Online sales adoption and financial resilience in Sub-Sahara Africa: the moderating role of ownership and enterprise size during Covid-19 crisis

Abstract

It is an established fact that the Covid-19 pandemic had a persistent economic uncertainty effect than health uncertainty. In this study, the researchers examined the effects of expanding sales online on the financial resilience of enterprises in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) during the economic downturn. The researchers measured financial resilience by the extent of sales and cash-flows decline during the pandemic. The researchers collected 4751 unweighted data from the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey and it Covid-19 follow-up survey. Findings from the bivariate probit model and the predictive margin probabilities showed that most enterprises in SSA adopted or expanded proportion of sales online during the pandemic. Increasing the proportion of online sales exerted a decreasing effect on sales and cash-flow declines and thus improved financial resilience at a threshold of 40% during the pandemic. Large enterprises were observed to be more resilient than small and medium enterprises, yet domestic and foreign enterprises had the same level of financial resilience during the pandemic. For enterprises in Africa to realise the 40% threshold of online sales, the researchers encourage enterprises to invest in advertisement for product legitimacy.

Adverse impact of lockdown during COVID-19 pandemic on micro-small and medium enterprises (Indian handicraft sector): A study on highlighted exit strategies and important determinants

“…The study of [29], indicated that Information Communication Technology is a powerful tool in achieving business survivability that affects social capital building, bridging, and self-efficacy, both directly and indirectly. The entrepreneurial activity can be improved and entrepreneurs can minimize the implications of lock-downs with the help of ICT [31]. Moreover, during a pandemic, micro-entrepreneurs must think outside the box to keep their businesses afloat.…”

“…Furthermore, the assisted method argues that micro(handicraft)entrepreneurs may rely on external help, such as from the government and other supply chain partners, in the event of a crisis [4]. Focusing on customers, networking with other entrepreneurs, and digitizing the business are seen as appropriate and rational tactics for micro-entrepreneurs in this study to survive during the pandemic crisis, even though the pandemic crisis has a severe impact on micro-enterprises [31]. Table 8 shows the determinants of the problems encountered by the micro-enterprises that led to business failure in terms of financial aspects.…”

“…Most of the determinants of problems that led to business failure during the pandemic were obstacles in the realignment of their respective goals owing to the pandemic, their ability to pay operational expenses, difficulties in product innovation, and their failure to react to the changes in the business environment. Exit strategies used by microenterprises included declaring bankruptcy, refinancing, and selling the business to family or friends [31].…”

Measuring sales resilience value: a new approach on discount pricing strategy to develop the sales promotion program

“…An economic shock, such as epidemic diseases (e.g., COVID), causes problems in the business environment and creates new principles and rules for buying and selling through online platforms. For example, the shock in the market can affect the supply and demand of products due to the change in the supplier sales channels [12]. Epler and Leach [11] examined salesperson bricolage during a critical sales disruption.…”

Correction: Online sales adoption and financial resilience in Sub-Sahara Africa: the moderating role of ownership and enterprise size during Covid-19 crisis

“…The correct author name is: Abass Adams. The author group has been updated above and the original article [1] has been corrected.…”