The Resilience of SMEs Facing Pandemic: A Case Study of Processed Seafood Products in Pekalongan City, Indonesia

Abstract

The difficult time caused by the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak proves that SMEs can survive even with serious problems that directly impact them. This research is a qualitative descriptive study by conducting interviews to 30 respondents of seafood-processing entrepreneurs in the city of Pekalongan. The interviews were conducted with business actors by using random sampling, and data collection was in form of convenience sample. Indepth interviews were conducted by exploring information on businesses carried out before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and adaptive efforts to survive in the new normal era. In the period before the pandemic, the amount of production per month of seafood-processing SME in Pekalongan Regency was quite diverse with the number of products varying from less than 100 kg/month (7%) up to more than 1000 kg/month (57%). Nevertheless, they have not used IT as a supporting means in their efforts. They continue to market their products directly in the area around Pekalongan and also outside Pekalongan area. During the Covid-19 pandemic, all SMEs' businesses continued but experienced significant declines such as difficult and expensive raw materials and a decrease in the number of buyers. On the other hand, the impact of pandemics on marketing and labour areas is not very significant. The marketing activities continue as before the pandemic and the employees work as usual. However, product innovation is minimal due to the lack of capital and knowledge. In the new normal era, all seafood-processing SMEs will continue their efforts. They will compete with the market, which remain optimistic that their products will improve so that they can increase the production. Besides, the new normal business plan for them is also like expanding the marketing and trying to be more successful. They also have specific targets to keep selling and continue to survive in the hope that the government can also synergize through the provision of assistance in form of the access to capital. This research concludes that the majority of SMEs in seafood-processing business are still able to survive in crises due to prolonged pandemics. Although they are able to stay and continue their efforts, there has not been innovation related to more adaptive marketing patterns, namely the utilization of digitalization.

Resiliensi Bisnis UMKM Produk Olahan Ikan selama Masa Pandemi: Peluang dan Kendala

“…Adanya kesenjangan temuan penelitian yang ingin dikonfirmasi oleh peneliti, yaitu temuan penelitian bahwa kondisi pada masa pandemi menunjukkan bahwa pelaku usaha berskala mikro dan menengah terdampak dari kebijakan pembatasan sosial di saat pandemi (Sholiha & Wibawa, 2021); (Retnawati & Retnaningsih, 2021a), namun penelitian berbeda memberikan temuan fakta bahwa kondisi pandemi justru dapat meningkatkan penjualan (Susilawati & Hikmatulloh, 2021). Bagaimanapun kondisi fluktuatif di masa pandemi, tetapi untuk bisnis pengolahan ikan di Indonesia masih bertahan (Retnawati & Retnaningsih, 2021b), karena produk olah ikan memiliki prospek bisnis (Saragih & Sinaga, 2019); (Muhartono & Saptan, 2019). Kemampuan UMKM bertahan saat pandemi adalah mereka yang dapat beradaptasi terhadap produk inovasi, termasuk usaha ritel yang melakukan pemasaran digital (Rosita, 2020).…”