Surviving the COVID‐19 pandemic: The antecedents of success among European SMEs

Abstract

We research the antecedents of relative success among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in avoiding temporary or permanent closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate the roles of firm-specific resources and state support policies in influencing SME fortunes, in a sizeable group of European countries covered in the World Bank Enterprise Survey. Using resource dependency, Varieties of Capitalism and Systems theories, we find that innovative capacities, institutional connectedness, governance, and management experience were major antecedents of success across all SMEs. Significant differences in outcomes were found between SMEs operating in old and new EU member states, and non-EU countries.

Resilience of rural businesses in times of crisis: Firm survival during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland

“…In a cross-country study of EU countries, Gourinchas et al (2023) found that the absence of business support funding would have increased SME failures by 6.15 percentage points. Chit et al (2023) also found positive crisis-mitigating effects of business support funding schemes on SMEs' short-term outcomes, including business closure in EU countries.…”

“…Previous studies on firm survival and business support during the COVID-19 pandemic, see Gourinchas et al (2023) and Chit et al (2023), have mainly relied on aggregate country-level approaches without considering potential regional differences within a country. As a point of departure, we provide insights into the regional development of business closure rates and the regional allocation of business support during COVID-19 and their rural–urban dimensions by using a mix of descriptive statistics, data visualisations and panel regressions.…”

“…Nonetheless, the analysis of business resilience requires an understanding that businesses are embedded in their respective regions within a broader society (Soroka et al, 2020). While business-specific factors, such as innovative capacity, institutional connectedness, and management experience (Chit et al, 2023), naturally matter, the surrounding business environment also affects how businesses cope with crises (Makkonen and Mitze, 2024). As such, regional socio-economic and demographic structural factors affect their survival (Giannakis and Bruggeman, 2017).…”

Os impactos da pandemia de Covid-19 em pequenas e médias empresas do Rio de Janeiro

“…The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have been particularly pronounced for these companies worldwide (Chit et al, 2023;Clampit et al, 2022;Eggers, 2020). Research across various countries highlights critical challenges faced by SMEs, encompassing sudden drops in demand, financial constraints, and logistical and operational hurdles (Bartik et al, 2020;Chit et al, 2023;Clampit et al, 2022;Eggers, 2020;Juergensen et al, 2020).…”

“…In the realm of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the focal point of this study, the ramifications were severe. Dwindling demand, financial difficulties, and logistical and operational constraints were some of the challenges faced by these companies worldwide (Bartik et al, 2020;Chit, Croucher, & Rizov, 2023;Clampit et al, 2022;Eggers, 2020;Juergensen, Guimón, & Narula, 2020).…”