IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jresou/v10y2021i8p85-d618780.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Survival: Resource Management Strategy in Micro and Small Enterprises in the Rubber Products Market in Poland during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Katarzyna Czainska

    (General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military University of Land Forces, 51-147 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Aleksandra Sus

    (General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military University of Land Forces, 51-147 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Eleftherios I. Thalassinos

    (Faculty of Maritime and Industrial Studies, University of Piraeus, 185-33 Piraeus, Greece
    Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy, University of Malta, 2080 Msida, Malta)

Abstract

The COVID-19 epidemic surprised economic operators around the world. The very existence of many businesses, and thus jobs, was at stake. However, one year after the WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic, contrary to the pessimistic forecasts of business analysts, some industries did not experience the predicted negative effects of the crisis. This article presents the results of a pilot study on micro and small enterprises in the rubber products industry in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of analyzing the phenomenon of sustainable resource management that led not only to the survival of these enterprises but also to a significant increase in their turnover. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to analyze the key success factors of the indicated economic entities, with particular emphasis on the perspective of sustainable resource management and relationship management. On the basis of best research practices, a triangulation of research methods was applied (integrative literature review, computer-assisted telephone interviewing, and individual in-depth interview). A relationship was observed between the sustainable management of resources and the structure of the relationship network and the strength of its connections. In micro and small enterprises in the rubber products sector in Poland, sustainable resource management is related to the structure of the network of relations and the strength of connections in the network (relations/networking), as enterprises form a group of entities with a high level of loyalty, especially between the suppliers and buyers of raw materials. The formulated conclusions will become the basis for further in-depth research that can be conducted (a) in the same group of respondents, but using a representative research group, (b) in the same industry among a group of large enterprises, and (c) in a group of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from other industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Katarzyna Czainska & Aleksandra Sus & Eleftherios I. Thalassinos, 2021. "Sustainable Survival: Resource Management Strategy in Micro and Small Enterprises in the Rubber Products Market in Poland during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-21, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:10:y:2021:i:8:p:85-:d:618780
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/10/8/85/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/10/8/85/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paulina Golinska-Dawson & Karolina Werner-Lewandowska & Monika Kosacka-Olejnik, 2021. "Responsible Resource Management in Remanufacturing—Framework for Qualitative Assessment in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Joanna Cygler & Włodzimierz Sroka & Marina Solesvik & Katarzyna Dębkowska, 2018. "Benefits and Drawbacks of Coopetition: The Roles of Scope and Durability in Coopetitive Relationships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-24, August.
    3. Parrish, Bradley D., 2010. "Sustainability-driven entrepreneurship: Principles of organization design," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 510-523, September.
    4. Joana Costa, 2021. "Carrots or Sticks: Which Policies Matter the Most in Sustainable Resource Management?," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, February.
    5. Ricart, Joan E. & Rodríguez, Miguel A. & Sanchez, Pablo, 2002. "Sustainable development and sustainability of competitive advantage: A dynamic and sustainable view of the firm," IESE Research Papers D/462, IESE Business School.
    6. Szymon Mitkow & Ewa Debicka, 2020. "Business Continuity in Relation to the Security of Organizations Against Threats Arising from the Declaration of a State of Epidemiological Emergency," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 3), pages 274-286.
    7. Andrew L. Friedman & Samantha Miles, 2002. "Developing Stakeholder Theory," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 1-21, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paúl Sarango-Lalangui & José Álvarez-García & María De la Cruz Del Río-Rama, 2018. "Sustainable Practices in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, June.
    2. Simona Galletta & Sebastiano Mazzù & Valeria Naciti & Carlo Vermiglio, 2021. "Sustainable development and financial institutions: Do banks' environmental policies influence customer deposits?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 643-656, January.
    3. Giancarlo Giudici & Massimiliano Guerini & Cristina Rossi-Lamastra, 2019. "The creation of cleantech startups at the local level: the role of knowledge availability and environmental awareness," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 815-830, April.
    4. Nosheena Yasir & Nasir Mahmood & Hafiz Shakir Mehmood & Osama Rashid & An Liren, 2021. "The Integrated Role of Personal Values and Theory of Planned Behavior to Form a Sustainable Entrepreneurial Intention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    5. Päivi Myllykangas & Johanna Kujala & Hanna Lehtimäki, 2010. "Analyzing the Essence of Stakeholder Relationships: What do we Need in Addition to Power, Legitimacy, and Urgency?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(1), pages 65-72, August.
    6. Sajad Fayezi, 2022. "Student-Centered Curriculum Design and Evaluation in Logistics Management," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-16, October.
    7. Ana Labella-Fernández & M. Mar Serrano-Arcos & Belén Payán-Sánchez, 2021. "Firm Growth as a Driver of Sustainable Product Innovation: Mediation and Moderation Analysis. Evidence from Manufacturing Firms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-22, March.
    8. Yuan Ding & Thomas Jeanjean & Hervé Stolowy, 2013. "Accounting for Stakeholders or Shareholders? The Case of R&D Reporting," Post-Print hal-01002936, HAL.
    9. Rubio-Andrés, Mercedes & Ramos-González, Mª del Mar & Sastre-Castillo, Miguel Ángel & Gutiérrez-Broncano, Santiago, 2023. "Stakeholder pressure and innovation capacity of SMEs in the COVID-19 pandemic: Mediating and multigroup analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    10. Vikraman R & Shulagna Sarkar & Vishnukumar K & Selvarasu A, 2021. "Leading Sustainable CSR Efforts: A Case of Sneha Opportunity School by NLCIL," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 14(1), pages 110-125, June.
    11. Céline Bérard & Christelle Bruyere & Séverine Saleilles, 2015. "Sustainability-driven and high-growth SMEs: A paradox approach [Las PYME de sostenibilidad impulsada y el alto crecimiento: Un enfoque por las paradojas]," Post-Print halshs-01354704, HAL.
    12. Jose Luis Retolaza & Maite Ruiz & Leire San‐Jose, 2009. "CSR in business start‐ups: an application method for stakeholder engagement," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(6), pages 324-336, November.
    13. Régis Y. Chenavaz & Alexandra Couston & Stéphanie Heichelbech & Isabelle Pignatel & Stanko Dimitrov, 2023. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurial Ventures: A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-30, May.
    14. Fabio Blanco-Mesa & Anna M. Gil-Lafuente & José M. Merigó, 2018. "Subjective stakeholder dynamics relationships treatment: a methodological approach using fuzzy decision-making," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 441-472, December.
    15. Armenia ANDRONICEANU & Manuela TVARONAVICIENE, 2019. "Developing A Holistic System For Social Assistance Services Based On Effective And Sustainable Partnerships," REVISTA ADMINISTRATIE SI MANAGEMENT PUBLIC, Faculty of Administration and Public Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 2019(33), pages 103-118, December.
    16. Samantha Miles, 2017. "Stakeholder Theory Classification: A Theoretical and Empirical Evaluation of Definitions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 437-459, May.
    17. Natalia Vasilenko & Marck Khaykin & Natalia Kirsanova & Arunas Lapinskas & Larisa Makhova, 2020. "Issues for Development of Economic System for Subsurface Resource Management in Russia through Lens of Economic Process Servitization," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(1), pages 44-48.
    18. Mierzejewska Wioletta, 2023. "Does coopetition pay off? Benefits of intra-organizational coopetition within business groups," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 59(2), pages 150-167, June.
    19. Émilie Lanciano & Séverine Saleilles, 2017. "Small firms in the sustainable transformation of food industry: entangling entrepreneurship and activism in grassroots innovation processes," Post-Print halshs-01879116, HAL.
    20. Vitiana L'Abate & Nicola Raimo & Francesco Albergo & Filippo Vitolla, 2024. "Social media to disseminate circular economy information. An empirical analysis on Twitter," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 528-539, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:10:y:2021:i:8:p:85-:d:618780. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.