Imagining the Growth in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of Pakistan under COVID19 Outbreak

Arshia Ishaq (), Mamona Sadaf (), Amjad Ali () and Sehrish Naz ()
Additional contact information
Arshia Ishaq: Lecturer, Knowledge Unit of Business Economics Accountancy and Commerce (KUBEAC), University of Management and Technology, Sialkot, Pakistan
Mamona Sadaf: Assistant Professor, Knowledge Unit of Business Economics Accountancy and Commerce (KUBEAC), University of Management and Technology, Sialkot, Pakistan
Amjad Ali: Associate Professor, Knowledge Unit of Business Economics Accountancy and Commerce (KUBEAC), University of Management and Technology, Sialkot, Pakistan
Sehrish Naz: Lecturer, Knowledge Unit of Business Economics Accountancy and Commerce (KUBEAC), University of Management and Technology, Sialkot, Pakistan

iRASD Journal of Economics, 2022, vol. 4, issue 4, 583-593

Abstract: Pandemics affect the performance of almost all firms globally. COVID-19, which is considered a pandemic, has disturbed firms worldwide but this impact is more intense on small and medium-sized firms. This study aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the growth performance of majorly export-oriented firms in Pakistan. We surveyed 400 local and exporting firms in Pakistan using random sampling technique. We examined the firm’s growth using the structural equation modeling technique and identified that firm’s finances are not affected much during the pandemic but it has impacted the firm’s operations, supply chains, and labor retention. We further observed that firms ‘efforts in improving their online presence have improved during the pandemic which shows people can change their business strategies according to the changing contingencies. Technology adoption proved one of the dominant strategies for survival under pandemic. We have shared some approaches and policies for curtailing the impact of COVID-19 and improving the firm’s situation.

Keywords: Performance; Growth; COVID-19; Exporting firms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.internationalrasd.org/index.php/joe/article/view/919/603 (application/pdf)
https://journals.internationalrasd.org/index.php/joe/article/view/919 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ani:irdjoe:v:4:y:2022:i:4:p:583-593

DOI: 10.52131/joe.2022.0404.0100

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in iRASD Journal of Economics from International Research Alliance for Sustainable Development (iRASD)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Dr. Muhammad Abrar ul Haq ().