COVID-19 and Entrepreneurship

Vanessa Ratten is Associate Professor at La Trobe University, Australia.

"The impacts of COVID-19 have already been catastrophic and devastating for life, societies and economies around the world. It has cost the life of more than a million people so far and has created misery for all. In this environment economic actors try to survive and maintain activities, support their communities and create value in their ecosystems. This book addresses COVID-19 and entrepreneurship by exploring challenges and opportunities for small business. Small businesses have proven resilient in crisis situations. The direct, unquestionable and passionate involvement of entrepreneurs and their families provides strength that large organisations usually envy. However, in such times of crisis small businesses need support, innovation and solidarity to overcome the difficulties. A focus on humanity for all people involved, including entrepreneurs and their loved ones, customers, neighbours and all stakeholders is essential. Liquidity and resilience are also critical with governments, financial institutions and property owners providing understanding and support. Flexible and innovative operating models are needed to deal with the uncertainty of any crisis and to address contextual challenges in a smart way. This book contributes to this discussion by providing research, best practice and a dialogue from different parts of the world."Dimitrios Buhalis, Bournemouth University, Business School, UK"COVID-19 has significantly changed the world on multiple levels and led to a need for remedies and solutions with an urgent imperative for entrepreneurial transformation. This edited book looks at the role of small business in developing entrepreneurship, thereby offering a novel and insightful read."Catherine Prentice, Griffith University, Australia"This is one of the first books to examine the relationship between the COVID-19 crisis and entrepreneurship in the context of small business. It can help readers understand how small businesses and start-ups can best deal with the COVID-19 pandemic." David Ahlstrom, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong"This book discusses insights from the SMEs' challenge during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. It reflects how impacts differed for entrepreneurs' and managers' perceptions and those located in and outside emerging markets. In the end, there is much potential for SMEs to contribute to a more inclusive, collaborative and open innovation post-COVID economy." Maribel Guerrero, Northumbria University, Faculty of Economics and Business, UK"The book edited by Dr. Ratten works well for a student of Entrepreneurship to understand the impact of unforeseen events such as Covid-19 spread. Predictions related to future are not easy but planning from Black Swan events is not impossible either. This book helps the student get a clarity on the cause and effect of strategies used by the governments in designing specific policies. The book also helps the student of entrepreneurship in building scenarios, learning from best practices followed by entrepreneurs. For building a resilient business, one must understand the dynamics the business is operating in and this book addresses just that." Sandeep Bhasin for Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 26 July 2021‘This edited book may provide some useful insights concerning the effect of COVID-19 in SMEs and strengthen our understanding in terms of decision-making in such businesses. Furthermore, this book can be considered as a sufficient first attempt to comprehend the business environment during an unprecedented global event (Coronavirus pandemic) that continues to have a heavy impact on business operations, and entrepreneurial efficiency and development around the world.’Book Review by Nikolaos Pappas, University of Sunderland, for Tourism Management, Vol 90, August 2022

• 1 COVID-19, entrepreneurship, and small business; 2 Open innovation ecosystems during the COVID-19 pandemic; 3 Small business risk and entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic; 4 Impact of COVID-19 on MSMEs in India: the Black Swan event that might change the trajectory of India’s economic growth; 5 Digital transformation from COVID-19 in small business and sport entities; 6 The impact of the experiences on affects during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine; 7 The perception of middle managers on the organizational environment for the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation activities in organizations; 8 Building and maintaining customer relationship via digital marketing and new technologies for small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic; 9 The future of small business entrepreneurship based on COVID-19 change