European Rural Businesses During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Designing Initiatives For Current And Future Development

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to identify and explore the initiatives which the European rural businesses have deployed when coping with Covid-19 pandemic and to emphasize the impact of these initiatives for the further development of the rural business environment in post Covid-19 pandemic in Europe. Rural businesses contribute towards Europe's growth and prosperity and, furthermore, help to preserve the cultural heritage for future generations. Also, have a huge impact on the development of the rural areas, through their socioeconomic contribution: employment, suppliers, customers, business competitors. The Covid-19 pandemic has strongly influenced people's lives and business activeness of rural areas. The widespread pandemic has given rise to significant challenges for the development of rural businesses. In order to exceed these circumstances, have been launched certain initiatives for supporting rural businesses in the fight against Covid-19:websites collecting examples of initiatives deployed by rural businesses, online platforms that promote local products and drive-in services for selling local food.The results of this research underline the fact that all the initiatives focused their attention towards supporting and developing the operations of rural businesses during Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, this type of initiatives can provide inspiration for forthcoming responses to global pandemic and other types of crisis.

Agri‐food sector and entrepreneurship during the COVID‐19 crisis: A systematic literature review and research agenda

“…Thirteen studies were collected under the AGRI3 category (Butu, Brumă, Tanasă, Rodino, et al, 2020; Ciruela‐Lorenzo et al, 2020; Cowie et al, 2020; Cristobal‐Fransi et al, 2020; Di Vaio et al, 2020; Fabeil, Pazim, & Langgat, 2020; Kumar et al, 2020; Liverpool‐Tasie et al, 2020; Lucaci & Nastase, 2020; Morris & Bowen, 2020; Quayson et al, 2020; Tasnim, 2020; Yadav, Luthra, Garg, et al, 2021).…”

“…In particular, agricultural enterprises have had a significant impact on rural areas' development due to the socio‐economic contribution through employment, suppliers, customers and business competitors. The role of agricultural enterprises in Europe's prosperity and preserving the regions' cultural heritage is huge (Lucaci & Nastase, 2020). It is, therefore, necessary to reconsider the business models that will revise the following dimensions: environmental, economic, technological, educational and social (Di Vaio et al, 2020).…”

“…Fabeil et al (2020) examine two micro‐enterprises' prospects in Sabah's rural area in Malaysia. The interviews reveal that, in order to ensure the continuous operation of the business, entrepreneurs should, among other things, use digital marketing through mobile applications and social media, such as Facebook and WhatsApp, and to make transactions for the sale of goods such as “collect on‐demand” or “cash on delivery.” Even developed countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands have made such alternatives, to support agricultural businesses and promote local agri‐products, such as creating online platforms (Lucaci & Nastase, 2020). However, as Cristobal‐Fransi et al (2020) shows, using online platforms is more problematic with fruits than with oil and wine products due to their vulnerability and sensitivity to temperature, storage and transport.…”

Healthcare enterprises and public policies on COVID‐19: Insights from the Greek rural areas

“…During the first phase of COVID‐19, Italian farmers sought cooperation with volunteers and the social economy, or the third sector, in order to address its effects, including social enterprises (Mastronardi, Cavallo, & Romagnoli, 2020). Research by Lucaci and Nastase (2020) examining the rural business environment in Europe during the first phase of the COVID‐19 spread found that the pandemic negatively affected the lives of rural residents and the business activity of these areas.…”

Rural Healthcare Enterprises in the Vortex of COVID-19: The Impact of Public Policies on the Internal and External Environment

“…Sci. 2021, 11, 82 2 of 14 the social cohesion and the global economy (Donthu and Gustafsson 2020;Lucaci and Nastase 2020). Among the gravest issues rural healthcare enterprises faced were insecurity, difficulty obtaining supplies and funding, reduced turnover and thwarting of investment plans (Apostolopoulos et al 2021a;Williams et al 2021).…”