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In Times of Crisis: Sustainable Innovation and Performance Management in the SMEs

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 48486

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mário José Baptista Franco

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Guest Editor

Department of Management and Economics, CEFAGE-UBI Research Center, University of Beira Interior, 6200-209 Covilhã, Portugal
Interests: entrepreneurship; innovation; SMEs; strategic alliances; interorganizational networks; cooperation; partnerships
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Margarida Maria Mendes Rodrigues

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Assistant Guest Editor

CEFAGE-UBI Research Center, University of Beira Interior, 6200-209 Covilhã, Portugal
Interests: creative, smart, and sustainable cities; regional and urban networks; corporate social responsibility; mining industry; sustainable urban entrepreneurship; living labs; entrepreneurship in general; accounting; management control; auditing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In times of crisis and fundamentally due to COVID-19, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been affected by this economic and social pandemic. It is therefore crucial that scientific research continues to increasingly serve as a conduit for solutions to overcome the negative effects of this pandemic crisis and similar crises in the future. This Special Issue will comprise a selection of papers addressing topics, approaches, and tools to understand how, in times of crisis, the performance management in SMEs, including family business, can be affected. Therefore, research papers should address the multifaceted topics around sustainable innovation and performance management, such as (1) entrepreneurship, (2) performance, (3) green innovation, (4) regional competitiveness, (5) partnerships, and (6) business resilience, among others. These topics should include definitions of the concepts of entrepreneurship, sustainable innovation, and performance management as well as the identification of factors affecting these types of phenomena. In addition, these surveys should identify situations in which managers/owners of SMEs have adapted their businesses to respond to the disruption caused by COVID-19 and explain how they made this rapid change operational as well as the impact it had on their performance; explain whether social responsibility has become more important in the way of business management; determine whether digitization was important in addressing the crisis and to what extent, among others. Measurement tools for assessing these topics are also requested as well as theoretical frameworks to face similar crises. Perspectives guiding the design of sustainable innovation, resilience, and performance management in the context of SMEs should be presented to consider when implementing public policies for increasing competitiveness, including those aimed at approved special economic support to mitigate the severe effects of this virus.

Papers should also use various support theories to explain sustainable innovation and SME performance management in times of crisis, such as chaos theory, sustainability theory, resource-based theory, network theory, circular economy, absorption capacity theory, and fuzzy set theory, among others. Thus, in general, this Special Issue will be devoted to the study of the benefits of sustainable innovation practices, social responsibility, digitalization, resilient management, and adequate performance indicators in times of crisis for the SMEs of various countries and regions worldwide.

Empirical, conceptual, exploratory articles are welcome that use quantitative and qualitative methodology per se, or a combination.

Papers selected for this Special Issue will be subject to a rigorous peer review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Prof. Dr. Mário José Baptista Franco
Dr. Margarida Maria Mendes Rodrigues
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

COVID-19
sustainable innovation
digital entrepreneurship
entrepreneurial resilience
SME performance
crisis management
government support
organizational response
impact of business
skills
social responsibility
social entrepreneurship
family firms
employment and unemployment
risk management
creative entrepreneurship

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 241 KiB

Open AccessArticle

SMEs during the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis. The Sources of Problems, the Effects of Changes, Applied Tools and Management Strategies—The Example of Poland

by Barbara Siuta-Tokarska

Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10185; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131810185 - 12 Sep 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4379

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the theoretical deliberations and empirical research conducted is to determine the basic sources of problems in the SME sector of enterprises in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, and to present how enterprises are responding to external changes and adapting to these changes. The consideration of four types of enterprise strategies in the context of a large scale and a strong influence of external conditions on their activities is the leitmotif of the undertaken research. Design/methodology/approach: The research work used the analysis of the literature of the subject within the research methods of social studies with respect of the analysis and criticism of literature, as well as for logical analysis and structure. The empirical part applied desk research which concerned quantitative methods in the form of a survey. The survey was conducted among SME sector firms, that is micro-, small-, and medium-sized business entities whose economic activity was registered in Poland. The detailed information on sample sizes (based on three report sources) was given in the methodological part of the article. The research period is related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistical data presented in the paper primarily include the period of 2019 and 2020. Findings: The research revealed the basic sources of problems that SMEs in Poland struggled with during the COVID-19 pandemic in the period 2019–2020. The article presents the effects of changes related to the bankruptcy and restructuring processes of enterprises, expressed in an increase in their number in the compared years. In particular, the negative effects of the COVID-19 reality were experienced by SMEs conducting service activities. The paper also shows ways of responding and adapting to the turbulent reality of the studied enterprises, indicating the transformation and adaptation types of the actions taken. Originality/value: The presented research into SMEs is an original combination of theoretical issues related to business management during a crisis and distinguished strategies of responding to changes in the conditions of uncertainty, and the actual picture of changes in those entities in the days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The value of the research is manifested in the uniqueness of linking theoretical references of problems of management studies with respect to organisation management in the strategic aspect to specific research findings in firms defined as the core of the national economy, namely small- and medium-sized enterprises under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Times of Crisis: Sustainable Innovation and Performance Management in the SMEs)

18 pages, 4084 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Teaching and Researching in the Context of COVID-19: An Empirical Study in Higher Education

by Margarida Rodrigues, Rui Silva and Mário Franco

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8718; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13168718 - 04 Aug 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2274

Abstract

There is increasing recognition worldwide of the importance of academic activities, specifically in situations of pandemics. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the effects of COVID-19 on lecturers/researchers and Ph.D. and master students who have faced unexpected and continuous disruption in their teaching and research activities. To fulfil the aims, the study focused on a mixed method approach quantitative study based on a questionnaire administered on social networks and open questions. The unit of analysis was lecturers/researchers and Ph.D. and master students. The results obtained show that this lengthy interruption had severe impacts on their activities, requiring new competencies and capacities to deal with changes in a short period of time, including less positive feelings affecting them and their families. The main contribution of this study lies in identifying the barriers and opportunities created by this virus in the academic world and in presenting a theoretical framework to improve the situation, given that the confinement exponentiated negative and psychological feelings in academics, although telework is seen as a positive factor with continuity in the future, as a way to foster the social, environmental sustainability of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the wellbeing of their human capital. As implications for practice, the evidence points to the need for academics to be provided with training in E-learning, about technological tools for use in distance-learning and to reconsider how they carry out their research on the ground. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Times of Crisis: Sustainable Innovation and Performance Management in the SMEs)

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20 pages, 1329 KiB

Open AccessArticle

COVID 19 and the Business Management Crisis: An Empirical Study in SMEs

by Margarida Rodrigues, Mário Franco, Nuno Sousa and Rui Silva

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5912; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13115912 - 24 May 2021

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 14061

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many firms to close, causing an unprecedented interruption in trade in most sectors of economic activity worldwide. Although global supply chains have been affected by the general lockdown, due to their particular characteristics, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been hit most severely by the measures implemented to prevent the spread of the virus. This study aims to determine how these firms coped with the disruption caused by the closure, in terms of population and their daily lives to carry out their economic activities. For this purpose, a qualitative methodology (descriptive and inductive) was used through the use of snowball sampling with a questionnaire in Portugal during the lockdown. The results obtained show that SMEs face a series of difficulties from interrupting their operations, which has caused serious liquidity problems, with effects on their future continuity and maintaining jobs. Additionally, it showed the importance of government measures to support these firms today and in the future, although the number of firms adhering to them is considerably affected by the eligibility criteria and the speed of institutions’ response. The main contribution of this research lies in confirming that the weaknesses in SMEs are the principal obstacle to a resilient response to this crisis, such as their limited liquidity, human resources, digitalization, and use of information technology. These weaknesses and/or threats had already been indicated in the various theoretical currents stemming from Organizational Theory, so the originality of this contribution lies in the fact that the managers of these SMEs are endowed with other skills and characteristics, such as, for example, dynamic capacities to manage business in an unparalleled crisis and to continue their operations, even when faced with a global blockage. Implications for theory and practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also presented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Times of Crisis: Sustainable Innovation and Performance Management in the SMEs)

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16 pages, 809 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Stock and Commodity Markets Performance and Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of South Asian Countries

by Farhan Ahmed, Aamir Aijaz Syed, Muhammad Abdul Kamal, Maria de las Nieves López-García, Jose Pedro Ramos-Requena and Swati Gupta

Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5669; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13105669 - 18 May 2021

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 6059

Abstract

COVID-19 is certainly the first sustainability crisis of the 21st century. The paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on the Indian stock and commodity markets during the different phases of lockdown. In addition, the effect of COVID-19 on the Indian stock and commodity markets during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 spread was compared. A comparative analysis of the stock market performances and sustainability of selected South Asian countries is also included in the study, which covers the lockdown period as well as the time frame of the first and second waves of COVID-19 spread. To examine the above relationship, the conventional Welch test, heteroskedastic independent t-test, and the GMM multivariate analysis is employed, on the stock return, gold prices, and oil prices. The findings conclude that during the different phases of lockdown in India, COVID-19 has a negative and significant impact on oil prices and stock market performance. However, in terms of gold prices, the effect is positive and significant. The results of the first wave of COVID-19 infection also corroborate with the above findings. However, the results are contradictory during the second wave of coronavirus infection. Furthermore, the study also substantiates that COVID-19 has significantly affected the stock market performances of selected South Asian countries. However, the impact on the stock market performances was only for a short period and it diminished in the second wave of COVID-19 spread in all the selected South Asian countries. The findings contribute to the research on the stock and commodity market impact of a pandemic by providing empirical evidence that COVID-19 has spill-over effects on stock markets and commodity market performances. This result also helps investors in assessing the trends of the stock and commodity markets during the pandemic outbreak. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Times of Crisis: Sustainable Innovation and Performance Management in the SMEs)

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Review

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16 pages, 3605 KiB

Open AccessReview

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

by Ambika Zutshi, John Mendy, Gagan Deep Sharma, Asha Thomas and Tapan Sarker

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6542; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13126542 - 08 Jun 2021

Cited by 90 | Viewed by 17612

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. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Times of Crisis: Sustainable Innovation and Performance Management in the SMEs)

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