A commentary on the impacts of ‘Great Lockdown’ and its aftermath on scaling firms: What are the implications for entrepreneurial research?

Abstract

This commentary argues that scaling fast growth firms drive economic development, even in recessionary periods. While the coronavirus induced ‘Great Lockdown’ and its aftermath poses particular challenges, we argue that the crisis presents the entrepreneurial scholarly community with an opportunity to re-orientate our research. Rather than more narratives of business success in the face of adversity, the Great Lockdown presents us with a fresh opportunity to examine how scaling is affected by context, by luck and by the porous nature of business growth. In so doing, our hope is that it will encourage our community to adopt a more proactive agenda to support policy makers and entrepreneurs.

Standing up against crisis-induced entrepreneurial uncertainty: Fewer teams, more habitual entrepreneurs

“…This is likely to also apply to the COVID-19 crisis – and it not only holds for established but also for yet-to-be-founded innovative startups. This consideration should mitigate the prevailing focus on resilience and entrepreneurship in light of the crisis, which has been rightly criticised as being just too short-sighted, given that (Greene and Rosiello, 2020: 588) ‘the great lockdown and its aftermath pre-figure a further wave of Schumpeterian “creative destruction”’. Understanding entrepreneurial activity under crisis conditions is thus, not only about understanding the specifics of the adversity entrepreneurs encounter but also about the opportunities they perceive and act upon.…”

“…However, the main focus of this emerging research stream has been on entrepreneurs and startups (and Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), for example, Lim et al, 2020) that were active prior to the crisis and how they are affected. Some have already criticised this approach for being too focused on entrepreneurial resilience (Greene and Rosiello, 2020), thereby neglecting opportunities for growth and new ventures that might follow from the crisis. Hence, less evidence is available with respect to the early-stage entrepreneurial activity of startups that were formed during crisis, having perceived an opportunity to establish something new despite adverse circumstances, and that potentially respond with their business models to the changing business landscape.…”

Assessing the effectiveness of Covid-19 financial product innovations in supporting financially distressed firms and households in the UAE

“…On the other hand, Greene and Rosiello ( 2020 ) argue that the Covid-19 crisis might entail opportunities for firms to take a pro-active stance and re-orient their strategies for when the crisis is over. Also focusing on the opportunities arising, Pandey ( 2021 ) researches the digital marketing strategies that have evolved in the face of national and international lockdowns.…”

Investigating strategic responses of SMEs during COVID-19 pandemic: A cognitive appraisal perspective

“…It is argued that SMEs can navigate through the stormy landscape of the COVID-19 crisis by engaging in organization-wide innovation ( Morgan et al, 2020 ). Consequently, such insights lead to the conclusion that the literature on the impact of economic crises on SME business activity is ambivalent—evidently for some SMEs such crises can represent a window of opportunity, and for some a threat ( Greene & Rosiello, 2020 ).…”