image: Business leaders and researchers provide insights on their sense-making processes amid the pandemic and how they envision the way forward
There is an expression in English that says, "May you live in interesting times." To some, this is a blessing, while to others it is more of a curse. The Covid-19 pandemic has engendered a very interesting time--a time of extraordinary and unprecedented challenges that have thrown individuals and organizations headlong into battles for survival. Politicians, policy-makers, business leaders, and all professionals must dig deeper and come up with solutions to ensure that human civilization continues to survive and thrive in a post-pandemic world. Under these circumstances, the Frontiers of Business Research in China in China recently published six unique perspectives on the challenges that businesses--especially small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs)--are facing, and the way forward.
The first article, by Prof. Hai Guo from Business School, Renmin University of China (Renmin Business School) and his research associates, argues that digitalization helps organizations to tap into their dynamic capabilities--their abilities to quickly build, integrate, and reorganize internal and external resources to adapt and promote organizational changes in the wake of crises. Prof. Guo opines, "(It) can help SMEs employ emergency responses as well as respond strategically to public crises in the long run, thus contributing to the improvement in SMEs' performance." Moreover, the researchers provide a definite framework that SMEs can use in their digitalization efforts during the pandemic.
In the second article, Prof. Jose C. Alves from the City University of Macao and his colleagues discuss a framework that combines insights on the sense-making processes of business leaders of six firms in Macao at the various crisis stages: how they dealt with internal and external stakeholders and responded to various challenges. The researchers found that most business leaders dealt with the pandemic situation as the "new normal". They adopted strategies that ensured flexibility in human resources management, cost reduction, enhanced customer relations, and capitalizing on government schemes. The researchers recommend that effective handling of the pandemic would require small firms to expand stakeholder engagement and develop new learning.
In the third article, Associate Prof. Ding Ding from the Singapore University of Social Sciences and her colleagues investigated the effects of the negative market sentiments stemming from the pandemic on the stock market. After comparing the closing stock prices of 1,567 firms from 37 sectors they found that some sectors--the ones with a greater degree of digital transformation--were more resilient to the negative market sentiment than others. Dr. Ding explains, "Even as (such) shutdowns have brought many corporeal economic activities to a near-complete standstill, consumer purchases and even trade continue to thrive online."
The fourth article, by Prof. Fengjun Liu of the Renmin Business School and his associates, investigates the impact of internal corporate social responsibility (ICSR) disclosures on consumer brand attitudes. They reveal that the perception of companies fulfilling their social responsibilities positively affects consumer attitudes. Prof. Liu says, "SMEs need to protect employee interests first and actively fulfill their ICSR to establish a good enterprise brand image. This in turn can help enterprises survive the epidemic and usher in greater development opportunities after the epidemic."
The fifth article, by Prof. Hua Song of the Renmin Business School, presents a closer look at the support that SMEs are receiving from financial service providers (FSPs). Their study compares and provides insights into the roles played by three types of FSPs: commercial banks, non-bank financial institutions, and credit-enhanced FSPs. They provide insights into how SMEs can raise capital in these trying times but call for greater collaboration between various stakeholders.
Lastly, in the sixth article, Prof. Fengbin Wang from the Renmin University of China and her colleague discuss the microstructures and dynamic processes within the five-phase system to offer a better understanding of Covid-19 as a complex system. Their study offers insight on possible dialogue between the Western process theory and the Chinese five-phase system that could help policymakers predict system evolution and guide policy decisions.
These perspectives throw light on the precarious situation that the world of business is in due to the pandemic. Nonetheless, they also provide hope and inspiration. We definitely live in interesting times, and the way our business leaders respond will ultimately decide the future of the world.