IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i12p6542-d571294.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From Challenges to Creativity: Enhancing SMEs’ Resilience in the Context of COVID-19

Author

Listed:
  • Ambika Zutshi

    (Department of Management, Melbourne Burwood Campus, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia)

  • John Mendy

    (Department of Management, Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 7TS, UK)

  • Gagan Deep Sharma

    (University School of Management Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Sector 16 C, Dwarka, New Delhi 110078, India)

  • Asha Thomas

    (Jagan Institute of Management Studies, Rohini, New Delhi 110085, India)

  • Tapan Sarker

    (Department of Business Strategy and Innovation, Griffith Business School, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia)

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant and multiple challenges for SMEs. While SMEs have traditionally faced financial and non-financial crises, the pandemic has brought about additional uncertainties on how to maintain business continuity. The purpose of this paper is to examine how SMEs can mitigate against COVID-19-related crisis by examining the impacts that the pandemic has had on them through a review of 34 articles. The thematic analysis from the literature covered three overarching and inter-related challenges including (i) cost and finance-related challenges, (ii) disruption of activities, and (iii) existential difficulties. The paper’s value lies in addressing the gap between the espoused literature’s claim of the beneficial impact of new technological advancements and SMEs’ ability to survive in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional value of this paper is a framework of recommendations to help enhance SMEs’ resilience and responsiveness in the context of COVID-19. These recommendations include collaboration, openness, taking advantage of opportunities/victory, and durability.

Suggested Citation

  • Ambika Zutshi & John Mendy & Gagan Deep Sharma & Asha Thomas & Tapan Sarker, 2021. "From Challenges to Creativity: Enhancing SMEs’ Resilience in the Context of COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:12:p:6542-:d:571294
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6542/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6542/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marius Brülhart & Rafael Lalive & Tobias Lehmann & Michael Siegenthaler, 2020. "COVID-19 financial support to small businesses in Switzerland: evaluation and outlook," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 156(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Alexander W. Bartik & Marianne Bertrand & Zoë B. Cullen & Edward L. Glaeser & Michael Luca & Christopher T. Stanton, 2020. "How Are Small Businesses Adjusting to COVID-19? Early Evidence from a Survey," NBER Working Papers 26989, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Takupiwa Nyanga & Herbert Zirima, 2020. "Reactions Of Small To Medium Enterprises In Masvingo, Zimbabwe To Covid 19: Implications On Productivity," Business Excellence and Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 10(5), pages 22-32, October.
    4. Sanchita Bansal & Isha Garg & Gagan Deep Sharma, 2019. "Social Entrepreneurship as a Path for Social Change and Driver of Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-28, February.
    5. McGeever, Niall & McQuinn, John & Myers, Samantha, 2020. "SME liquidity needs during the COVID-19 shock," Financial Stability Notes 2/FS/20, Central Bank of Ireland.
    6. Alexander W. Bartik & Marianne Bertrand & Zoe Cullen & Edward L. Glaeser & Michael Luca & Christopher Stanton, 2020. "The impact of COVID-19 on small business outcomes and expectations," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(30), pages 17656-17666, July.
    7. Rosado-Serrano, Alexander & Paul, Justin & Dikova, Desislava, 2018. "International franchising: A literature review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 238-257.
    8. Mohammad Haider Syed & Shahnawaz Khan & Mustafa Raza Rabbani & Yannis E. Thalassinos, 2020. "An Artificial Intelligence and NLP based Islamic FinTech Model Combining Zakat and Qardh-Al-Hasan for Countering the Adverse Impact of COVID 19 on SMEs and Individuals," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 351-364.
    9. Mrinalini Srivastava & Gagan Deep Sharma & Achal Kumar Srivastava, 2019. "Human brain and financial behavior: a neurofinance perspective," International Journal of Ethics and Systems, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(4), pages 485-503, June.
    10. Gaurav Talan & Gagan Deep Sharma, 2019. "Doing Well by Doing Good: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda for Sustainable Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, January.
    11. Mrinalini Srivastava & Gagan Deep Sharma & Achal Kumar Srivastava & S. Senthil Kumaran, 2020. "What’s in the brain for us: a systematic literature review of neuroeconomics and neurofinance," Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(4), pages 413-435, June.
    12. Jill Juergensen & José Guimón & Rajneesh Narula, 2020. "European SMEs amidst the COVID-19 crisis: assessing impact and policy responses," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 47(3), pages 499-510, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Teng Ma & Ya Liu & Rongyan Jia, 2023. "Multiple Driving Paths of High-Tech SME Resilience from a “Resource–Capability–Environment” Perspective: An fsQCA Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-23, May.
    2. Sohel Rana & Lily Kiminami & Shinichi Furuzawa, 2022. "Role of entrepreneurship in regional development in the haor region of Bangladesh: a trajectory equifinality model analysis of local entrepreneurs," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 931-960, October.
    3. Hossein Rahnama & Kerstin Johansen & Lisa Larsson & Anna Öhrwall Rönnbäck, 2022. "Collaboration in Value Constellations for Sustainable Production: The Perspective of Small Technology Solution Providers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Lee, In Hyeock & Lévesque, Moren, 2023. "Do resource-constrained early-stage firms balance their internal resources across business activities? If so, should they?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    5. Ragmoun Wided, 2023. "IT Capabilities, Strategic Flexibility and Organizational Resilience in SMEs Post-COVID-19: A Mediating and Moderating Role of Big Data Analytics Capabilities," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 24(1), pages 123-142, March.
    6. Paola Paoloni & Martina Manzo & Veronica Procacci, 2023. "The impact of the pandemic crisis on the digital transition process of Italian SMEs," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(2 Suppl.), pages 83-107.
    7. Khorshed Alam & Mohammad Afshar Ali & Michael O. Erdiaw-Kwasie & Peter A. Murray & Retha Wiesner, 2022. "Digital Transformation among SMEs: Does Gender Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-20, January.

    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. Ashraf Mishrif & Asharul Khan, 2023. "Technology adoption as survival strategy for small and medium enterprises during COVID-19," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, December.
    2. Dalina-Maria Andrei, 2022. "Objectives And Difficulties In Sme?S Sector In Romania," Management Strategies Journal, Constantin Brancoveanu University, vol. 56(2), pages 29-36.
    3. Ambroziak Adam A., 2022. "Forms of COVID-19 state aid by beneficiary size in Poland in 2020," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 58(1), pages 44-63, March.
    4. Hossain, Mohammad Rokibul & Akhter, Fahmida & Sultana, Mir Misnad, 2022. "SMEs in Covid-19 Crisis and Combating Strategies: A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and A Case from Emerging Economy," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 9(C).
    5. Hensvik, Lena & Le Barbanchon, Thomas & Rathelot, Roland, 2021. "Job search during the COVID-19 crisis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    6. Mohapatra, Biswajit & Tripathy, Sushanta & Singhal, Deepak & Saha, Rajnandini, 2022. "Significance of digital technology in manufacturing sectors: Examination of key factors during Covid-19," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    7. Lucia Svabova & Katarina Kramarova & Dominika Chabadova, 2022. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Business Environment in Slovakia," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-22, October.
    8. Rakshit, Sandip & Islam, Nazrul & Mondal, Sandeep & Paul, Tripti, 2021. "Mobile apps for SME business sustainability during COVID-19 and onwards," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 28-39.
    9. Marina Sheresheva & Marina Efremova & Lilia Valitova & Anna Polukhina & Georgy Laptev, 2021. "Russian Tourism Enterprises’ Marketing Innovations to Meet the COVID-19 Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, March.
    10. Florian Horky & Nicola Tretter & Jarko Fidrmuc, 2021. "Are the pandemic and innovation twins? Perceived financial obstacles, innovations, and entrepreneurial success," Economic Research Guardian, Weissberg Publishing, vol. 11(2), pages 236-254, December.
    11. Nick Drydakis, 2022. "Artificial Intelligence and Reduced SMEs’ Business Risks. A Dynamic Capabilities Analysis During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1223-1247, August.
    12. Margarida Rodrigues & Mário Franco & Nuno Sousa & Rui Silva, 2021. "COVID 19 and the Business Management Crisis: An Empirical Study in SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-20, May.
    13. Goolsbee, Austan & Syverson, Chad, 2021. "Fear, lockdown, and diversion: Comparing drivers of pandemic economic decline 2020," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    14. Ganlin Pu & Md. Qamruzzaman & Ahmed Muneeb Mehta & Farah Naz Naqvi & Salma Karim, 2021. "Innovative Finance, Technological Adaptation and SMEs Sustainability: The Mediating Role of Government Support during COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-27, August.
    15. Mandeep Mahendru & Vibha Arora & Ravi Chatterjee & Gagan Deep Sharma & Irum Shahzadi, 2024. "From Over-Tourism to Under-Tourism via COVID-19: Lessons for Sustainable Tourism Management," Evaluation Review, , vol. 48(1), pages 177-210, February.
    16. Victor Chidubem Iwuoha & Ernest Toochi Aniche & Charles Arinze Obiora & Uchenna T. Umeifekwem, 2021. "Citizens lack access to healthcare facilities: How COVID‐19 lockdown and social distancing policies boost roadside chemist businesses in South‐Eastern Nigeria," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 2411-2423, November.
    17. Janzen, Benedikt & Radulescu, Doina, 2022. "Effects of COVID-19 related government response stringency and support policies: Evidence from European firms," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 129-145.
    18. Mansi Jain & Gagan Deep Sharma & Mandeep Mahendru, 2019. "Can I Sustain My Happiness? A Review, Critique and Research Agenda for Economics of Happiness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-36, November.
    19. Kerry Brown & Ferry Jie & Thi Le & Jalleh Sharafizad & Fleur Sharafizad & Subhadarsini Parida, 2022. "Factors Impacting SME Business Resilience Post-COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-15, November.
    20. Ragmoun Wided, 2023. "IT Capabilities, Strategic Flexibility and Organizational Resilience in SMEs Post-COVID-19: A Mediating and Moderating Role of Big Data Analytics Capabilities," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 24(1), pages 123-142, March.

    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:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:12:p:6542-:d:571294. 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.