerce, they are encouraged to have an online presence.

Digital Transformation of Small and Medium Enterprises: Aspects of Public Support

The purpose of this study is to identify the necessary public support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and provide policy makers with guidance on how to facilitate a successful digital transformation. The study is based on a representative survey of 425 Latvian SMEs carried out in spring 2021. We combine three analyses: a survey among SMEs, qualitative comparative analysis and regression analysis. The results of this study show that a significant number of SMEs are convinced that they will not be able to cope with digital transformation without various kinds of assistance, with direct financial support from the state or EU funds and tax incentives playing a major role. The range of public support required is rather wide, from staff training, mentoring and increasing the potential workforce to tax relief and direct financial support. We found statistically significant differences in public support needed depending on the size of SMEs and their ability to independently manage digital transformation. These findings could be useful for policymakers, managers and practitioners to identify various forms of public support that can maximize the impact of digital transformation not only on business, but also on society as a whole.

Intelligent Backpropagation Networks with Bayesian Regularization for Mathematical Models of Environmental Economic Systems

The research community of environmental economics has had a growing interest for the exploration of artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems to provide enriched efficiencies and strengthened human knacks in daily live maneuvers, business stratagems, and society evolution. In this investigation, AI-based intelligent backpropagation networks of Bayesian regularization (IBNs-BR) were exploited for the numerical treatment of mathematical models representing environmental economic systems (EESs). The governing relations of EESs were presented in the form of differential models representing their fundamental compartments or indicators for economic and environmental parameters. The reference datasets of EESs were assembled using the Adams numerical solver for different EES scenarios and were used as targets of IBNs-BR to find the approximate solutions. Comparative studies based on convergence curves on the mean square error (MSE) and absolute deviation from the reference results were used to verify the correctness of IBNs-BR for solving EESs, i.e., MSE of around 10−9 to 10−10 and absolute error close to 10−5 to 10−7. The endorsement of results was further validated through performance evaluation by means of error histogram analysis, the regression index, and the mean squared deviation-based figure of merit for each EES scenario.

Innovative Finance, Technological Adaptation and SMEs Sustainability: The Mediating Role of Government Support during COVID-19 Pandemic

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) survival is critical for economic sustainability due to the multifaceted role of the economy. Thus, halting SMEs operation hurts the aggregate economy. During the present pandemic, SMEs’ sustainability in Bangladesh is under-challenged because of limited market demand, supply constraints, financial incapacity, and capital restrictions. However, with the concerted effort from firms and the government, SME’s have been trying to reestablish from the unforeseen consequence by capitalizing on innovation, skills, and economic resources. The motivation of the study is to gauge the impact of innovative finance, technological adaptation, and the government’s role on SMEs’ sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. As a study sample, 2000 SMEs were considered for data collection through a structured questionnaire from 10 December 2020, to 28 January 2021. A sample of 1895 SMEs was returned with their responses. However, after a careful data cleaning procedure, only a sample of 1395 (69.75%) responses was found suitable for study. The study applied structural equation modelling to explore causal effects and test the proposed hypothesis for the hypnotized model, i.e., more precisely, to explore the direct effects of technology adaptation and innovative finance and indirect effects through government support on SMEs. Study findings revealed that SMEs’ sustainability positively accelerates by applying innovative finance and integration of technological adaptation. In contrast, the mediating role of government was also established with indirect assessment. Study findings suggest that policy formulation and implementation must be initiated, focusing on effective online financial services, settling business transactions, and integrating IT advancements in operation.

What Kept the Boat Afloat? Sustainability of Employment in Knowledge-Intensive Sectors Due to Government Measures during COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed new aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship and the resilience of SMEs in the conditions of individual countries. This empirical study contributes to entrepreneurship sustainability literature and business resilience literature by estimating the impact of various utilized internal crisis management tools and state compensation measures on retaining the pre-crisis levels of employment after two waves of the pandemic on the conditions of a V4 country. The study adopts an econometric approach towards assessing the influence of key factors of mitigating the problems caused by the pandemic, and the results suggest a crucial role of digitalization, internal policies optimizing variable costs, and utilization of direct governmental supportive measures to compensate for restrictions in force for employment retention in knowledge-intensive SMEs. According to the results, knowledge-intensive SMEs appears to have increased resilience towards economic shocks due to the capability to swiftly change the management of ventures to adapt to a crisis.

Technology Entrepreneurship and the Performance of Enterprises in the Conditions of Covid-19 Pandemic: The Fuzzy Set Analysis of Waste to Energy Enterprises in Poland

This article’s aim is to explain the impact of technology entrepreneurship phenomenon on waste management enterprise performance in the conditions of COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of technology entrepreneurship according to the configuration approach and the category of high-performance organization are the theoretical bases of empirical investigation. For the implementation of empirical research, Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (FsQCA) was adopted. The research sample included a group of producers of Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) as a central part of the waste to energy industry located in Poland. The research results showed that the waste to energy sector is highly immune to pandemic threats. While during COVID-19, the basic economic parameters (i.e., sales, profitability and employment) of the entire industry in Poland clearly decreased, the same parameters in the case of the waste to energy industry remained at the same level. The research results allow the formulation of two high-performance models of technology entrepreneurship in the waste to energy industry under COVID-19 conditions. The first model is based on traditional technologies and hierarchical organizational structures, and the second is using innovative technologies and flexible structures. Both technology entrepreneurship models are determined by their emergence as complementary to implementation strategies and the opportunity-oriented allocation of resources within business model portfolios.

Tourism in the Era of Covid-19 and Its Impact on the Environment

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all areas of socio-economic life around the world. Its impact concerns not only the health system and the health of the population, but also the economy. Tourism is one of the sectors hardest hit by the restrictions imposed by governments in the wake of the pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in restrictions and limitations on movement and travel, covering both domestic and international tourism, which raises the question of have these restrictions imposed on tourist activities also caused an environmental impact? The aim of this article is to examine what impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the environmental issues within the tourism sector in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. The research task is to investigate whether this impact has changed in the pandemic era compared to previous years, and whether it has been positive or negative. The research method is multiple regression analysis. The results of the study indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from tourism in all CEE countries. Such decreases are both relative to 2019 and the estimated level of emissions that would be achieved if the countries surveyed achieved economic growth in 2020 consistent with the European Commission’s projections for that year. The scale of the impact varies from country to country, while the relationship between tourism development and pollution levels is positive.