Entrepreneurial resilience of SMEs in the face of multiple crises

Swedish and international companies are in a unique situation of managing multiple crises simultaneously. Companies are working to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, while also trying to deal with the war in Ukraine, inflation and the start of the recession. This means that companies do not have time to recover between crises, putting many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at risk of not surviving. The ability to cope with crises in small businesses is called entrepreneurial resilience (ER) and consists of internal factors within the firm such as the personality, experience and capabilities of the entrepreneur, and external factors outside the firm such as the availability of resources and support. Research is limited because it often focuses on the management of single crises after they have happened. The aim of the project is therefore to develop knowledge about ER in SMEs when dealing with multiple crises. The project intends to develop and test a conceptual framework of factors affecting ER (the entrepreneur, the firm and the environment) and showing the effects of ER (survival, merger and bankruptcy). The project intends to conduct a literature study, interview study and survey study. The project deepens and broadens an ongoing project where ER in SMEs in Skaraborg is studied during the Corona pandemic. This is done by investigating ER during several added crises in SMEs throughout Västra Götaland and Halland.