PURPOSE: The new situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic has brought many difficulties for companies worldwide. To combat the pandemic, governments have enforced lockdown and closure of businesses, and in response, companies have developed various reactive strategies to ensure their survival. The purpose of this study is twofold: to examine the impact of COVID-19 on firms and examine firm reactions towards the COVID-19 crisis. The study analyses the impact of COVID-19 on firm size, ownership type, and industry characteristics. Secondly, to analyze firm reactions based on four components: technological preferences, strategic behavior, management practices, and social networks. METHODOLOGY: This study employs a quantitative method, using a survey of 320 firm owners and managers conducted in Kosovo by the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business. FINDINGS: Findings suggest that income dropped significantly for SMEs based on the firm size. Based on industry characteristics, findings show that all industries have been influenced negatively. Regarding the ownership type, findings suggest that family firms are more affected by COVID-19 than non-family firms. Factor analysis suggests that the technological preferences, managerial practices and strategic behavior, and social networks effectively responded to the crisis derived from COVID-19. Findings also suggest that firms did not employ a single reaction (e.g., technological change) but combined several reactions where one reaction led to another reaction that proved effective and led to firm survival during the crisis. IMPLICATIONS: The implications of this study are as follows: firstly, this study examines the impact of COVID-19 and, at the same time, firm reactions to the crisis; secondly, contrary to previous studies, this study shows that all industries have been influenced negatively, including all SMEs; thirdly, this study shows that ownership type was an important factor concerning the impact of COVID-19, where family firms were influenced more than non-family firms; this is due to the distinct characteristic of organizational structure that family firms have, including the involvement of members of family firms. Last, this study shows that a single reaction of firms does not lead to survival, but the chain of reactions combined with dimensions shown above. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Despite growing theoretical and empirical literature about COVID-19 and firms, this study shows the impact and firm responses towards the crisis of COVID-19. Furthermore, focusing on the context of Kosovo, the study contributes to the challenges that firms face in different cultural and institutional settings.

This study examines Kosovo’s attempts to create efficient political and economic institutions while assuming that if these institutions cannot perform well and the market economy will also fail. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to understand the reasons behind institutional and economic failure. A qualitative research approach that we used is based on a longitudinal perspective and a set of secondary data which are analyzed by using Qualitative Content Analysis technique. Our findings suggest that the state-building period which was administrated by the international organizations created problems such as polarizations in views, duality and imbalance in power distribution and illegitimacy of the governing institutions. These problems are more or less reflected in other institutions in the following independence period. Moreover, due to continuing and deepening political fragmentation and tension amongst the local parties, attempts to create well-functioning and supporting institutions have not yet produced fruitful results. With such institutional performance Kosovo has not yet been able to create a functioning market economy and to overcome economic challenges.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of family firms’ types of social networks on internationalisation. By investigating the mechanisms and the process and complexity regarding the operation, function and impact of social networks, this paper aims to gain insights and understand the dynamism concerning the content, and process as well as build rich and detailed construct analysis. Design/methodology/approach This study used a qualitative case study as a research strategy to examine the impact of social networks on family firm internationalisation. A qualitative research strategy was used as the impact of networking relations and structure is challenging to be measured statistically. Findings The findings suggest that family firm internationalisation was gradual and characterised by an incremental learning process. This process facilitated the networking relations and structures that helped firms improve their quality, product diversification and set competitive prices. Research limitations/implications This study’s first limitation is that it focused mainly on low technology manufacturing firms. This paper recommends examining how high technology firms maximise social networks. Secondly, this paper examined family firms; therefore, this paper recommends comparing and contrasting networking relations and family and nonfamily firms' social structure. Thirdly, being limited only to social networks, this study did not focus on the impact of ownership; this paper suggests future studies to examine family ownership and involvement in firm internationalisation. Originality/value Understanding how firms’ social network types influence family firms’ internationalisation in a transition economy is critical to ensuring family businesses’ expansion. This study explains how family firms use social networks to internationalise, extending the current understanding of family business literature in transition economies. It also provides implications for policymakers and family firms managers for improving the growth prospects of family businesses.

The enforced lockdown and closure of businesses in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in economic crises across the globe, bringing the attention to entrepreneurship and its importance to economic recovery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on SME’s and the entrepreneurs’ policy preferences based on firm size and industry type. To achieve this, evidence from a Business Support Centre Kosovo’s (BSCK) survey involving 236 SME owners interviewed online is reported. Findings from SME survey suggest the problems with cash flow and reduction of customer demand, among others, are major problems faced by SME’s across all firm size groups and industry types. Findings from factor analysis clustered SME policy preferences into three groups: policy preferences related to financing and liquidity constraints, market related and tax preferences. This study discusses some policy and managerial implications urging the need for more nuanced and variegated understanding of the effect of coronavirus pandemic on SMEs.

PurposeKosovo has experienced a radical shift from a centrally planned economy to a market economy and built institutions from scratch. During the institutional building process, due to inconsistencies in institutional reforms, firms faced several challenges in competing in the domestic market and engaging in exporting activities. The purpose of the study is threefold. First, to examine how institutional settings influence family firms’ success; second, how and which types of strategic behaviours family firms pursue in response to institutional deficiencies and third, whether and how internationalisation helps the firms overcome the difficulties resulting from deficiencies of the institutions.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs a qualitative document analysis technique using secondary and primary data to examine the impact of institutional settings on firm internationalisation and related firm reactions.FindingsFindings suggest that fiscal policy, weak protection of property rights and contractual enforcement negatively influenced family firms because of unfair competition, unpredictable business environment and additional costs due to deficient institutions. The authors found that internationalisation provided benefits for the firms in handling the problems posed by the institutions. The firms focused on three main strategies to respond to weak institutions: improving product quality, diversifying and differentiating products and setting competitive prices.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature and explains how and which economic institutions influence firm internationalisation and how engagement in international business activities provides an advantage in responding to deficient institutions in the home country.