Enabling Creative Small Business Innovation in a Crisis: An Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many businesses but has especially impacted small businesses (Dua et al. 2020, Eggers 2020). In the early months of the pandemic, many small business owners did not have the financial ability to sustain their services due to lacking funds during the shut-down (Bartik et al. 2020). This has significant long-term effects on the global economy as small-to-medium size businesses comprise 90% of all global businesses and 55% of GDP (Salesforce 2019). The demise of small businesses could have incomprehensible long term impacts on the global economy. As a result, it is not surprising that many scholars are calling for more research to understand how businesses can continue their services during the global pandemic (e.g., Batat 2020; Heinonen and Strandvik 2020; Sajtos et al. 2020).

To investigate this research question, we take an inductive, qualitative approach. Using qualitative interviews with 10 industry-diverse small business owners and 5 small business resource providers, the data reveals there are multiple paths to pursuing their interests in sustaining business. Specifically, we identify that through a cocreative process, small businesses rely on technology and intermediary organizations to foster new forms of pursuing business, specifically engaging in business model innovation (BMI). This research answers calls for research inquiring how businesses, and specifically small businesses, are able to help others cope with the crisis and support the economy (Pantano et al. 2020).