Entrepreneurial challenges of COVID-19: Re-thinking entrepreneurship after the crisis

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic substantially influenced the world economy, affecting entrepreneurs and SMEs alike. This paper critically examines the relationship between entrepreneurship and COVID-19 through an integrative review analyzing 79 existing studies on the topic. We posit a novel framework for postcrisis recovery, identifying three phases of activity: business resumption (the decision to restart operations following a crisis), crisis impact analysis (understanding how the firm has changed as a result of the crisis), and future review and modification (examining how businesses need to move forward in the latter days following a crisis). Further, we call for additional entrepreneurship research embedded in a crisis environment, with the hope that new scholarship in this regard will provide a chance to increase awareness of the critical role of entrepreneurial management in society.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• entrepreneurs
• SMEs
• crisis management
• review article

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ BRQ Business Research Quarterly, Business Horizons, Entrepreneurship Research Journal, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, International Journal of Management Education, International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Journal of Management, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Journal of World Business, Public Administration, Research in International Business and Finance, Small Business Economics, Strategic Change, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Technological Forecasting and Social Change.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.